Roles Of Women In Television
Throughout the history of television, the role of the housewife and mother has changed from a subservient woman to the more controlling, powerful, and dominant female portrayed in today’s culture. In early television, the 1950’s and 1960’s, the housewife or mother was always seen as submissive towards the more assertive father or husband. In Common Culture, Harry Waters explains in his article, “Life According to TV,” that males often got a deviation of roles, and females were usually playing the part of a mother, wife, or girlfriend. (Waters 167) As time progressed, that role was changed to a more authoritative and domineering woman who controlled a somewhat of a bumbling idiot of a husband. This is apparent in such sitcoms as “Father Knows Best,” “All in the Family,” and in more recent times in the animated series, “The Simpsons.” In the 1950’s and early 1960’s, the woman was always shown as the housewife who stayed home and took care of the children, and cooked and cleaned while the husband went to work. This is noticeable in the 50’s and early 60’s sitcom, “Father Knows Best.” While the husband and father, Jim, went to work everyday, the wife, Margaret stayed home. She took care of
As time passed the housewife was still depicted as being less important than the husband and father. For example, the 1970’s sitcom “All in the Family” still exposed the wife as almost a servant to her husband. Edith, the wife in this sitcom, still remained at home while her husband, Archie, went to work everyday. In this sitcom, however, Edith has changed the image to an inept, incompetent, and unintelligent housewife married to a husband in a working class household. While in “Father Knows Best,” Margaret was still shown as a woman who had some intelligence. The differences between the two women could possibly be due to the variations in social classes between the families of both shows. In the episode we watched during class, it becomes very perceptible to the viewer that Archie is in charge of the family and Edith is just there to serve him. Often the paternalistic male took command over the weaker family members and friends around him. (Lipsitz 267) In this episode we viewed, Archie is ordering everyone around, and Edith doesn’t even dare to do something that Archie wouldn’t tell her to do. As soon as Archie tells Edith to go get something or go do something, she doesn’t hesitate at all. She goes right ahead and gets it done right away. Also when Sammy Davis Jr. comes to the house, Archie at first doesn’t even want Edith to talk to him because he feels she will slip up and say something about his glass eye. Yet even in front of guests at their house
Some topics in this essay:
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Davis Jr,
Best” Margaret,
,
Archie Edith,
Harry Waters,
“father best”,
1950’s 1960’s,
stayed home care,
somewhat bumbling idiot,
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husband father,
submissive towards,
edith doesn’t,
perfect family,
“the simpsons”,
stayed home,
home care,
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Approximate Word count = 1006
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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