Suburban Sitcoms In The 60's

If people believed what is shown on television re-runs of classic shows from the 1950s, that would mean the conventional American family has two children, a stay at home mother, who cleans while wearing pearls, and a father who works hard and yet constantly has time for his kids. The big issue with the idea offered in those old television shows is that the classic family portrayed is actually nothing more than a miss myth. Stephanie Coontz claims that

In the 1960s, they begin to blend a family together and the viewer begins to see a small change. The children start to argue and disagree with many things, the father is still the only one working and still the man of the house. The family begins to have arguments and situations but learn how to solve it by communication. In the 1970s, the children begin to think more modernly and start to think for themselves. The parents are older and the children are younger. The children begin to wonder; my parents are older and they do not understand me. The values of the children are liberal while the parents are more conservative. In the 1980s, the families begin to show humour, choices, and diversity. The shows begin to have dark coloured skinned characters, and freedom of speech. The children begin to engage in extra curriculum activities and have their separate social lives. The parents are strict but still loving, and the family thinks modern and up to date but the husband is still the man of the house. In the 1990s, the families represented in the TV show, become disoriented, their values are mixed up, eat unhealthy, and do not follow any morals or rules. The parents do not seem to care or worry about their children. The children begin to disrespect their parents and not pay attention to the rules. In the 2000's, the family is more dysfunctional, and less sophisticated. The

During the time of the 80s, there were many television shows that portrayed traditional families. A traditional family, which is two married parents of the opposite gender and their child or children. Even though, Full house doesn’t necessary mirror the traditional family values that all society knows, it’s one of the shows that helped break gender stereotypes. For example, the whole family tradition “norm” was that women would be the caregivers and men would provide for their family. In Bittney Davis article, “Recognizing Gender Roles in Nostalgic TV Series Full House” she mentions, “The expectation of a male’s purpose in the household is to provide for and

The definition of the "typical" American family has changed considerably over time. Ever since the age of television dawned on American culture, situation comedies have tried to portray the typical American family in an attempt to reach as many viewers as possible. In the 1950's, there was "Leave It to Beaver" which represented a generic view of the American family during its time. There was a father whose responsibility was to financially support the family and be a role model for his children. There was a mother whose job was that of a typical housewife, taking care of the home and caring for the children. And there were the children who had no responsibilities, except to respect their parents and listen to their advice when

The ’50s boasted the archetype for the model family. As document H exemplifies, suburban families, coined the nuclear family, resided in ideal neighborhoods for raising the family, were

For instance, nuclear families with the father having a well paid job and the mother and children relax in the house. These sitcoms were factors in turning the dream into a reality. Families living in a rent house were now able to afford to move to the suburbs. New York’s Levittown which consisted of identical houses exemplified the new home of a middle class family. At this time, Levittown and other similar areas were still segregated.

Sitcoms reflect the changes going on in the world to show what society is like. Sometimes it’s a show about nothing and oftentimes sitcoms actually affect the world. Sitcoms created gender role stereotypes for society and they did not always show an accurate representation of life. Early on, sitcoms were family focused and they eventually begin to shed light on different problems in society. Throughout the sitcoms The Trouble With Father, Sex and the City, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and Bewitched women transitioned from being in the traditional role to being an effective part of the workplace. Women were portrayed differently throughout these sitcoms; they portray women to be leaders, submissive, or the fool.

As early as 1950, television families have depicted not only the way we live today, but also the way we ought to live (Tueth, 2003). Hence, television has continued to present comedies about family life that ranges from the didactic model of domestic conventionalist and gradually to non-conventionalist ways of life. By conventionalist, I mean the depiction of the “nuclear” family that consists of clear roles, responsibilities, and gentle lines of authority that flow from the wise dad and understanding mom to the obedient children (Kutalas, 2005). Examples of these types of shows between 1947 to 1990 that constructed more than 60% of family sitcoms included: The Cleavers, The Cosby Show, Father Knows Best, Family Ties, and Growing Pains

I Love Lucy was one of the most popular sitcoms of the 1950s. The show starred Lucille Ball as Lucy Ricardo and her real life husband Desi Arnaz as club singer Ricky Ricardo. The couple lived in a New York City apartment building across the hall from their friends Fred and Ethel Mertz. Lucy’s character is a portrayed as a trouble making newlywed who is always causing problems for her husband and herself. Although I Love Lucy was a groundbreaking for its time, it still kept true to many of the sex and gender roles thought to be important during the 1950s.

They also repeat re-runs of these shows even today just like Pleasantville 'the TV show' is in the film. These sitcoms usually featured wholesome American families consisting of a father, mother and two children, a boy and a girl. Their lives were basically the same. The two children would grow up, get married and have children whilst the husband would go to work and the wife would stay at home.

We have decided to conduct this study with the focus on three sitcoms from the 1980s which are Fresh Prince, The Bill Cosby Show, and Full house. In addition, focusing on three sitcoms for comparison in todays time, 2000s which are Full House, George Lopez and Family Matters. Each of these research samples display a variety of roles played, race, gender and change in family perception. There will be significant differences in the family structures as a function of time and race/culture of sitcoms aired in the 1980’s versus in the 2000’s. More specifically, it is expected that there will be a significant differences in the portrayals of family size, social class, locations, origin, and gender roles.

Today society displays greater diversity within households. Most American households are now non-traditional or unconventional. Non-traditional or unconventional families include; single parenthood, singlehood and LGBT relationships. Modern family is a comedy exploring the different “modern” families. This show explores a huge unconventional family through a gay couple, made up of Mitchell and Cameron, and their adopted daughter Lily; a straight couple comprised of Phil and Clare, and their three children, Luke, Alex and Hayley; and a multicultural family which is comprised of Jay and his much younger wife Gloria and their son Manny. Modern family explores how the present day family is defined and , modern America means for family members. Despite Modern family’s groundbreaking success in representing non traditional families, the show continues to reinforce heteronormative values through stereotypes of queer identity in regards, gender roles within the relationship, gay adoptive parents and gay marriage.

Traditional gender roles in the present digital and technological sensitive world still hold even today as depicted on the screen; women are shown as the homemakers and men as the providers. In reference to the sitcom Still Standing, it depicted that the greatest addition to the major gender roles expectation is that the men view wives as their partners in the walk of life and marriage, as well as the women, view their husbands as partners unlike the traditional view of roles. According to a pilot study analyzing of selected US sitcoms from 1952 to 2004, results of the study show, regardless of the progressive nature of some programming, the most-watched sitcoms reaffirm mainstream stereotypes of women( Rich, 2013 pg. 1-2). Clearly, it shows that the inequality of gender exists in the majority television shows. Still Standing, as one of the popular sitcom, inequality of men and women are depicted concerning certain topics: household chores, priorities, jobs, and jokes.

For many years now when we picture the quixotic American family our thoughts often go to the suburbs. We visualize a family with a father, a mother and the average 2.5 children. Perhaps, this stereotypical family has roots in the 1950 's. After World War II, there was a substantial move from urban and rural areas to the freshly sprouted suburbs. The GI bill, signed into law in 1944, provided significant funding for this movement with low-interest mortgage loans. (Moon, n.d.) Into the twenty-first century, the suburbs and metropolitan areas continued their growth. (Frey, 2012) During the period the suburbs were in their genesis, a relatively new medium, the television, was placing its roots as a staple in the suburban living room. This device replaced the radio as a family 's focal point for news and entertainment. In the mid-fifties, a new form of entertainment emerged, the family situation comedy (sitcom). The show, “Father Knows Best” was credited as the first successful form of the new style of comedy in 1954, and would have an extended run in broadcast and syndication for the next thirteen years plus spawn many imitators such as “Leave it to Beaver”. (Taflinger, 1996) Because of their high viewership and capacity to produce income for networks, producers, and broadcast stations, the domestic sitcom continues to saturate the small screen today. (Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation, 2013)

Over the past two decades, the impact of gender role stereotyping on our society has been examined in numerous studies. The purpose of these studies was to determine whether the sex bias portrayed in books, TV shows and social media is still as prevalent as in the past. Modern Family is one of the TV shows that clearly prove that, the roles played by males and females have changed in by the time. Modern Family show is about a family that tackles normal, everyday problems. The show features three combined families Jay and Gloria, Phil and Claire, Mitchell and Cameron and how different genders in each family act. Because of gender stereotype issues like gay marriage, house wives and large difference in age between married couples, this show focused on challenging these stereotypes and solving such conflict in our society.