A cutting edge television viewer would likely see little likeness between old TV shows and the current television environment. From smaller standardized TVs broadcasting shows like, “Leave it to Beaver” to HDTVs broadcasting “How I Met Your Mother” ,TV and the way we see it has made some amazing progress.The development of television shows has been definitely modified by culture, trends, and demographics.
During the 1950’s the culture, trends, and demographics had a huge impact on television production.Leave it to Beaver, a popular sitcom during the 1950’s portrayed family life as it was during that time period. A period of elegance,family significance,and refinement. While watching an episode of Leave it to Beaver I quickly observed the difference
Before we television existed people had to depend on Radio stations to receive there little bit of entertainment and news. But in 1878, the invention of TV began. The first TV made didn’t look anything like the way TV’s look today, it was a mechanical camera with a large spinning disc attached to it (Kids Work). But as over the years, of course inventions of different TV’s progressed and by the 20th century about 90 percent of our population had a TV in their household(). Television today is mainly used for people take a break from their life by relaxing and enjoying some entertainment.
Television shows have changed dramatically during the last 50 years. What was funny or popular 1, 5, 10 years ago, is now obsolete. The innocence of popular television shows from the 1960s has been overtaken with shows that would have been risqué. This will be demonstrated by describing the difference between “Leave It To Beaver” and “Modern Family.”
Americans’ everyday life. The Golden Age of television was a period of intense growth and expansion of
The 1950’s were an era of traditional family values and uniformity. There was very little deviation from the normal and if there was, the media absolutely did not display it in a positive light. People, especially women and minorities, who did not go along with the system were ridiculed and criticized harshly. The Andy Griffith show is a very good example of the conformity and traditional family values of this time.
The advent of television and television shows may have come long after film, but it enhanced film production almost instantly. Television naturally derived from early film since each uses basically the same medium: the motion picture camera. Since film had already set a base in the industry and mastered the new techniques and technology of cinematography, television had the opportunity to learn from film?s mistakes and advance itself quickly. For this reason, television evolved very rapidly and was able to develop its own technology and techniques separate from film. The concept of television became so popular and gained so much success that Hollywood began experimenting with the technology and techniques television had brought about. The
In 1971, New York Times columnist Fred Ferretti wrote an article about a new television series called All in the Family. Ferretti asked, whether or not if racism and bigotry were considered funny and he concluded that it was not and as a result believed that the show was lacking good taste. Apparently, the television viewers of America disagreed. Running from 1971 to 1979, All In The Family wasn’t the first television series to tackle major issues on a major network, but what was innovative about the series, was that is that it hewed its situational comedy from topical issues, and it explored them through characters we got to know and cared about every week. Simply put, All in the Family wasn’t just a great situational comedy; it as was an ongoing national conversation rooted in well-written, well-acted and multifaceted characters.
Stronger bonds of affection and shared interests would form whenever the family gathered around the television sets. Media Historian Lynn Spigel states that,” Not only was it shown to restore faith in family togetherness,” Spigel notes, but TV did it “in splendors of consumer capitalism.” (Edgerton, p. 92) Postwar television promoters pushed the new “family togetherness” that TV viewing would generate within the family. The era of viewing TV in public setting did influence stations' early programming decisions and civic discourse about the new medium and its audience but it was brief. As stated by Edgerton, “By 1950, 45 percent of families who lived in those areas in which TV was available had purchased television sets. The camaraderie of watching in a bar was outweighed for many men by the convenience of watching it at home.” (Edgerton, p. 97) This supplements the social change of family togetherness in the early period of
The episode of “Leave it to Beaver”, reflected earlier changes in the quality of family life that began with the Industrial Revolution. One of the characteristics of family life then was that women came to be seen as morally superior to men. This is portrayed throughout the episode as Ward wrote the poem for Beaver and then was reluctant to tell him who actually wrote it, as Beaver thought he wrote the poem himself. June was upset about what happened and confronted Ward about the situation. This shows that June is morally superior to Ward. During this time, the attitudes about children and childhood is that the attention and energy of the husband were increasingly centered on their children. This is portrayed throughout the episode, as June
-There are very clear difference between life portrayed in Leave it to Beaver and life in 2016. The fashion shown in leave it to beaver is much more modest than it is today, the women in this show were shown with long and very covering clothing. The men shown all wore very classy and preppy suits. The authoritative figures in Leave it to Beaver seem a lot more intimidating then they are today this is shown by the fact Beaver was very scared to give his parents the note but I feel now children wouldn’t be as scared a Beaver was. The parenting shown was harsh compared to now a days it was made clear Beavers father had physically punished him which in 2016 is illegal. The gender rolls were very stereotypical in this
Establishing a strong sense of community was important; particularly after the years of war that had families torn apart. Moreover, people were looking to enjoy themselves and were willing to spend extra time and money on leisure activities. “By purchasing their detached suburban homes, the young couples of the middle class participated in the construction of a new community of values; in magazines, and on the airwaves they became cultural representatives of the ‘good life’”. (Spigel, 2001, pp.32) In addition, she says that those living in the suburbs secured a position of meaning in the public sphere as private landowners. (Spigel, 2001, pp. 32) This is important culturally because there was an emphasis on creating a distinction between the home space (private space) and the outside space (public space) in America in this decade. This connects to television’s unique ability to bring the spectator’s public world into a private space—an integral part of its rise to cultural significance. “In 1950, only 9 percent of American homes had a television set, by the end of that decade that figure rose to nearly 90 percent, and the average American watched at least five hours a day”. (Spigel, 2001, pp. 33) Connecting the public world into a private space stemmed bigger hopes for television. It hoped to overcome social unrest and to connect communities all
Somebody once said, “Some days I wish I could go back in life. Not to change anything but to feel a few things twice.” Many people have written and communicated about memories and aspirations, while others are good and others are negative. Stephanie Coontz discus of the “myth” of the 1950s in her essay, “What We Really Miss about the 1950s.” Coontz has an extensive background in social and family issues and has written numerous books and also has engaged extensively on television. In the essay, she combines both her experience to create the ‘idealist’ perspective of the 1950s. The essay discusses the positives and negatives of the 1950s while the role the family played including the misconception that 1950s were good. The aim of the essay is to evaluate, discuss logos, ethos and pathos about Coontz essay.
For younger audiences in today’s society, watching a Situation Comedy from the 50’s is very different. For them they see a contrast and diverse society from their own. In most cases, the shows demonstrate gender stereotypes and social norms which aren’t often seen today. Like women making dinner in the kitchen while the men sit and smoke a cigar in the living room.
The 1950’s were considered to be a time where life was full of bliss, who wouldn’t want to be untroubled? Life in the 1950’s was simple and structured, and now it seems as though the “Happy days” have disappeared. The 1950’s are considered “The Happy Days” because life was so well put together back then and now, it seems, it has all fallen apart. The 1950 TV shows, like Leave it to Beaver, has the American society believing that life was “perfect”. Seeing the shows makes one imagine that the family life was splendid, the style was flawless and modest, everyone got along, neighbors were friendly, and that the changes happening were for the best. In a way that was very true. People in the society knew their place; In a typical 1950’s family, the father and mother had specific roles they had to fulfill, and even the children had certain responsibilities. The men were the head of the household and usually worked to provide for the family. The women of the 1950’s society were stay at home moms, occasionally working a job as teachers or nurses. Men and women of that time were well mannered, clean, and classy. When the man and woman walked down the street, the man would walk on the outside or the road side to protect the woman from traffic. Men would also tip there hats as a kind gesture when they walked past a woman. Life just seemed to be in place in the 1950’s, yes, it wasn’t perfect, but it seemed much more put together than what society is like now.
Are television series becoming more popular? The very reason for choosing this topic is indicative of how important T.V. shows have become. Today, the people working on the small screen are no less famous and rich than the stars working in movies. Yes, that same old idiot box, vast wasteland, cheap babysitter has creatively matured and pinned down movies to the mat of popular culture. In spite of being similar, they are different as T.V. series go in much depth, have a lower production cost than movies and also have thought-provoking work which is intrinsically difficult to find in movies. They also provide a more satisfying emotional experience.
TV, more commonly known as ‘television’ is one of the greatest inventions of the 20th century. In ancient Greek tèle means ‘far', and in Latin visio means sight. From my perspective and many people of the world television has changed the way we live. Television has brought many amazing things, however nothing is perfect.