Family Structure in Television
Thursday, July 29, 2010
2000's
1990's
About the 1990's:
The decade of the 1990's is most notably marked by its technological advances; the emergence of the World Wide Web occurred in 1992. This advent changed many aspects of life, largely the way in which individuals communicated. By 1998 100 million people were online which is very indicative of the rapid growth of this new world. Not only did this change the way individuals communicated but it also changed the ways in which money was spent. With internet connections powering monetary spending consumerism became more apparent. The 1990’s also marked the emergence of a new generation; this was a generation that set its own path and challenged the typical family structure as well as gender roles. This new type of family is most notable in the show Friends and the new role of gender and how it should be displayed was very apparent in Roseanne as well as Frasier. Friends redefined the meaning of family whereas Roseanne became a strong voice for working women while Frasier proved you could be a heterosexual male with once considered “feminine” qualities. Although these shows did contest present stereotypes there were also shows that reinforced existing stereotypes in new ways like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The Banks family is very standard for family sitcoms, affluent and functional, with a new twist being that they are African-American. The 1990’s was a pivotal moment for television and produced many shows that shed light on stereotypes present in American culture.
1980's
1970's
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
1960's
There was a significant change in the social and cultural fabric of the United States in the sixties, as minorities and other disenfranchised groups secured more rights through the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Within television, the changing of the times was reflected in new portrayals of the family that didn’t conform to the more traditional nuclear family. Although, traditional gender roles for men and women began to be more widely contested and debated, for the most part they remained remarkably consistent with the conservative portrayals of the fifties.
Popular television shows in the 1960’s included Bewitched, The Addams Family, My Favorite Martian, I Dream of Jeannie, Star Trek, the Outer Limits , The Beverly Hillbillies, The Flinstones and the Andy Griffith Show.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
1950's
In the United States, the 1950’s have often been described as the “Age of Conformity”. There was a strong element of conservatism circulating in society, and this was reflected in many of the television shows airing at the time. Men were expected to work and bring home the money, and women were relegated to caring for the children and the home. Television at the time largely reflected the conservative attitudes, values, and beliefs of the population as a whole.
Millions of young men were able to pursue a college education in the fifties because of the GI Bill, something that for many of them never would have been feasible otherwise. It also enabled many young men to start businesses and buy their first homes. Thus the idea of the American Dream in the 1950’s was pervasive and very real.
At this time planned communities known as suburbs also began to emerge, first in Levittown, New York and then elsewhere across the country. The suburbs would become a popular setting for family oriented television shows that wanted to depict traditional gender roles for men and women within the nuclear family.
Most of the television shows that aired during the fifties reflected the conservative attitudes, values and beliefs of the populations as a whole.
Some popular television shows in the 1950’s included Leave it to Beaver, the Honeymooners, I Love Lassie, Father Knows Best, and the Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.