Television's depiction of families is crucial, as it is a means to understanding family; it displays families' appearance, the ideal family, the way spouses must behave, the manner of resolution of problems within, and by, a family, and the manner in which parents must behave towards their children. A majority of studies on the matter have concentrated on depicting vivid family structure descriptions, the existence of diverse representations of family, and kinds of interpersonal interactions in television facilities. As global programs have been dominated and influenced by products in American media, a majority of family depiction studies have revolved around American televised soaps/dramas. Program type determines how family is depicted. Family dramas, soap operas and sitcoms usually deal with family as the central theme, and most assessments of family portrayals use these as their subject. Action, adventure and other such genres of programs do not usually employ family as their central theme. There are some television programs that bring to light the interaction, conflicts and dysfunctional structure of real families (Television and Family, n.d.).
1950: Leave it to Beaver
Popular 1950s sitcom, Leave it to Beaver is an embodiment of the perfect family structure of that era -- the nuclear family -- with the man and his wife raising and caring for their children, often two in number. This particular show portrays the Cleavers: Ward (father), June (mother) and their two boys (Theodore (nicknamed Beaver) and Wally). The older (and teenaged) son, Wally bridges the age gap between Beaver and their parents, revealing Beaver's feelings, experiences and what he wishes to communicate, to his parents. Wally is an example of the well-rounded child, who plays sports, fares well at school, and is in his teachers' good books. The traditional Cleaver family is shown to be successfully raising their boys, on the one hand, while on the other, their friends, the Mondellos, are shown to be struggling with the task of raising their only son, Larry. The Mondellos are a representation of a single-parent family, as Mr. Mondello is away at all times, and his wife has to raise Larry alone; she is shown to have perpetual issues with Larry, and her inability to single-handedly manage the boy, leads the Cleavers constantly offering her relevant advice. The show, via the character of Mrs. Mondello, put across the message that traditional families are vital to raising respectful and well-mannered children, unlike the ill-behaved son of Mrs. Mondello (Nancy, 2011).
1960: The Andy Griffith Show
The single-parent family was also a theme in 60s television, although they were still male-controlled; the cause of a child being raised by one parent was because of the demise of the other, rather than divorce, in this particular show. This sitcom (as well as another 60s show "My Three Sons") depicted a widower raising children alone; The Andy Griffith show had the sheriff of a small town, Andy Taylor, as the widower who successfully and single-handedly raised his son. While this television show is, in the present day, regarded as the epitome of old-school values, it was considered somewhat progressive during the 60s; it was the springboard for some Americans to change their outlook of family (Merritt, 2013). This era started displaying greater structural variability; there was a rise in the number of families with widowed parents singly raising children. However, all through the history of television, families have been typically nuclear in structure and headed by married couples (Alexander & Kim, 2003).
1970: The Jeffersons
The Jeffersons is famous for being the longest running television series having mostly- African-American characters. It is counted among the initial shows that depicted a successful African-American family, heralding other similar sitcoms such as "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" and "The Cosby Show." Further, this series was the first to prominently figure a multiracial couple (Tom and Helen Willis); the colorful personalities in the show generate humorous commentary regarding race in America in the 60s. This show dealt with topics seldom brought up on television; repeated usage of "honky," "nigger" and other such racially charged language accorded this series a unique status. Though the Jeffersons' unexpected success flung them into the midst of a chiefly White society, the family is an embodiment of African-American culture. Even the theme song of the show sounds like the gospels heard often in the churches of black communities (Cadet, 2012).
1980: The Cosby Show
Among the key conflicts in this show was how the wealthy Clair and Cliff Huxtable strived to give plenty to their kids, but ended up turning down all their desires....
One study revealed Berry (2003) found that young children's retention of emotional information was greater in children viewing family sitcom than those who just watch an animated films or moppet program. This result justifies the fact that children are more likely to learn more due to the presence of human characters in family sitcoms as they find these characters more close to the reality than either cartoon or Muppet
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