Season 5, Episode 10 - The Old Man and the Tree

The families are getting ready for Christmas and things are pretty chaotic. This episode focuses on American values and beliefs as well as defining gender roles.

Claire and Gloria with Gloria's Mother

In a scene with Claire, Gloria and Gloria’s mother from Columbia, there is a strong value placed on women who can cook verses women who cannot. A women's place is in the kitchen, therefore her value is found in how well she can cook. This belief is passed down from Gloria's mother and the generations of women before her. Gloria’s mother is quickly fond of Claire, who can cook, and Gloria feels unaccepted and unwanted as a daughter because cooking is not her strength. 

I found it very interesting the way American living is depicted through this episode. At one point, Phil gives up on reaching his end goal to, “get to Canada” on his elliptical machine, and lists everything else he has given up on in the past and that it shapes his daily life (for example, the route he takes to school in order to avoid past “failures”). This implies that American’s are lazy and give up easily, especially men. 

Phil on the Elliptical 

Also apparent in this episode is the value placed on physical appearance in an American marriage. Hayley, who works as an Elf at the mall, tries to cover up a problematic situation in which Santa angrily leaves his chair by saying, “He (Santa) travels a lot, she (Mrs. Claus) put on cookie weight.. its hard.” This therefore implies that a marriage is negatively effected by the change in appearance, especially that of gaining weight. However, when a guy gains weight, or for someone like Santa Claus who is a pudgy guy, it is not a problem. The woman however, must keep her form to be attractive so as not to cause difficulties in her marriage. It is no wonder that men are unsatisfied with an, "unattractive wife" when they are bombarded with images of fake, beautiful women everyday in social media and advertisements. 

The episode ended on a good note with the family all together for Christmas. There is an emphasize placed on the importance of finding value in the little things in life. The gender roles are quickly realized in Claire and Gloria sticking to the kitchen work and the men (Jay and Manny) who went and got the tree. This also highlights that American culture and gender roles have not changed much over the years in regards to tradition and holidays. Cheers!