‘Modern Family’ Season 11: Lily Tucker-Pritchett’s evolution from non-entity to a true symbol of modernity is remarkable
Representation of unusual kinships is one of the highlights of the television sitcom ‘Modern Family’ which is currently in its final season. The creators dared to show on-screen some of the most unconventional relationships and emerged successful when the same was accepted globally. Soon, it went on to become a fan favorite, beating several sitcoms that ruled for a long time before its advent in 2009.
It has shown us our beloved characters’ growth, downfall, evolution and a lot more, which we’ll always cherish. But, in our opinion Mitchell (Eric Stonestreet) and Cameron’s (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) daughter Lily Tucker-Pritchett (Aubrey Anderson-Emmons) is the true epitome of the modern in ‘Modern Family’, and here’s how!
The idea of a gay couple fathering an orphan from a foreign nation was critically lauded in season 1 of ‘Modern Family’. Back then, Lily was nothing more than an infant, whose Asian origin was her only true identity. She was rather defined by her parents’ exuberant upbringing for several seasons, owing to their sexuality.
Being the youngest character (until Gloria had her second child Joe), Lily grew parallelly with the show. If you remember, from the first season itself, the creators had labeled each of the characters in a certain way, which has been retained to date.
Haley (Sarah Hyland), despite being a mother of her twins, counts on her parents for help. Luke (Nolan Gould) is still a muddlehead, who is most of the time deliberately obtuse about things. Alex (Ariel Winter) still couldn’t see anything beyond her academics despite its adverse effect on her mental and physical health and Manny (Rico Rodriquez), an old soul who has only gotten older with time and nothing else.
While the profiles of the above characters have been stagnant, Lily has evolved to gain an identity of her own. Also, we need to appreciate the creators for adding an edge to her personality by defining her in a way we never expected.
Until Lily hit puberty, she was only an ever-cocky young girl whose actions reflected that of her parents. It makes a lot of sense because, well, that’s how it works in real life, too. However, from season 9, she started expressing her likes and dislikes, which came across as a shocker to her parents and the rest of the family.
As the recent seasons opened an emotional avenue for her, we saw Lily be herself. First, she summarily dismisses her parents’ opinion about fashion and after her short-lived pretense, the teenager finally reveals that she just couldn’t admire ‘Beyonce’ and ‘Lady Gaga’ as her leaning is towards metal, which wasn’t easy either on Mitch and Cam.
In the previous two seasons, Lily has evolved with the present time, thus becoming the epitome of modern. She does what she likes, but never at the cost of causing any damage to anyone while fighting stereotypes on a daily basis.
But, we got to appreciate her courage to stand out and be herself, especially at an age when the tweens are under the constant pressure of peers. While the rest of the characters are evidently confused about where they are going in life, Lily seems to know exactly what’s she’s doing and where she is headed. After all, she has been quite the rebellious child from the start, only fighting for her own rights.