Running Head: FIZBO AND LIZBO

Personality Psychology in Everyday Life

Andrew Warren
Boise State University
This is a clip that I found on YouTube entitled Fizbo and Lizbo. It is a scene from the
ABC comedy, Modern Family. The scene involves a gay couple, Cameron and Mitchell, and
their adopted daughter Lily. Cameron has an alter ego who is a clown, named Fizbo. Being a
large ex-college football lineman, Cameron makes an intimidating clown. The scene opens with
Mitchell walking alone into the bathroom while brushing his teeth. He bends down over the sink
to spit, and when he straightens up to look in the mirror, he suddenly sees Fizbo behind him,
which startles him into exclaiming Fizz-No! He then scolds Cameron for sneaking up on him,
saying he could have caused him to cut himself shaving (this couldve been a Sweeny Todd
moment!), even though he obviously doesnt shave, having a full beard. Fizbo ignores the
admonishments, explaining that because of him, clowning is in Lilys blood. Mitchell notes
that Lily is adopted, thus making that statement unlikely, but Cameron is not swayed. Shes a
natural, if she doesnt make you laugh, shell quit clowning forever!
Mitchell allows himself to be dragged into the living room where, he sits and watches as
the clown duo of Fizbo and Lizbo (were working on the name) goes through a very weak

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routine probably more geared toward a six year old than an adult. Mitchell makes no attempt at
hiding his boredom and is already worrying aloud about the cleanup after the show (I hope
Fizbo knows how to use a vacuum). In an aside, he notes that though he wanted to be
supportive for Lily, he was contemplating suicide to put an end to his suffering through this
performance. Lizbo notices that the routine is not having the desired effect, gives a resigned sigh
and decides to take matters into her own hands. She unexpectedly whacks Fizbo in the privates
with a broom (thats not part of the routine, he wheezes), then hits him over the head with a
with a confetti bucket. Mitchell, finally laughing, applauds and requests an encore (Shes a
natural!), as Cameron groans in pain and Lily runs away.
From a psychoanalytic view point this little family is full of symbolism. Mitchell is the
family breadwinner, a very uptight lawyer, rooted in the anal stage. He is always well groomed
and neat, pays attention to details, is interested in cleanliness and abhors the very concept of the
chaos of Fizbo in his life. He is certainly taken on the rule enforcer role in the relationship,
(dont scare me in the bathroom, be sure to clean up after youre done trying to make me
laugh), and is very literal minded (shes adopted so your clowning is not in her blood, Lizbo
sounds like lesbo). He grew up with a very masculine dad, whose expectations he never really
felt that lived up to, since, being slightly effeminate, he wasnt a typical boy. Yet he can laugh
when Cameron gets hurt in the routine since it represents deserved punishment in his mind for
his transgressions.
Even though Cameron is physically the more masculine of the two men, he seems to,
more often than not, take on a somewhat feminine and sometimes even a childlike, role in the
relationship. Despite his size, he is emotional, whimsical, and prone to elaborate displays. He
seems to be ruled by his id, in that he just does whatever comes to mind at the moment and the

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clown Fizbo could be seen as a very literal manifestation of this. He could also be a sublimation
of the dominant id being used for the greater good of helping other people laugh. Psychoanalysts
would see him as rooted in Freuds oral stage as a pleasure seeking creature who is easily
offended when things dont go his way.
Lilly is in the position of having two fathers to please, although she seems to gravitate
towards Cameron. This is likely because she spends more time with him as a stay at home dad,
and also because he is the more fun parent. But, in this scene, she seems to be the most mature
one as she is able to use her own initiative to save the situation when she notices it isnt going
well. She accomplishes this by symbolically castrating the mother figure to please the father
figure, which also still allows her and Cameron to keep on being clowns.
The Biological Processes theory of personality psychology focuses more on the nature
side of the nature versus nurture debate. It uses biological processes, mostly within the nervous
and endocrine systems to explain our behavior and motivations. From the Biological perspective
Cameron is obviously an extravert, being not only a huge and flamboyant gay man, but needing
to also become a clown to further feed his desire for thrills and attention. Mitchell on the other
hand is relatively introverted, easily startled and disapproving of flamboyant displays of
clowning. The Biological perspective would determine that Mitchells ascending reticular
activating system is wider than Camerons, putting him in a state of constant over arousal, and
thus he lacks Camerons need to constantly seek stimulation. The Biological perspective would
consider them both to be neurotic with more active emotion centers in their amygdalae, low
serotonin levels and an abundance of norepinephrine. Neurotic introverts are said to be more
anxious like Mitchell, while neurotic extraverts are more impulsive, like Cameron.

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In my first Personality Psychology in Everyday Life paper, I viewed this clip from the
Psychoanalytic perspective. I thought that Cameron was stuck in the oral stage of development
and ruled by his id, as shown by his impulsiveness. I determined that the clown Fizbo was a
sublimation of this and a way for him to use his need for attention to make people laugh. I also
determined that Mitchell was rooted in the anal stage of being very detail oriented and
disapproving of the chaotic Fizbo, and messy clown routines. But his superego finds joy in the
punishment that Cameron gets at the end of the clown routine.
The Psychoanalytic and Biological processes models have both been around for a while,
but they are very different from each other in many ways, Psychoanalytic is a stage theory, while
Biological processes are not. Biological theorists treat disease with drugs and surgery while
psychoanalysts treat with counselling and insight. Psychoanalysis is old and dated, while
biologists are making new discoveries constantly. But there are also similarities. They both agree
that men and women may react differently to the same experiences because of anatomical
differences (in the Oedipal and Electra complexes). They also agree that our genitals play an
important role in our personalities and motivations, albeit for different reasons.
The Biological processes perspective is the stronger theory in general, being limited only
by ethical restrictions on testing human subjects. Because of this there is still much to be learned
about the brain, our bodies and all their different processes and interactions. As it relates to this
scene however, the biological model correctly predicts the behaviors of all the parties involved.
Both men share neurotic behavior traits but they are expressed differently because of the
introvert/extravert modifier. Because of a chemical imbalance, Mitchell would like a nice quiet
afternoon with his family because he is easily aroused and would rather be calm. And because of
a different imbalance Cameron craves sensation and arousal wherever and whenever he can find
it.