American sitcoms Essays

American sitcoms Essays American sitcoms Paper American sitcoms Paper It has been argued that living in the suburbs and having a family was patriotic. In the 1950s the United States had just entered an economic boom following World War II. Anything that had to do with bettering the United States was considered patriotic. For example, buying U. S. -made goods such as cars, refrigerators and televisions was considered helping the country by keeping Americans employed in factories, and therefore considered patriotic. Owning a house and having a family were ideals of the time. One of the most important features of the 1950s sitcom family were gender roles. Every family featured a mother, father and various children. The mother stayed in the home, cooking and cleaning, and the father spent his day at work. Boys and girls were taught to value and excel at different things. For example, if a couple had boys, the boys were urged to concentrate on academics and sports, and if a couple had girls, the girls were groomed to take care of a home and family. In the twentieth century, womens opportunities and rights expanded. More women entered the workforce, for example, however, women were still largely responsible for keeping a tidy home. The topic of women in the workforce was not discussed in American sitcoms of the 1950s. The only working women that were shown were single white women as teachers of African-American women as housekeepers. It has been argued that the dominant beliefs and concerns about gender pertained only to the middle-class white woman. African-American women felt that their needs, experiences and perceptions were largely ignored while the world revolved around white society. In the 1950s this was a sad reality. Leave It to Beaver was the only show of its kind to tell its stories from the point of view of a child. (Linehan, 115) Life in the 1950s, through a childs eyes, was sweet and simple. When problems came up, they were always resolved with wise advice and a gently-learned lesson. Ward and June were completely supportive, no one ever really fought, and at the end of the day, everyone was smiling. In the Cleaver household, it seemed that June was low on the list of priorities. She was a housewife and mother who always looked her best and always had a kind word to say. She seemed genuinely happy to play the role in the home that she did. She also had some input on Wally and Beaver were disciplined. Ward and June talked over what Wally and Beavers punishments should be, but ultimately, it was Wards decision, and June nodded and smiled, accepting whatever her husband said. She also never concerned herself with financial matters, and left that area of the household to Ward. Sitcoms were an exit for society. They presented humorous situations that always found a happy ending. These comedic situations often mirrored the real worries of the time. Any person watching sitcoms could enjoy the humor while relieving the stress of their everyday lives. The Cleavers were the quintessential American family who lived the traditional American dream. Gender roles and the family dynamic were clearly defined; the woman was a housewife and mother while the man was a working husband and father, and together they had happy children and lead quiet, happy lives. This is what every American wants – happiness. Television is supposed to be an escape from reality; people could leave their possibly bleak lives for a moment and enter a world where everything works out to a happy ending. This is what Leave It to Beaver provided for its audience – simple happiness. Pop Culture Explodes in a Decade of Conformity in Pendergast, Sara and Tom, Bowling, Beatniks, and Bell-Bottoms: Pop Culture of 20th-Century America. Detroit, U*X*L, 2002. Finkelstein, Norman H. The Way Things Never Were: The Truth About the â€Å"Good Old Days†. New York, Atheneum Books, 1999. Gourley, Catherine. Gidgets and Women Warriors: Perceptions of Women in the 1950s and 1960s. Minneapolis, MN, Twenty-First Century Books, 2008. Hausman, Bernice L. Gender and Gender Roles in Kutler, Stanley I. , Dictionary of American History. New York, Charles Scribners Sons, 2003. Horsley, Edith. The 1950s. London, Bison Books Limited, 1978. Linehan, Joyce. Leave It to Beaver in Pendergast, Sara and Tom, St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. Detroit, St. James Press, 2000. Passing Parade: A History of Popular Culture in the Twentieth Century. Edited by Richard Maltby. London, Oxford University Press, 1989. Suburbia in Tompkins, Vincent, American Decades. Detroit, Gale, 2001. The 1950s Arts and Entertainment: Overview in Pendergast, Sara and Tom, U*X*L American Decades. Detroit, U*X*L, 2003.