In an interview in 1974, Producer and show creator Norman Lear said of his television sitcom, All in the Family: “People laugh harder at the things they care the most about.” ("Day at Night: Norman Lear, renowned TV producer ("All in the Family")." ) If that is true then the viewers most certainly must have cared about the topics being addressed on the show because All in the Family topped the Neilsen ratings, ranking number-one, from 1971 to 1976. As with any successful producer, Lear’s and co-producer Bud Yorkin’s primary goal was to get ratings. The fact that All in The Family arguably became one of the most influential television sitcoms ever aired was just a bonus. The show became a soap box for its creators, producers and writers to broadcast their political views as well as provide them with a vehicle to combat what they saw as social injustice. By featuring relevant themes of social significance such as death, divorce, racism, rape, and homosexuality, each week, the program put the spot light on topics previously discussed in hushed tones behind closed doors. While high ratings may have been the first priority, the producers definitely had an additional agenda to try to bring about social change by stimulating dialog and debate within families, neighborhoods, local hangouts, anywhere Americans would congregate.
All in the Family, broadcast live in front of a studio audience from January 1971 through April 1979, revolved around the life of main character Archie Bunker, played by actor Carroll O’Conner. Archie was a white, working class, Irish-American living in Queens, New York. He is a WWII veteran, is politically conservative, very opinionated and extremely outspoken. Bothered by the changes he sees occurring in...
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...ng himself or his family, he seems to know an awful lot about life and how things ought to be. The part of Mike seems to be the most likely of the characters to be the mouth piece for the shows creators, writers and producers. Rarely is Mike made to look silly or ignorant. On occasion Archie will have the upper hand but for the most part when Mike and Archie are debating, Mike through a well articulated view is usually the victor.
Other characters are introduced in one time or recurring roles as the subjects of the issue du jour. The Jeffersons, who start out as neighbors of the Bunkers’. George and Louise Jefferson own a chain of dry cleaners and are doing pretty well financially, eventually they move out of the borough and into the city and they eventually get their own show, The Jeffersons.
Roseanne was a hit sitcom that debuted in the late 80s and continued into the late 90s. It was one of the most watched shows of its time despite the controversy that surrounded it. The series still airs on popular television networks today but, because it functionally paved the way, it is not considered questionable in today’s society. Although the show had its share of controversial issues and what was then thought to be “inappropriate” dialogue, the America population continued to tune-in to Roseanne and empathized with the weekly problems the Conner’s would face. The show depicted life much like people actually experienced it (and still do) and therefore captured the hearts of America, which translated to a better acceptance of the material folks found inappropriate or unacceptable. Over time, as people were more often exposed to the matters that Roseanne felt were pertinent, the disputes became fewer and the issues surrounding them became irrelevant. Dealing with issues such as sex, homosexuality, and a not so functional family, Roseanne proved to be very functional to society as a whole.
Throughout Mike’s life, he had the fortunate experience of having some inspirational mentors. I have identified four of his numerous mentors as the most critical to his development, both educationally and personally.
“According to, “The Jefferson,” it was one of the longest running sitcoms in the history of American television from “1975 through 1985,” The Jefferson show was mainly an African American couple living in New York City. However, the show tackles several controversial topics such as racism, suicide, gun control and adult illiteracy. “The show constantly used words such as “nigger” and “honky”, especially during the earlier seasons.” (Academy Of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation from 1995-2013)
One can argue that they watch Jerry Springer purely for fun, but it is undeniable that the show is affecting society one individual at a time. The argument of whether the show has a positive or negative effect is still undetermined, but its changes are profound. It has created a society that is jaded, however more accepting yet our morals and values have deteriorated. However, without such extreme popular culture examples like this, our society would not evolve, thus it would not become better.
Jeannette kind of found a boy her age that likes her, but he did cause a few issues with her. Like when he felt all up on her and invaded her personal space. Lori, Jeanette and Brian had trouble fitting in because of how they looked so it was really hard to make real friends. Eventually they got used to it but people were cruel to them and they got into a lot of disputes with neighbors and other people. This place made them toughen up and made them realize how they were living needed to change. The whole family came to the conclusion that they need to fight back so people don’t walk all over
...e the beginning of time, Television has been one the most influential pieces of media that the world has ever encountered. Bravo TV’s hit number one reality television show, The Real Housewives of Atlanta, deals with the everyday lives of modern-day “housewives”. When speaking of these women and their family life, the show shows its viewers that family life in modern times is dramatic, full of misrepresentations of how people are perceived, and how fame comes at the cost of family. The show stands strong with the critics and its faithful viewers around the world. Clearly, the show is not going astray anytime soon. Families who watch the show will eat up the drama and prays that their families never deal with those petty types of problems. The world will keep spinning in the television cycle, and drama will continue to invade the homes of millions of Americans.
“Leave it to Beaver” was a popular sitcom about a traditional nuclear family played out through the perspective of an adolescent boy whose curiosity and antics often got him into trouble (TV.com). Despite the show promoting positive family values, it also inadvertently shed light on a historically dark period of time in American history. One such instance was the lack of diversity on the show. Nearly 100% of the show’s characters were white throughout the six-season, 234 episode series. In the single episode that depicted an African-American, the character was a servant, further a reflection of the times when African-Americans where predominantly seen and treated as second-class citizens (Leaveittobeaver.org). However, this 1950’s ideal serves as a reference point to what typical families looked like and how vastly different they look now.
Minor Characters: Miss Emma is Jefferson’s grandmother. She is the one who had the whole idea of Grant going up to the jail and talking to Jefferson, showing him that he is a man. Tante Lou is Grant’s aunt. She is the person who raised Grant to be the good, kind person that he is. She is also the one who talked Grant into talking to Jefferson. Vivian is Grant’s girlfriend; she is Grant’s encouragement. Whatever problems he has, he always talks to her about them and she makes him feel better, and helps him through them.
The show displayed the African-American family in a way that was never before seen or grasped by the American public. In fact, during that era most of the mass media programs depicted African-American television families as hard working lower class poor citizens, many of which constantly used slang or terrible grammar. Likewise, the broadcasting community endorsed the idea that African-American people were connected to crimes.
The early days of television held great optimism and hope for this new form of media as an avenue for African Americans to assimilate into white American culture. However, a pattern became evident, a pattern of type casting African Americans in roles which did not accurately and wholly portray the individual. A misrepresentation of African Americans became the common image on television. Variety shows initially promoted the new media as an opportunity for equal representation and communication between the races. However, a trend developed with African Americans often being “portrayed as custodians, maids, servants, clowns, or buffoons” (Crenshaw). The negative image, which was developed by these stereotypes, was perpetuated in the Amos and Andy Show. This television show began as a radio show featuring two white men
During the 1950‘s suburbs such as Levitown were springing up all across the country, and the so-called American dream was easier to achieve for everyday Americans than ever before. They had just come out of two decades dominated by The Great Depression and World War Two, and finally prosperity was in sight. The need for women to work out of the home that was present during the war was no more, and women were overwhelmingly relegated to female-dominated professions like nursing, secretaries, and teachers, if they worked at all. Televisions became very popular, and quickly became part of the American cultural canon of entertainment. Leave It To Beaver is a classic American television show, encompassing values such as respect, responsibility and learning from your mistakes. But, at least in the episode used for this essay, it is also shockingly sexist to a modern viewer. This begs the question, what does the episode The Blind Date Committee1 say about the gender expectations of the 1950’s?
THOSE OF US WHO grew up in the 1950s got an image of the American family that was not, shall we say, accurate. We were told, Father Knows Best, Leave It to Beaver, and Ozzie and Harriet were not just the way things were supposed to be—but the way things were
When daytime talk show programs first appeared on television in the 1950s, they mostly consisted of celebrities gathered around a coffee table discussing secrets about trivial things, such as how to make the best sponge cake. It is unlikely that these shows promoted positive changes in the lives of their viewers in any substantial way. In the early 1970s, Phil Donahue introduced a new variety of talk show. His show was characterized as "an exercise in sociopolitical discourse," but was, in actuality, more successful for its coverage of titillating issues than important ones (Moorti sc 2-3).
In conclusion, Good Times brought contentious issues to the homes of Americans in the 70s. Good Times was not afraid to shine light on the controversial problems in the nation. The show helped to bring real concerns of the time to context. The show was relatable not only to blacks but to anyone that watched. By doing so, Good Times may have contributed to the awareness of STDs, gun violence and other topics on the
The family unit has always been a treasured and revered dynamic on television and in movies. Dating all the way back to I Love Lucy, storylines focused on the relationship between man and woman. Ozzie and Harriet introduced us to the quintessential American family—father in a suit, mother in pearls, and two exceptional children. It wasn’t until the 1970s that gay characters and lifestyles began to emerge. In 1973, An American Family, a PBS series featured one of the family’s sons revealing his homosexuality. In 1977, the television show Soap costarred Billy Crystal as an openly gay man. In the 1980s, it became trendy to feature gay and lesbian characters in ensemble casts. If you watch reruns, you can always find the token gay, that is, the really flaming homo or the butch lesbian gym teacher. The motion picture Mannequin, starring Andrew McCarthy and Kim Catrall, featured Meshach Taylor as Hollywood, an eccentric, finger-snapping homosexual. Many stereotypes such as these continued until the early nineties.