TV Families

Paper Summary:

This paper offers an in-depth review of how the family has been depicted in TV sit-coms and the like over the past 50 years. It examines dozens of shows and discusses how the roles of the husband and wife, and the values within the family has evolved. Also looks at racial issues.

From the Paper:

"In the fifty years between the first season of I Love Lucy to the first season of The Osbournes, the ethics, mores and socio-economic configuration of the TV-viewing audience has changed greatly. Closely aligned to the revaluated morals of contemporary society have been the representations of family on television. Of particular significance is the way in which the sitcom family is depicted on American TV. Throughout the history of the sitcom, the mother and father and children have adhered to a consistent and perpetuated set of stereotypes informing the way they act. Largely, these representations are dictated by the social class and economic situation of the characters. From their beginnings in a pleasant romp in suburban middle class existence, the members of the sitcom family have become edgier and more prone to throw insults at each other. Conflict has always threatened the family, but with a new age comes transformed values and new forms of danger to the family unit. Issues of sexuality, violence and substance abuse have increasingly played a major role in the lives of TV families over the past three decades. Though the troubles they face may be more serious than the fifties sitcom predicament, and they have changed greatly from the respectable ideals of the fifties sitcom, the family, as will be demonstrated, is perhaps as strong, if not stronger than ever."

More papers on TV Families:

• Comparison Essay # 24692 : "TV Families"
• Film Review # 148821 : "TV's Portrayal of the Working Class"
• Analytical Essay # 28926 : "Traditional and Nontraditional Families"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: