Choose a television show from the 1950s. Watch an episode and analyze its content and characters in relation to the expectations of the lives of Americans in the 1950s
After watching an Episode of "I love Lucy", the roles were apparent for each character. The Mother was the "home-monger", the one who held the fort down while the the husband and son were gone. Through the show, you can see the kind of trouble she gets into on her own alone, I'm sure, from boredom. The son played his part as the "Idealic kid"; doing exactly what he was supposed to do, nothing was wrong with him. Behaving and doing homework while not getting into any trouble was his job. The father/husband's role was the " Honey-I'm-Guy-whoooof". Whoooof representing the stress relieved when brought back balance and stability he brought back to the house once he returned. Because of him, everyone could find themselves into a perfect fit within the home. THrough this show,I've learned that in the 50's Life was routine and focused on the "American Dream Lifestyle" which would equal a sense of perfectness.
During the 1950s, the rate at which televisions were created and brought into households reached a higher rate than ever before. It was from this decade that TV’s became the main source of entertainment, news, advertisement. Etc. With the increase of television production and consumption came the increase of people, mainly of younger ages, watching those televisions. The number of young people watching TV’s during this decade increased to an all time high. The amount of time spent watching TV also reached an all time high in this decade. It soon resulted that the clichéd “ideal” life portrayed on TV became the goal for Americans to attain.
A popular sitcom shown during this decade, “Father Knows Best” portrays the clichéd “ideal” life perfectly. The show centers around a suburban white family that fulfills all the characteristics of the “ideal” American life .The father, James Anderson Sr. – a successful and happily married Caucasian male. Margaret Anderson – a happily married housewife who is constantly bored from not having duties other than house and family. There are the children James Anderson Jr., Betty Anderson, Kathy Anderson with standard nicknames Bud, Princess and Kitten, respectively. These are the “ideal” children born in and “ideal” marriage. The daughters: adorable, obedient and innocent. The son: equally adorable, obedient, and innocent but with a slight hint of stupidity. There dwelling – suburban house not too big, not too small: nice neighborhood with friendly neighbors. This is the life strived for by many Americans because of the constant emphasis placed on it in American television.
Although I could not find an episode of "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet", I found the intro to it and an over view of the series. Unlike other shows in the '50s, this was a show of an actual family. The Nelson family was filmed in their everyday lives and you could really tell that they followed the roles of the everyday American family. They had the white picket fence and a house that contained a clean cut family of a wife, husband, and two teenage boys. The show presents to America the everyday "struggles" of the average middle-class family. The wife was seen as the housekeeper that cooked, cleaned, and loved her family. Although the show never released how they made income, they presented the father as the problem solver but not all by himself. He often gets family advice from a male, family-man, and neighbor. Between the Nelson family and the neighbors, it is easy to see that the men are the problem solvers, bread bringers, and the overall controllers of the family. The wives take up more of a slave role while they cook, clean, take care of the children, and do anything to make their husbands life easier. Their lives can most definitely relate to the image of the American family in the '50s.
In the 1950's, television shows only portrayed a stereotypical nuclear family as a husband & wife and their children and occassionaly a pet. In I love Lucy, it is shown that Lucy is a stereotypical 1950's woman. A woman that has to be kept in the house and occassionaly leaves to run errands. The husband is the man of the house and has to provide an income and is gone for most of the day. The son is left and is himself a respectful little boy. Of course, the show is not all good times. Lucy tends to get herself in trouble with people in town and trying to make herself a rising star. The husband would have none of it, since he believes that a woman's place is in the house. The 1950's is normally like this when it comes to television. In American households, everyone was expected to follow these examples to live a comfortable life.
The 1950's sitcom showed the lifestyle after the war. The economic boost birth the "middle class." In both "Leave it to Beaver" and "I Love Lucy" it portrayed the lives of a normal middle class white family. There was a father who worked and had the role as "the pants in the house" or "the man of the household." Also demonstrated was a woman who was the picture of a "stay at home mom" she took care of the kids and made sure dinner was done for the family by the time the father was home. Some shows had both a son and daughter and some had a dog. This was a representation of a normal household in the 1950's.
The show "Leave it to Beaver" displays the life style and mentality of people from that era. The family has two children, white picket fence home, with about 2-3 bed rooms. The home seems to be one of many generic layout homes in the community. The mother stays home cooking and cleaning while the husband works a 9-5 blue collar job. This life style seems to portray a perfect happy home which was almost a front for what the economy and rest of the world was experiencing.
“Let’s face it Rick, when it comes to money, there are two kinds of people. The earners and the spenders, or as they are more popularly known... husbands and wives.” In the 1950s, television programs were designed to be relatable to as large of an audience as possible. Men, women, husbands, wives, and children all loved 1950s sitcoms, for these shows delved into the lives of actual Americans and were a clear form of entertainment for many. TV shows displayed men working and earning a living, while women stayed at home, cooking and cleaning. As cliche as it may appear to many today, that was truly life for Americans in the 1950s.
“I Love Lucy” was a primary representation of how America operated and how it was perceived in the 1950s. The “Job Switching” episode of “I Love Lucy” centered around how Rick and Lucy, along with a married couple who lived next door, decided to which “switch jobs”. The ladies went out to find jobs, and the men stayed at home doing the chores. In the end, with a comedic twist, the sexes failed miserably at doing the ordinary tasks of that of the other gender. Moreover, this episode supported the fact that men belonged out in the work force and women belonged in the house vacuuming and cooking “arroz con pollo”. Today’s Americans do not agree with this view, however, let’s face it, the morale of the American family was just as good in the 1950s, as it is now!
After watching an Episode of "I love Lucy", the roles were apparent for each character. The Mother was the "home-monger", the one who held the fort down while the the husband and son were gone. Through the show, you can see the kind of trouble she gets into on her own alone, I'm sure, from boredom. The son played his part as the "Idealic kid"; doing exactly what he was supposed to do, nothing was wrong with him. Behaving and doing homework while not getting into any trouble was his job. The father/husband's role was the " Honey-I'm-Guy-whoooof". Whoooof representing the stress relieved when brought back balance and stability he brought back to the house once he returned. Because of him, everyone could find themselves into a perfect fit within the home. THrough this show,I've learned that in the 50's Life was routine and focused on the "American Dream Lifestyle" which would equal a sense of perfectness.
ReplyDeleteDuring the 1950s, the rate at which televisions were created and brought into households reached a higher rate than ever before. It was from this decade that TV’s became the main source of entertainment, news, advertisement. Etc. With the increase of television production and consumption came the increase of people, mainly of younger ages, watching those televisions. The number of young people watching TV’s during this decade increased to an all time high. The amount of time spent watching TV also reached an all time high in this decade. It soon resulted that the clichéd “ideal” life portrayed on TV became the goal for Americans to attain.
ReplyDeleteA popular sitcom shown during this decade, “Father Knows Best” portrays the clichéd “ideal” life perfectly. The show centers around a suburban white family that fulfills all the characteristics of the “ideal” American life .The father, James Anderson Sr. – a successful and happily married Caucasian male. Margaret Anderson – a happily married housewife who is constantly bored from not having duties other than house and family. There are the children James Anderson Jr., Betty Anderson, Kathy Anderson with standard nicknames Bud, Princess and Kitten, respectively. These are the “ideal” children born in and “ideal” marriage. The daughters: adorable, obedient and innocent. The son: equally adorable, obedient, and innocent but with a slight hint of stupidity. There dwelling – suburban house not too big, not too small: nice neighborhood with friendly neighbors. This is the life strived for by many Americans because of the constant emphasis placed on it in American television.
Although I could not find an episode of "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet", I found the intro to it and an over view of the series. Unlike other shows in the '50s, this was a show of an actual family. The Nelson family was filmed in their everyday lives and you could really tell that they followed the roles of the everyday American family. They had the white picket fence and a house that contained a clean cut family of a wife, husband, and two teenage boys. The show presents to America the everyday "struggles" of the average middle-class family. The wife was seen as the housekeeper that cooked, cleaned, and loved her family. Although the show never released how they made income, they presented the father as the problem solver but not all by himself. He often gets family advice from a male, family-man, and neighbor. Between the Nelson family and the neighbors, it is easy to see that the men are the problem solvers, bread bringers, and the overall controllers of the family. The wives take up more of a slave role while they cook, clean, take care of the children, and do anything to make their husbands life easier. Their lives can most definitely relate to the image of the American family in the '50s.
ReplyDeleteIn the 1950's, television shows only portrayed a stereotypical nuclear family as a husband & wife and their children and occassionaly a pet. In I love Lucy, it is shown that Lucy is a stereotypical 1950's woman. A woman that has to be kept in the house and occassionaly leaves to run errands. The husband is the man of the house and has to provide an income and is gone for most of the day. The son is left and is himself a respectful little boy. Of course, the show is not all good times. Lucy tends to get herself in trouble with people in town and trying to make herself a rising star. The husband would have none of it, since he believes that a woman's place is in the house.
ReplyDeleteThe 1950's is normally like this when it comes to television. In American households, everyone was expected to follow these examples to live a comfortable life.
The 1950's sitcom showed the lifestyle after the war. The economic boost birth the "middle class." In both "Leave it to Beaver" and "I Love Lucy" it portrayed the lives of a normal middle class white family. There was a father who worked and had the role as "the pants in the house" or "the man of the household." Also demonstrated was a woman who was the picture of a "stay at home mom" she took care of the kids and made sure dinner was done for the family by the time the father was home. Some shows had both a son and daughter and some had a dog. This was a representation of a normal household in the 1950's.
ReplyDeleteThe show "Leave it to Beaver" displays the life style and mentality of people from that era. The family has two children, white picket fence home, with about 2-3 bed rooms. The home seems to be one of many generic layout homes in the community. The mother stays home cooking and cleaning while the husband works a 9-5 blue collar job. This life style seems to portray a perfect happy home which was almost a front for what the economy and rest of the world was experiencing.
ReplyDelete“Let’s face it Rick, when it comes to money, there are two kinds of people. The earners and the spenders, or as they are more popularly known... husbands and wives.” In the 1950s, television programs were designed to be relatable to as large of an audience as possible. Men, women, husbands, wives, and children all loved 1950s sitcoms, for these shows delved into the lives of actual Americans and were a clear form of entertainment for many. TV shows displayed men working and earning a living, while women stayed at home, cooking and cleaning. As cliche as it may appear to many today, that was truly life for Americans in the 1950s.
ReplyDelete“I Love Lucy” was a primary representation of how America operated and how it was perceived in the 1950s. The “Job Switching” episode of “I Love Lucy” centered around how Rick and Lucy, along with a married couple who lived next door, decided to which “switch jobs”. The ladies went out to find jobs, and the men stayed at home doing the chores. In the end, with a comedic twist, the sexes failed miserably at doing the ordinary tasks of that of the other gender. Moreover, this episode supported the fact that men belonged out in the work force and women belonged in the house vacuuming and cooking “arroz con pollo”. Today’s Americans do not agree with this view, however, let’s face it, the morale of the American family was just as good in the 1950s, as it is now!
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete