"I Love Lucy" I Love Lucy was one of the most popular television programs in the 1950's. The sitcom maintained top three rankings weekly ratings and reached thousands of viewers for each airing. I Love Lucy portrayed Lucy, a woman, as the stereotypical woman in distress, who always needed her husband to bail her out. She also was symbolic of the inept woman: the "woman driver" and the "over-spender" who could not budget, and the basic downfall of man. The clip below shows Lucy and Ethel as they struggle to put together a television antenna. While making the antenna Lucy points out that the job would be much easier for man compared to a woman to do which further perpetuates the idea that women are incapable of traditionally male tasks. (1)
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"Leave It to Beaver"The parents of Wally and Beaver, June and Ward, reflected traditional family gender roles for men and women. June is depicted as a loving, caring housewife who cares for the house and the children while leaving disciplinary actions to her husband. On the other hand, Ward embodied the traditional male role. He is hard-working, educated, and a middle class business professional. He is left in charge of disciplining his sons and making sure they stay on the right path. Both Ward and June are perfect examples the traditional gender roles and middle class values that were pervasive and seen as normal in the 1950's. This show was largely a way of normalizing middle class values and beliefs for the American public. The program implied that in order to have a happy, successful life the men go to work and bring home the money, and the woman stays home caring for the house and the children. The clip below shows a conversation between Ward and his son, Wally. Wally asks his father why women cook inside and men cook outside. Ward responds by saying, "Well you know son, they say a woman’s place is in the home, and if she’s inside, I guess she might as well be in the kitchen. Besides, us men are better at rugged outdoor activities.." By saying this Ward made his expectations and views on how women should act clear. (2)
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"Father Knows Best""Father Knows Best" follows the Anderson family: parents Jim and Margaret, and their three kids Bud, Betty, and Kathy. The show typified the paternalistic and conservative nature of the American family of the 1950's. The father, Jim, an insurance agent, embodied the responsible, hard-working adult male who was expected to bring home money and preside over the family. The mother, Margaret was depicted as the patient wife and mother who was in charge of taking care of the home and children. The show exemplifies how women as wives, sisters, and daughters were not given much respect on television at this time, and were confined to rather simplistic, traditional roles. This show clearly demonstrates how television producers in the 1950's utilized stereotypical representations of men and women. One of theses stereotypes is seen in the clip below. The clip follows Margaret as Jim teached her how to drive. Throughout the clip Margaret appears to be flustered and lost while Jim appears to be frustrated with his wife's inability to drive. (3)
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Footnotes
1.) I love Lucy, "The Fur Coat," episode 9, Columbia Broadcasting System, first broadcast December 31, 1951.
2.) Leave It to Beaver, "The Younger Brother," Universal Studios, first broadcast April 14, 1962.
3.) Father Knows Best, "Margaret Learns to Drive," episode 9, CBS, first broadcast November 20, 1957.
Cover image courtesy of The TImes (http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/money/mortgages/article3433752.ece)
2.) Leave It to Beaver, "The Younger Brother," Universal Studios, first broadcast April 14, 1962.
3.) Father Knows Best, "Margaret Learns to Drive," episode 9, CBS, first broadcast November 20, 1957.
Cover image courtesy of The TImes (http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/money/mortgages/article3433752.ece)