The good news is you’ve won a lifetime supply of razor blades. The bad news is you’re going to die. This is the dilemma that Phil Dunphy faces in sitcom Modern Family’s episode, ‘Lifetime Supply.’ For Those new to the series, Modern Family follows the lives of three very different families; 21 century gay couple with an adopted daughter, older man with glamorous young wife and the tradition yet dysfunctional nuclear family. The audience finds comedy in the unique stereotypes each character plays on and the relationship they share with each other, and through the episodes discover each character’s qualities, which makes them such memorable TV icons.

Phil’s end of his lifetime supply of razor blades isn’t his greatest problem though. Gloria’s dreams are plagued by black rats, and after consulting her Columbian traditions, believes that something bad is going to happen to someone close to her. What makes this scene so memorable is how absurd this belief seems to be. This is emphasised in Jay’s response, clearly not understanding Gloria’s cultural beliefs, saying, “well I dreamt of a lucky blue cow, were good to go.” This is just one example of the suburb stereotypes displayed by Gloria and Javier, focusing on spiritual and cultural stereotypes of Columbian people. …show more content…
An ever present tension exists between Javier and Jay as they compete for Manny’s affection, and unfortunately, Jay ends up on the short side of the stick. The scenes with Manny and Javier highlight a close father and son bond, and allude to Jay’s feelings of detachment from Manny, fearing that he will never be seen as a father in Manny’s eyes. This scene demonstrates stereotypes in step-father and son bonds, and adds an emotional edge that is rarely seen in Modern