Sitcom to the Modern Family

¶ … sitcom to the modern family in America today

Many years ago, in the 1950s, the I Love Lucy show was considered ground-breaking. It featured characters that were not the stereotypical blonde, blue-eyed heroes and heroines commonly seen on television. The main character Lucy was married to a Cuban-American named Ricky Ricardo. This was controversial at the time but America grew to accept Lucy and Ricky. Despite the fact that I Love Lucy is one of the most beloved sitcoms ever created, there have been few representations of Latin-Americans on television since Lucy that are as positive, loving, and warm. I wish to change that with my proposed sitcom Running Water. My sitcom is about two single mothers who are Cuban-Americans recently emigrated to the U.S.

Of course, there have been representations of some Latin-American characters on TV, some of which have been positive, others negative. However, these characters have tended to appear on serious dramas which are very message-oriented. While this is a laudable goal, it is also important that Latin-American characters are shown in their full complexity, which includes their sense of humor. Sitcoms often produce some of the most beloved characters in American culture. That is why I believe it is necessary for a sitcom -- specifically a family-oriented sitcom -- featuring Latin-American characters to be showcased. It is not enough that Latin-American characters play 'the friend' or the 'funny neighbor.' They deserve to have their concerns aired front and center.

I believe this sitcom will be successful because of the fact that the demographics of America are changing so dramatically. Latinos are increasingly a large part of the viewing audience, particularly in areas such as Los Angeles and Miami. They will be happy to see a sitcom that resembles their lives and focuses on their concerns, or the concerns of people close to them. The fact that it is a family-oriented sitcom is also important, given the important role that the family plays in so many Latinos' lives.

My sitcom will portray the struggles of Martha and Ivette, two immigrants who have recently escaped from Cuba with their sons. Martha is very optimistic about life in the United States, although she knows very little about the culture. Ivette is less certain that she has made the correct decision about coming to the United States. She is more critical about her cultural encounters with U.S. citizens. The conflict between these two perspectives will drive the plot of the sitcom and its various scenarios. The tone of the sitcom will be life-affirming but will also have a certain amount of humor and irony in terms of the way it shows the culture clash of the two main characters with that of dominant American society and also how these characters clash in terms of their own values between themselves. Since both of them are bringing up children, the pressure of children to assimilate to America will also be a common theme that arises in the sitcom.

Another aspect of my sitcom's appeal will be its focus upon immigrant communities. The apartment complex where Martha and Ivette stay will house many different immigrants, although most will be Cuban-Americans like themselves. Immigration is currently a 'hot button' issue in America, and many Americans are interested in it, which will add to the sitcom's appeal. The sitcom will encourage the American viewer to look at his world anew, while laughing at it at the same time. For example, in one of the episodes Martha's conviction that she lives in a very luxurious apartment compared with her existence in Cuba will be challenged when she brags about the quality of where she lives to a very wealthy lady. The woman takes Martha's impressions as 'the truth,' only to find, much to her shock and dismay when she arrives to look at the apartment complex, that it is a relatively run-down place, and the amenities which impress Martha are its running water and nice places to hang clothes. However, soon she will also recognize that Martha has many things she does not have -- Martha is rich in other ways, including her love for her family and friends. The immigrant experience is an important part of American history and bringing to light how many recent immigrants live in the United States today will underline the fact that the U.S.'s status as a nation of immigrants is not something that should be consigned to its past. However, everyone will be able to appreciate the experience of being in a family, the tensions of family roles, and the discrepancy between the real and the ideal in familes.

The sitcom, although it is very family-focused, will also feature two single mothers as the main protagonists. The financial and emotional struggles of the women will not be shied away from, although there will be an ultimately positive and affirming message about the nature of familial love to sustain people through difficult times. Even when families are not 'conventional' they can still be supportive and loving. This can also be seen in shows such as Modern Family, which feature a blended cast of people of different ethnicities and sexualities.

Even the Simpsons can be seen as an example of how the traditional family can be used to tackle contemporary issues in a bracing, unusual, yet ultimately affirmative fashion. The Simpsons are a conventional family of a mother, father, brother, and two sisters, but even though they often exhibit conventional gender and age dynamics (the father tries to control the mother, the children vie for parental attention), the surreal universe of the story highlights unconventional aspects of what it means to be in an American family.

However, unlike Modern Family and the Simpsons, the focus in Running Water is on the Latino experience and is told from the perspective of Latinos. There is also a very strong female, feminist focus in the sitcom upon the specific struggles of women trying to make their way in the world alone. Martha and Ivette come from a very patriarchal culture, and the difficulties of negotiating their own independence, raising sons, and pursuing relationships with men will also feature prominently.

The focus upon the clash of the personalities of the two women and its relationship-directed focus also make it uniquely tailored for a sitcom format. Humor and dialogue will be a very important component of the show's appeal, and will also give it 'crossover' appeal to non-Hispanics because of the focus on the dialogue. The contrasting personalities of Martha and Ivette will drive the show. For example, in the pilot, the two women fight over whether it was a good decision for them to immigrate to Cuba. Martha tries to throw a block party for everyone at the apartment complex, in an effort to meet people and to fit in. However, her attempts to have a traditional Cuban roast prove to be difficult out on the street. As Martha tries to shop for the feast, Ivette makes a running commentary about how bad the food is in America and how impossible it will be to recreate the type of open air cookouts the two of them loved so much in Cuba. Martha cannot cook the pork roast she bought, and none of the foods she selected are what she thought they were. Ivette saves the day by fixing everyone grilled cheese sandwiches using her ironing board. "In America, you can bring anything to make a party," says Ivette.