How Star Trek Revolutionized American Television

There was a great deal of obvious race-bending going on amongst the main leads. Maybe this

1964 marked a watershed moment for equality in the United States. On July 2 of that year, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the 1964 Civil Rights Act into law. Although much was aimed at

For a large part of the twentieth century, interracial couples on TV shows were few and far between. Given that anti-miscegenation laws (the laws against inter-breeding of people considered to be of different racial types) remained on the books of U.S. states well into the 1960s, entertainment executives deemed mixed couples too controversial for television. And even now, in current times, the majority of current films presuppose the abnormality of interracial intimacy, leaving little room for alternate stories of harmony. Many of today's films instead poke fun at interracial relationships and depict solely the difficulties faced, the awkward encounters, and the negative effects of participating in one.

In the 1960’s, civil rights were becoming a very present and evident concern to the people of America once again. Issues were being brought up to leaders that could and had the authority to actually help out and do something about these said issues. John F. Kennedy was elected in 1961, and the state our country was in was not as great as it could have been. In fact, it was not good at all. In North America, African Americans were discriminated against in many areas including education, work

When television shows were first aired, the majority of the main characters were white, if you saw someone of color they were most likely playing the role of a servant. According to pbs.org, in 1983 there was a shift in television when NBC aired an all-Black cast sitcom, The Cosby Show. The Cosby Show was the first show that did not promote negative racial slurs within the media. Sitcoms are affecting American culture negatively by promoting detrimental stereotypes.

Television now is a lot different than many years ago. If you think to yourself, how has it changed over the years? Well, one thing to say is there is many more minority acting on TV than before. While watching TV, minorities are still playing stereotypical roles of their race even if they are one of the main characters. When people watch, Modern Family, The Mayor, Fresh Off The Boat, and other shows with minority, people see the stereotypes of each race play a part of the show.

Different cultures and race are also widely accepted in today's sitcoms. Sometimes, programs may show racial difficulties like we see in real life. In "Gilmore Girls" Rory has friends who come from different

In 1971, New York Times columnist Fred Ferretti wrote an article about a new television series called All in the Family. Ferretti asked, whether or not if racism and bigotry were considered funny and he concluded that it was not and as a result believed that the show was lacking good taste. Apparently, the television viewers of America disagreed. Running from 1971 to 1979, All In The Family wasn’t the first television series to tackle major issues on a major network, but what was innovative about the series, was that is that it hewed its situational comedy from topical issues, and it explored them through characters we got to know and cared about every week. Simply put, All in the Family wasn’t just a great situational comedy; it as was an ongoing national conversation rooted in well-written, well-acted and multifaceted characters.

During the process of producing a television series, the demand for the producers to introduce their characters with only their highlighted traits make it impossible for viewers to gain a deep understanding of the community that the characters represent. One of the stereotypic traits that is usually seen on movies and television shows is societal difference that each race is placed into. Michael Omi in his article In Living Color: Race and American Culture stated that “in contemporary television and film, there is a tendency to present and equate racial minority groups and individuals with specific social problems” (546). There are many films and television shows found today that ground racial minorities into a specific social problems that are related to the color of their skin. It can be inferred from the current popular culture that this stereotype still persists.

The Star Trek television series was truly a groundbreaking show not just for its plot lines and ideological messages, but also for its revolutionary cast. Two of the main actors were Jewish, one main actor was a gay Asian, and of course, one was a black woman. Uhura was one of the first main black characters on a television show – and of course, her kiss with Kirk was the first interracial kiss ever on television. For a show in the 1960s, Star Trek broke many barriers across religious, racial, but most significantly gender lines.

Television has been around since 1925 and likely will not go away anytime soon. Back when it was new, white people were the only ones working behind the scenes creating shows, starring in films and dramas, or working in Hollywood. Sadly, in today’s world much of these barriers in the television and film industry still stand. If multiculturalism

The 1960’s were a rough, yet progressive stage in American history. African Americans were finally labeled as equal to white men and women after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed. However, that bill was

Comparatively, we see lots of today's shows feature a lead black actor/actress or of different minority ethnicity. If you go back a few decades there hardly was a show that had minority actor/actress that held a consistent role in the show. Scandal, is an example of a tv show that has a black actress as the main character and has many aspects involving racial relations that would not been acceptable thirty years ago. One such case being an affair between Olivia Pope, a black woman who was formerly a lawyer, and the president of the United States during the pilot episode Sweet Baby. Interracial relationships were virtually nonexistent during the 1970s and therefore unseen in any entertainment. Nowadays it is still uncommon but accepted by the majority of the community.

The 50s, 60s and 70s were a tumultuous time in American society. Roles were constantly being redefined. Events like the war created upheaval in the lives of many individuals and everyone was scrambling to find his or her place in society. The same was profoundly true for blacks in America. No societal movement had a more profound effect on the lives of Black Americans than did the Civil Rights Movement. The status of Black Americans would be redefined to a revolutionary degree. Civil rights leaders including Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and Malcolm X would bring the cause to the national stage. Although the movement was plagued with violence and death, it was eventually successful. The South was radically changed from a society of

The 1950s and 1960s was a period of growth and prosperity in America. Features of the common life included innovations such as television, dishwasher, and home air-conditioning. However, not all Americans equally benefited from the economic growth of this period of time. In addition to Jim Crow laws and unequal economic opportunities, America’s society became further segregated as many whites moved to the suburbs while blacks remained in run-down city neighborhoods. These many inequalities sparked the civil rights movement, where African Americans stood up and fought for their rights using nonviolent methods. The movement influenced the emergence of many prominent figures including Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks. The civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s was successful in achieving equal rights for African Americans through nonviolent protests such as the Montgomery bus boycott, sit-ins, and marches.