Modern Family: Cameron Was Right About Everything (Almost...)

The Take Film TV Movie

Modern Family’s Cameron Tucker was criticized for dramatic, over emotional, and generally over the top. But as melodramatic as he may have been, Cam provided a very important counter to the...

Transcript

00:00Modern Family's Cameron Tucker got a lot of flack from his friends and family

00:03for being dramatic, too emotional, and generally just over the top.

00:10But as melodramatic as he may have been, Cam provided a very important counter to

00:14the Pritchett family's more uptight, closed-off ways.

00:17He's a dreamer that's unafraid to go after what he wants, try new things, and think big.

00:23Cam's mindset might cause him, and others, some problems here and there,

00:27but it also allows him to build the life he wants,

00:31while also helping those he cares about achieve their dreams, too.

00:34So let's take a deeper look at the really important lessons

00:38Cam teaches us about living your life your way.

00:41Yeah, I'm sort of like Costco.

00:42I'm big, I'm not fancy, and I dare you to not like me.

00:45Cam is a notoriously boisterous person.

00:48He lives his life turned up to 11, and has no interest in listening

00:51to people who might want him to tone things down.

00:54Just turn it off.

00:55I can't turn it off, it's who I am.

00:57Like Gloria, Cam often gets criticized by those around him

01:00for being too emotional.

01:02He feels everything, very intensely,

01:04and doesn't hide what he's feeling behind a mask.

01:07Unless, of course, it's a mask he's made for a performance

01:09in which he's telling you how he feels.

01:11You cheated on me with choreography, and that is the worst kind.

01:16Well, it really is.

01:17You danced without me, Mitchell!

01:19Cam's husband Mitchell is much more closed off and distant emotionally

01:23because of the way he was raised.

01:24And so these two opposing mindsets can, and often do, cause problems.

01:30Okay, just to be clear, this is low-key.

01:32It's a banner and just some light musical accompaniment,

01:35Mitchell.

01:36I don't have a lower key.

01:37But no matter how grading his behavior might be at times to Mitchell,

01:41Cam holds strong in who he is.

01:44And at the end of the day, that is precisely what Mitchell loves about him.

01:47We both looked very handsome tonight.

01:50You know, if you just said that I looked handsome,

01:53I would have said so to you.

01:54I couldn't take that chance.

01:55I wanted to get off on the right foot.

01:56Being so in touch with his feelings and desires

01:59does often lead to Cam being very emotional.

02:02He does not handle criticism well at all,

02:04but this is because he spends so much time thinking about

02:08and working on the things that he cares about.

02:10So when something doesn't work out,

02:12it can shatter a bit of his sense of self.

02:14I knew that sweater wasn't stolen.

02:16And here I picked blue yarn to match your eyes,

02:19but I should have picked black to match your heart.

02:21Although you look amazing in black, damn you.

02:23And because he's not afraid of sharing his feelings,

02:25he makes sure everyone else knows exactly how he's feeling.

02:30This can certainly come to feel like a bit much for others,

02:33like Mitchell and his family,

02:34who have trained themselves to bury their emotions.

02:37But seeing Cam share his own freely does help them begin to realize

02:41that they don't have to hide how they're feeling all the time.

02:43And for better or worse, Cam is always willing to keep going

02:47and double down on what he wants and what he's feeling

02:50because he knows himself.

02:52You're not making the compelling case you think you are.

02:55Cam also has to deal with being told to make himself smaller

02:58in the literal sense, too.

03:00Though there are references to Cam being smaller

03:02before he and Mitchell began working to adopt Lily,

03:05he's a Midwestern former lineman,

03:07and so is not a small guy by any measure.

03:10Though he does occasionally feel the need to cave to this pressure,

03:13like his terrible time with fasting,

03:19he always comes back to loving himself as he is.

03:23A great part of Cam's inherent intensity is his willingness

03:26to stand up for himself and others.

03:29He's always looking for ways to help anyone he can,

03:31and if anyone even so much thinks about threatening

03:33someone he cares about, he's ready to deal with them.

03:36We'll drive away.

03:37Is there a problem here?

03:38What the hell are you?

03:40I'm the ass-kicking clown that'll twist you like a balloon animal.

03:43This more confrontational side of Cam's personality can,

03:46like everything else, tread on the excessive,

03:48as we can see with his numerous rivalries.

03:51From minor skirmishes, like his fight with the grocery store worker

03:54who bags his groceries incorrectly, to larger dust-ups,

03:57like his battle against Andrew for control over the acapella group.

04:00He has a very particular idea about how things should be,

04:04and does not appreciate people who cross those lines.

04:06Seriously, if you want to get paid, I need to-

04:08Fine, you can make the check out to Party Stars Incorporated.

04:10Never break character.

04:11Never, ever.

04:12Cam is so over the top because he cares so much.

04:16For him, growth isn't about erasing that side of himself,

04:19but rather harnessing that energy in more productive ways.

04:24Cam was an overachiever from an early age.

04:26Whatever he set his mind to, he usually did very well at.

04:29I won Cutest Baby at the 1974 Jasper County Fair.

04:32People at the time said I could go Gerber.

04:34From winning science fairs, to playing ukulele,

04:36and the piano, and the drums,

04:38to being a starting defensive lineman on his university's football team,

04:41Cam always felt like if he set his mind to do something,

04:44he could accomplish it, no matter what.

04:47He never felt the need to get boxed in by what he was supposed to like or do.

04:51He knew he could be equally into football and musical theater,

04:54and be great at both.

04:56And because he's always been open to new possibilities and skills,

04:59in this way, he's become adept at picking up new interests and hobbies.

05:03Unlike others, he doesn't get trapped in limiting mindsets

05:06or worry that his dreams are out of reach,

05:09and instead is always focused on what he can do to make his dreams a reality.

05:12All he wanted to do was dance.

05:14And that's my story.

05:16We have five hours of this.

05:17I just want to dance with the butlette!

05:19People joke about the too much gene, and Cam has that in spades.

05:25Good morrow.

05:26Oh boy.

05:27Fizbo, Cam's clown persona, is an externalization of his own desire

05:31to focus on what he loves and bring joy to others with his skills,

05:35but also how people will try to stop that personal joy.

05:38It's going to be a boring party without any entertainment.

05:40I agree, which is why I hired a princess.

05:43Cue the gasp.

05:44How dare you!

05:45Entertaining and delighting children is who I am!

05:48While Cam very much enjoys his hobbies and elevating his skills,

05:51he also sees them as a way to get attention and love.

05:55Like a clown, he feels compelled to perform for those around him,

05:58in the hopes that if he's bright and funny and loud enough,

06:00he can't be ignored.

06:02But that care for others is always there too.

06:05In the same way the clown seeks to make the audience laugh,

06:08Cam hopes to be able to bring joy to the lives of those he cares about

06:11in any way he can, even if he's not always quite so successful.

06:15Cam's intensity around the things that he cares about,

06:18and his jealous streak, can certainly cause some problems.

06:22When I was a clown, my shoe caught on fire,

06:24and one of my fellow clowns put me out with a bucket of flammable confetti.

06:27Even as they loaded me into the ambulance,

06:29I continued to make balloon animals.

06:31It leaves him often feeling like he needs to compete with everyone

06:34to show them that he's the best, and thus deserving of love and attention,

06:38which can actually push people away.

06:41Take, for example, the time he agreed to help Gloria

06:43begin selling her family's sauce recipe,

06:46only to commandeer the entire project to make things more about him,

06:50because he couldn't stand that she was better than him at something.

06:54Cam has to learn that he doesn't have to be the best at every activity,

06:57just to enjoy it.

06:58And sometimes the joy of working on a project is being with others,

07:02not competing against them.

07:04Though the show didn't air that long ago, it was still a different time.

07:07Gay marriage wasn't even fully legalized in California

07:10until well into that show's run.

07:12But even within a world that wasn't always so accepting,

07:14Cam wasn't afraid to be openly and lovingly gay.

07:17Usually.

07:18Though he often gave Mitchell flack for being too closed off

07:21and afraid of public displays of affection,

07:24even Cam actually did have to deal with those same fears

07:27about being open about his sexuality with his family back in Missouri.

07:31We never told Graham about the gay.

07:32You know, after they reach a certain age,

07:34you worry that it could be the thing that sends them over the edge.

07:36And she's been on the edge for a long time.

07:39Because he's always been such a multi-faceted person,

07:41he tried to convince himself that he's not hiding anything.

07:44He's just focusing on different aspects when he's home.

07:48But he comes to accept that he should live in his truth no matter where he is,

07:52and he does come to be consistently, unashamedly proud of and open

07:56about all aspects of himself— being Mitchell's husband,

07:59an ex-football star, a musical theater diva, a stay-at-home dad,

08:03and every other part of himself.

08:05He knows that the people that really love him won't expect him to hide

08:08any facet of his true self, but will love all of him.

08:12You tricked me into coming here.

08:13You made me gay.

08:14Now I have a boyfriend.

08:15All these lies.

08:16Just to win a trophy?

08:17Yes.

08:18I respect that.

08:19Because he's generally more comfortable with himself and his emotions,

08:22he's also able to push Mitchell towards similar growth.

08:25The pair are a great example of opposites attracting in a positive way.

08:29You did it, Cam.

08:30No, we did it.

08:32I had to run away and you stepped in,

08:33and like an understudy, you gave a brilliant performance.

08:36They fill out gaps in the other's life,

08:38help them see things from different perspectives,

08:40and are always there for one another,

08:42even if they don't always agree on everything.

08:45Mitchell is a snob.

08:46No, no, I'm discerning.

08:49Official slogan for snobs.

08:52Like in every other aspect of his life,

08:53Cam is very intense about building the exact life he wants.

08:57Much like a play, he wants to be able to control everything and everyone

09:01to have things go just exactly how he thinks they should.

09:04It's Valentine's Day.

09:05It's not the day you run away from love.

09:07It's the day you track it down, tie it up, and take it home.

09:09This can, unsurprisingly, lead to some more unsavory moments

09:13of manipulation, but it also means he's able to be laser-focused

09:17on achieving positive things, too.

09:19Cam is very close with his parents,

09:21and has seen how Mitchell's relationship with his parents messed him up.

09:24There's a fish in nature that swims around with its babies in its mouth.

09:29That fish would look at Mitchell's relationship with his mother and say,

09:32that's messed up.

09:33And so wants to create a loving environment for his own children,

09:36where they feel safe to explore and express themselves.

09:39This can go off the rails sometimes,

09:41but his chaotic energy keeps things lively,

09:44and his heart is usually in the right place.

09:46But as with everything else, it's a learning process for Cam

09:49to be able to harness his abilities and spirit for good.

09:52While some of Cam's character growth was backpedaled as the series went on

09:56in favor of ramping up some of his less-than-stellar attributes,

10:00like his penchant for manipulation for the sake of comedy,

10:03Modern Family is a sitcom, after all.

10:06Am I trying to stack the deck against Claire here?

10:08No, I would never be so… genius.

10:14Overall, he's a great, if imperfect, character that we can learn a lot from.

10:18Cam shows the importance of not letting yourself be made to feel like you have to

10:22give up dreams or interests just because of other people's ideas,

10:26or because you want to focus on something else for a while.

10:29You can excel at multiple things,

10:31and also do things that you might not necessarily be great at,

10:34but enjoy anyways.

10:36Cam shows us how to hold onto our humor, hopes,

10:39drama, and dreams, no matter what anyone else says.

10:43You see, the dreamers need the realists

10:45to keep them from soaring too close to the sun.

10:47And the realists?

10:48Well, without the dreamers,

10:50they might not ever get off the ground.

10:53That's the take.

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