The Influence of Essentialst Attitudes Portrayed in the Modern Day Sitcom on the Views and Beliefs of Modern Society.

For this paper, I have chosen to analyze the sitcom That 70s Show. This show follows the lives of a group of teenage friends: Jackie, Donna, Hyde, Kelso, Eric, and Fez. The show addresses many social issues of the 1970s, including: Sexism, sexual attitudes, drug use, and the recession. It also highlights many of the inventions and developments of the entertainment industry, such as the remote control and Star Wars.

During the 1950’s the culture, trends, and demographics had a huge impact on television production.Leave it to Beaver, a popular sitcom during the 1950’s portrayed family life as it was during that time period. A period of elegance,family significance,and refinement. While watching an episode of Leave it to Beaver I quickly observed the difference

The famous episode from Seinfeld, “The Soup Nazi”, is loved and viewed by many. In this episode, both George Costanza (Jay Scott Greenspan) and Jerry Seinfeld (Jerry Seinfeld) go to a restaurant that supposedly has the “best soup in the city”, according to the locals. However, everyone calls the owner of the soup restaurant “The Soup Nazi” because of his hard, cold personality and his ability to refuse service to anyone who annoys him. The episode comically portrays the fear which “The Soup Nazi” induces on his customers and the willingness of his customers to come back just because his soup is so delicious (http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/07/04/the-top-10-seinfeld-episodes?page=2). This episode represents only a small sample of the countless comical and satirical works written by Larry David, the writer of the television series, Seinfeld. Larry David is a comedian as well as a satirist. He is in many Saturday Night Live (SNL) skits as Bernie Sanders, and was the co-creator of the television series, Curb Your Enthusiasm. A common theme throughout his works is his ability to take everyday problems and blow them out of proportion. Larry David practices many techniques in his satirical pieces that explore ideas of race and gender in order to bring across a message to society and entertainment to viewers.

Living by the restrictions that society places upon us, humanity is constrained to follow rules. Television writers were forced to write a certain way and were forced to leave out information that society would deem as improper, rude, and even racist. However, in 1971, a groundbreaking American television sitcom broke through societal boundaries and transformed the way that the American audience viewed television. Engulfed by the Vietnam War, Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, fight for women's right, and the Watergate scandal, Norman Lear persevered through stereotypes and entertainment norms with his show All in the Family. This show approached its audience in a very blunt and crude manner; it made conflict the center of its comedy. It dealt with contemporary cultural issues in a relatable way, which blue allowed blue-collar workers to learn about their current everyday issues and concerns. Through his show All in the Family, Norman Lear highlighted sensitive topics such as racism, bigotry, and sexual relations to prove that they are still alive in our country; thus, Norman Lear is an agent of change by bringing awareness to social issues.

The essay "Class and Virtue" by Michael Parenti offers an analysis of several TV shows which are based on stratification issues. The essay highlights that the entertainment media shows that the lower class is not adequate in contrast to the upper one. With the help of such shows as Treasure Island and The Three Faces of Eve, the author gives examples which support his statement. What is more, he also applies his statement concerning social groups and virtue to gender and race by such TV shows as The A-Team and Pretty Woman. Besides, he assumes that virtue is more likely to be attributed to those

On September 20, 1984 a show aired that changed the way we view gender roles on television. Television still perpetuates traditional gender stereotypes and in reflecting them TV reinforces them by presenting them as the norm (Chandler, 1). The Cosby Show, challenged the typical gender stereotyping of television, daring to go against the dominant social values of its time period. In its challenge of the dominant social view, the show redefined the portrayal of male and female roles in television. It redefined the gender role in the work place, in social expectations, and in household responsibilities. The Cosby Show supported Freidan in her view of “castigating the phony happy housewife heroine of the

Television has seen a very big change in the content of its shows, specifically situational comedies, or most commonly known as sitcoms. For my assignment I decided to watch, “Leave it to Beaver” and compare the 1950’s show to sitcoms today. There are a vast amount of differences between, “Leave it to Beaver” and current sitcoms. One major difference I noticed between the two was the cultural aspect of each show. In “Leave it to Beaver” and other sitcoms of the 1950’s there are cultural values and stereotypes that include women working at home taking care of the children while the men go off to work.

Although ‘Men Behaving Badly’ is not that much older than ‘Friends’ the more recent episodes of Friends are quite different to the final episodes of M.B.B.

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

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.

It is not unseasonable to believe that because stereotypes are appearing so commonly in comedy, they will reinforce those stereotypes rather than help society rid itself from them. Extinguishing stereotypes is impossible. Researchers have determined that the creation of stereotypes is a natural function of the brain (Paul, par. 2). In attempt to make light of a problematic issues, comedians use stereotypes to denounce stereotypes. The first thing that we should understand is that comedy is comedy. This does not mean that it should not be taken seriously as frequently advised. Comedy should be embraced and takes seriously but not in the

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.

T.V. shows are fun to watch. However, have you noticed that many T.V. shows have the same actors, in the same stereotypes, just because of how they look. But, have you noticed that many of these stereotypes have been taken to extremes? I believe that stereotypes in T.V. are unrealistic, and exaggerated. Stereotypes such as blondes being stupid, Nerds being weak, and awkward, and popular people being rude, all have been exaggerated by Hollywood to the point where it's unrealistic!

Television is regarded as a significant source of information that plays an influential role in formulating an individuals social reality. As a tool that conveys the simulations of every day life it “may become a part of our social experience and serve as a basis for social judgements such as racial attitudes and ethnic stereotypes” (Fujoka, 52). Stereotypes are explained as widely held beliefs about a particular person or group. Research shows that “television images of minority groups might affect minority members’ self-concept and racial awareness” (Fujoka, 54). The portrayal of minorities on television were deemed by minority groups as a conception of socially existing beliefs toward their racial group. As such, television may have perhaps

American culture has a bi-directional relationship with the visual media, in which expressions in television and film manifest in society but social norms also manifest on the screen. Therefore, visual media in the United States actually has the potential to alter social norms and interactions. The television shows that were popular in the 1950s and early 1960s reflect the conservative family values that were popular at that time in American history. The Brady Bunch, for example, shows a happy-go-lucky white family, and highlights the suburban American dream. More contemporary shows show how American social values and norms have evolved since the 1950s. In Will and Grace, gay characters feature prominently to reflect the fact that Americans are coming out of the closet and staying out. There are ample examples of how television reflects social norms, while actively working to shape those norms as well.