Asian Stereotypes on ABC’s Modern Family

As I had blogged previously, Modern Family is one of my favorite new comedy shows of the 2009-2010 television season. In a recent episode, I was pleasantly surprised to see actress Suzy Nakamura reprises her role as Dr. Miura, who same sex couple Mitchell and Cameron befriend and invite over to their home. Mitchell and Cameron become concerned and self-conscious when their adopted daughter Lily’s first words are “momma” instead of “daddy.” Later, in this video clip, Dr. Miura explains that her mother, who was born in Japan, was very traditional, pushing her to get married and have kids – and would only be happy with that stereotype. However, Dr. Miura was lucky to have a very supportive dad who would listen and support whatever decisions she made in her life. She reassures Mitchell and Cameron that Lily is just as lucky to have two father who love her as much as they do . . . And then screeches away in her car and hits everything in her path, reinforcing the stereotype about bad Asian American female drivers.