Anti-gay group brands TV series ‘dangerous’ for featuring gay couples’ engagement

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An anti-gay group in the US has said that hit television series Modern Family, which last week featured a gay couple getting engaged, is “dangerous”, because it uses “feelings which mislead” its viewers.

Evan Mantel of the Media Research Center wrote on his blog of the episode that he enjoyed it, but that it was for the reason that it was enjoyable that he felt it was “dangerous”.

He said: “But this was a good episode. I laughed. I cried. I felt. It moved me like good art is supposed to do. But that’s the problem. It moved me. It made me feel joy for Cam and Mitchell after the Supreme Court over-ruled California’s Prop 8.

“And that is what makes this show great. And dangerous. It relies on feelings which mislead. There is no logical argument in favor of gay marriage, but the sweetness of Cam and Mitchell trying to outdo each other’s proposal is touching. Their simple and spontaneous proposal was as sweet as the portrayal of those who don’t agree with gay marriage as spitting babies was subtle.”

On advice for readers for whether to watch the show, Mantel continued: “Watch, I say. Watch a classic sitcom, but know that what you are seeing is fiction and not a realistic portrayal of realty.”

Creators of the Emmy award-winning ABC show had previously been reluctant to explore the issue of equal marriage in the US, but that changed when Mitchell and Cameron, a gay couple with an adopted daughter, got engaged during last Wednesday’s fifth season premier.

A producer of Modern Family has since said the season premier featuring the same-sex marriage proposal was not meant as a political statement.