Alex Dunphy might just be the most underrated and divisive character on ‘Modern Family’. Some viewers see themselves represented in her, while others find her too critical and too arrogant. But there is one thing we all can probably agree on: at one point or another, we all felt collectively bad for Alex.
Rewatching the show today reveals just how problematic Alex’s character arc was. In fact, her character exposes some very uncomfortable truths about the way female characters are portrayed in popular media.
Alex Dunphy Deserved Better From ‘Modern Family’
The biggest problem Alex had throughout the show is that no one was ever willing to understand her. She is expected to be the smart one, the responsible one, the child who can handle things on her own. Her successes are never celebrated because that is simply what is expected from her.
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Her family never seems particularly willing to understand or appreciate her. Claire even admits that she essentially put parenting Alex on autopilot. She is always busy with Luke and sees herself in Haley, while Phil has a goofy relationship with Luke and a mutual understanding with Haley. Meanwhile, Alex never really finds those same connections with either of them.
This explains why Alex grows up to be so isolated and frustrated with herself. Her eventual breakdown reveals what is actually going on inside her head. More than anything, she wants other people’s approval. All her hard work stems from her desire to be the perfect daughter, the perfect student, the perfect college candidate, and, most importantly, the perfect “modern” woman.
Phil and Claire are almost intimidated by her intelligence. They see the huge distance between Alex and the rest of their goofy family as a problem. Yet, they never really bother to solve this distance. Instead, their primary response is often to mock her. And this is where the show becomes so frustrating.
The Problem With The “Smart Girl” Tag
Alex’s arc is just too close to home for female viewers, and not always in a satirical way. All her efforts to be enough ultimately leave her where? In the stereotypical “smart girl” box, both within her family and within the show itself.
She is the typical nerdy girl. She is socially awkward, competitive, driven, and supposedly incapable of relaxing. Rewatching the show today reveals just how caricatured this portrayal is. This is where the show fails horribly. Instead of allowing Alex to subvert these tropes, or even explore them from a modern perspective, ‘Modern Family’ repeatedly traps her inside them.
At one point, Alex says, “Dumb guys go for dumb girls and smart guys go for dumb girls. What do smart girls get?” Phil responds, “Cats, mostly”. Not a very modern take.
It is easy to laugh in the context of the sitcom. But watching it now, there is something so uncomfortable about a pre-teen hearing this from her father. Once again, the ambitions and desires of a young woman are turned into a punchline.
And this message is repeated and reinforced constantly throughout the show. Alex is always mocked for not having enough friends, for struggling to attract boys, and for taking school too seriously. The intention behind this is framed as encouraging her to have a more balanced life. But the message doesn’t always feel that way today: go and get a boyfriend, and then maybe you will be happy.
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Why Alex’s Story Reflects A Bigger Problem With Female Representation
‘Modern Family’ had all the ingredients to do something genuinely interesting with the “smart girl” trope. Alex could have been a complicated exploration of the relationship between identity and social expectation, ambition and happiness from a modern young woman’s perspective.
Instead, it ultimately falls back on these stereotypes it was supposed to challenge. It results in a very uncomfortable contradiction. On one hand, it seems to say there is nothing wrong with being ambitious, academically successful, or intensely passionate about something.
Even if those qualities make you less likable in the eyes of society, you should not have to change yourself for other people. But then, isn’t the opposite constantly being taught to Alex? She is too arrogant, too different, and too unsociable.
The bigger problem with the show is not necessarily that these stereotypes are shown. These stereotypes are problematic, but they have always existed in real life. The problem is that the show rarely explores why these tropes are so damaging.
Instead, they become a punchline. Alex’s loneliness, her ambition, her inability to fit the traditional mould all become a punchline. Eventually, it becomes difficult to tell whether the show is actually critiquing these expectations forced on women or simply reinforcing them.
This contradiction is what makes Alex so fascinating and frustrating at the same time. So many female viewers see themselves represented through Alex only to see that the show never truly commits to exploring this issue. Much like her parents, it seems that even the show forgot and sometimes simply couldn’t understand what to do with Alex Dunphy.
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