Salon recently published a blog post comparing the way two television shows, “Modern Family” and “Parenthood,” have recently tackled adoption plot lines. I watch both of these shows and couldn’t agree more with the writers opinion on both of the shows.
The blog talks about how “Modern Family” is often times politically incorrect, but, especially with the adoption plotline, finds a way to be based in reality. The writer, Martha Nichols, specifically brings up the “Two Monkeys and a Panda” episode as an example of the way Modern Family realistically speaks about adoption.
The show is in its third season and has showed gay adoptive parents, Cam and Mitchell, go through many highs and difficulties of adopting trans-racially. This season there have been many reports that the show will focus on Cam and Mitchell going through the adoption process, which we missed the first time around. I look forward to seeing how the show will bring its brand of humor to the adoption proces.
Meanwhile Nichols was a little less thrilled with the way “Parenthood” has represented the adoption process. She writes that “the current story involving the quest of Julia Braverman-Graham (Erika Christensen) to adopt a baby is not only an inaccurate portrayal of the ups and downs of the adoption process, It leans heavily on a heroic adoption narrative—just the sort of thing Modern Family skewers brilliantly.”
Nichols writes that her problem with “Parenthood’s” adoption plotline is that everything has been rushed. In the span of a few episodes, the characters looking to adopt have gotten frustrated with their adoption agency, met a young pregnant woman who is conveniently looking to place her child, boldly asked to adopt said child and been rejected, apologized for asking such a question, taken the young pregnant woman into their house, and most recently been told they can adopt the child. There is no adoption agency or lawyer to speak of yet.
It’s somewhat surprising that “Parenthood”, which has excelled in telling several realistic and genuine stories, would gloss over so many important aspects of the adoption process. Hopefully when the show returns on Tuesday there will be a more realistic feel to the story.
What is everyone elses thoughts on the way “Parenthood” and “Modern Family” discuss adoption?
I’m a lot more sensitive to these plots now that we are adopting. While I haven’t watched Parenthood, I do love Modern Family and hope they get it right.
I LOVED when they got into a fight over cleaning up the kitchen and then started making a huge mess only to have the door bell ring–Guess who? The social worker!
Hilarious and an accurate portrayl of my worst nightmare while we were going through the home study! I would have loved a follow-up on that one though because it did play into the sterotype of having to “appear perfect” for the home visits.