Television and Media - Categorization of TV Sitcom Fathers Essay

Throughout the evolution of television, there have always been TV shows of childless television couples, such as The Honeymooners or King of Queens. As television has changed throughout the decades, so have television’s childless couples.

Since its 2005 debut, Seth McFarlane’s American Dad! has been among Fox Television’s popular sitcoms. This animated feature chronicles the day-to-day lives of the Smith family of fictionalized Langley Falls, Virginia. The Smith household is comprised of husband and father Stan, wife and mother Francine, college-age daughter Haley, teenage son Steve, and two non-human entities; a goldfish implanted with the consciousness of an East German named Klaus Heissler and an alien escaped from Area 51 in Nevada named Roger. While politically satirical and sometimes dark, American Dad! still manages to highlight the Smith’s commitment to family values and a Christian Worldview.

The television shows from 1950 to the present are connected in many ways. The characters showed in the 1950s television show called Leave It To Beaver all have white coloured skin and portrayed as a happy, perfect family. As the decades increased, the nuclear families turned into blended families, and the television shows started to have coloured characters. The families started to have problems and social situations. The viewer sees the conflicts inside the family begin as the years progress. For example, in the 2000's we examined a television show called Arrested Development. The show portrays the characters as if they are troubled and have problems. The children do not listen to their parents but instead have

It is often said that the media and the arts are an accurate reflection of any given community. This is especially true in American pop-culture, where television shows depict the various stereotypes attributed to men and women and the roles they play in society. House, a highly popular medical drama that revolves around Dr. Gregory House and his diagnostic team, is a particularly good example as it represents the true state of the traditional gender roles in American culture today by, both, redefining and reinforcing them over the course of the show.

Although single parenthood is on the rise in homes today, children still often have a father role in their life. It does not matter who the part is filled by: a father, uncle, older brother, grandfather, etc...; in almost all cases, those relationships between the father (figure) and child have lasting impacts on the youth the rest of their lives. In “I Wanted to Share My Father’s World,” Jimmy Carter tells the audience no matter the situation with a father, hold onto every moment.

Years ago, the father worked and provided whereas the mother usually with the service of a housekeeper cooked, maintained and cared for the children. Consequently, the norms of the era made roles clearly identifiable amongst men and women. Because of these arrangements, men and women knew what character roles to depict. I can relate to this; my father was the head of the home, he was the financial provider, in contrast, my mother cared for myself a younger and older brother with the assistance of a housekeeper. My mom would cook when not otherwise occupied with other responsibilities, and the housekeeper would cook and clean. I often felt I was living an installment of The Brady Bunch. Fast forward to the 1990’s, times are different.

A father’s true objective lies in his mind and commitment to his family. Debauchery becomes irrelevant and a sense of achievement overcomes. Such standards set for an ideal father are mere facades of what was deemed “normal” in a typical white household. However that is not the case for Jeannette Walls. Unlike many, Walls has experienced a permissive childhood of exploration and adventure that brought about several realizations in her youth. One of these realizations was the concern of identifying the good will of an individual or the malicious intent they may bear. Though at the time, this was the least of her worries. What was undoubtedly coherent to Walls --- was the detriments of a father. The influence of a father that does not display unity, supply sufficient necessities, and presents ease diminishes his family’s happiness.

Family sitcoms are arguably one of the most popular type of series on TV. Starting in the mid- 1900’s, family sitcoms became popular due to the fact that families were able to relate to the families they saw on TV. Although, if they weren’t able to relate, viewers enjoyed the shows simply due to the fact that the show gave them the ability to be part of such a “perfect” family for its duration. Family sitcoms such as “Leave it to Beaver”, gave birth to the family sitcom genre by creating a public vision of a perfect, nuclear family. Such a family was generally portrayed by having a devoted, hardworking dad, a loving, stay at home mother, and two or three well behaved children. There was very little drama in the life of a family sitcom family, unless you take into consideration little Timmy stealing bubble gum. Generally, sitcom families were always white, always heterosexual, and always suburban. It wasn’t until later in 1960’s when the family sitcom dynamic was challenged. For example, “The Brady Bunch” was the first sitcom to showcase a blended family. Likewise,

When one thinks of the myth of the model family, the shows of the past come vividly into our minds. During the 1950’s alone, television was inundated with images of the “perfect” family. Shows like “Father Knows Best”, “Leave it to Beaver”, and The Ozzie and Harriet Show” showed how wonderful it was to be an ideal family. The myth itself is the ideal that a model family consists of a married couple; man and woman, with two children. This family lives a wonderful suburban home and for the most part there is no major conflict in their lives. In the myth, dad is the money maker and mom stays at home tending to the household. Even though the example of the model family that the 50’s made so popular, it does not exist. Even though the truth is out, the myth stills is in existence today even with all the new definitions of family that are evident today. Of course it still holds on; it is still apart of the American Dream. The dream that having the

Noel Murray, a writer in TheWeek.com, published a nonfiction article on February 15, 2017 called, “TV’s Callous Neglect of Working - Class America”. Murray wrote this article to convey the fact that television series now don’t exemplify the realness of how most people live. To exhibit his views he uses a powerful structure, metaphors and oxymorons. Murray’s reveal that television does no unite us as one since the shows don’t even display the real daily life one may live. Murray establishes a informal tone for young adults watching television.

Since its start, the television industry has been criticized for perpetuating myths and stereotypes about African-Americans through characterizations, story lines, and plots. The situation comedy has been the area that has seemed to draw the most criticism, analysis, and disapproval for stereotyping. From Sanford and Son and The Jefferson’s in the 1970s to The Cosby Show (1984) and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in the 1990s, sitcoms featuring black casts and characters have always been controversial. However, their significance upon our American culture cannot be disregarded. During the 1950s and 1960s, 97% of the families were Caucasian. In the first five years of the

The role of a father could be a difficult task when raising a son. The ideal relationship between father and son perhaps may be; the father sets the rules and the son obeys them respectfully. However it is quite difficult to balance a healthy relationship between father and son, because of what a father expects from his son. For instance in the narratives, “Death of a Salesman,” and “Fences” both Willy and Troy are fathers who have a difficult time in earning respect from their sons, and being a role model for them. Between, “Death of a Salesman,” and “Fences,” both protagonists, Willy and Troy both depict the role of a father in distinctive ways; however, in their struggle, Willy is the more sympathetic of the two.

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

In the 90’s television series, Roseanne, the daily life of the Conner family is follow with a comedic touch. In it, the ways members the family engage with each other is modeled after a stereotypical view of the American middle class household. As a result, the show focuses mostly on the actions and roles the father and mother take as a part of a family. Using scenes in the first two episodes, it is possible to analyze what being a mother and father means in America in the modern era.

feminine. These shows regularly were melodramas that went on for an indefinite time, but that never moved on. One could pick the show in mid-season and still be able to understand the plot and identify the characters. Newman and Levine stated, “Television has been classified as feminine, and thereby as a less worthy, significant, and serious medium, has been a fact of its history (11)”. This theory can also be applied to Homeland because the story and its characters make the show to be very easy to follow and digest. One neither has to be fully paying attention to the television set nor has to start watching the show from the very beginning. The show’s thematic is something that almost every American can relate to and is aware of. The characters as well are extremely easy to identify because they are regular people with problems, emotions, and addictions. Contrary to extremely sophisticated productions like Game of Thrones, House of Cards and Downton Abbey, where the audience needs to stop performing any other activity and deeply submerge in the show; this Homeland aims to engage a larger audience that in many cases is not necessarily educated. Homeland’s patriotic theme allows audiences to generate an opinion based on prejudice, hate and ignorance. The vast majority of the audience neither has ever been in contact with an Arab nor is aware of the current situation in the Middle East.