Each episode of the show undoubtedly revolves around Lucy's exploits as she tries to get a job outside the home. The message is candidly conveyed as Lucy is repeatedly turned down, and thwarted as she schemes to deceive her husband . While providing considerable entertainment value, I Love Lucy also served a social purpose, warning young wives of the disasters that would result from pursuing a job and the frustration it would cause their spouse.
In this same early period, the sitcom Mama, premiering in the 1949-50 season , was focused on making sure that young women looking towards the future perpetuated the new domestic ideal. This is exemplified by Mama's character on the sitcom who simply steers her daughter towards marriage by providing her with cooking hints that are sure to attract a man. Simultaneously, Mama directed a similar message towards married female viewers. Mama was the epitome of the happy housewife, perfectly fulfilled and content with her place in society. This effort to convey Mama's value in the home provided encouragement for the housewives of the day who questioned their limited role as merely wives and mothers. .
As soon as young women were settled into their domestic life and happily creating what would later constitute the baby boom generation, television used its power to plant the seeds of consumerism in the minds of families nationwide. Spurred by the immense prosperity of the post war period and the expanding middle class, the race to consume began. The character of Nels on Mama best represents this shift in national consciousness. While in book, film and play form, the character of Nels has aspirations of medical school and a life of helping people. By the time this same story is adapted to television, Nels is now seeking his MD in an effort to join the ranks of middle class consumers, a pawn in the emerging conformist society. .
Skeptical that these forms of propaganda and subtle suggestions of sitcoms could have any discernible impact, it took only a forty-minute interview to convince me of their power.