1950s Pop Culture

Cherie Fanelle
Introduction to Pop Culture
27 November 2013
Television Shows of the 1950’s and Mass Culture
During the 1950s, the average American was an optimistic reflection of the traditional values of the times. Then as the world around them began to change, so did the types of television programming they were exposed to. The era of the 1950s was an extremely confusing time as America was trying to adjust to its new role as a competing superpower and still trying to maintain the strong foundation of American society while at the same time trying to reinforce its traditional values. But how were the powers that be going to be able to reach the masses in order to get this message out? That is when the situation comedy was born. “One of
The introduction of the situation comedy or ‘sitcom’ to the television screen has taught America that in order to survive, one must adapt just as the sitcom has. Unlike the “increased liberation, as well as social, economic, and political advancement opportunities for women that prevailed during the period of post-WWI, post-WWII America built itself around the idea that a woman’s place was in the home raising a family.” (Moody, Meredith 2013). Once the 1950’s sitcoms started to reflect this new change in how women were expected to project themselves, it was not long before the American public was overly-inundated with subtle media-delivered messages geared towards indoctrinating women into the new role society had chosen to cast them in. There were also numerous newspaper and magazine articles that also helped to encourage this “women returning to the home” theme. The popular television programs of this era that best exemplified this example were shows such as ‘I Love Lucy’, ‘Father Knows Best’, and ‘The Honeymooners’, although I never felt that ‘I Love Lucy’ and ‘The Honeymooners’ portrayed women as completely subservient, which is probably why I liked those two shows the best. Both Lucy and Alice
This show was ground-breaking in so many ways, even “inventing the concept of syndicating TV shows when they insisted the series be filmed in LA, brokering a deal to own the filmed episodes” (Karol, Michael 2011) as well as introducing the public to the re-run to give the show’s star, Lucy, some rest after the birth of Little Ricky. “As one of the earliest sitcoms, ‘Lucy’ is essential in order to understand its influence on American society. In 1949 only 3% of Americans owned TVs, but by ‘Lucy’s’ premiere in 1951, television ownership had skyrocketed to 24%.” (Noll, Amanda 2013). By the end of the show’s six year run, as more and more Americans were purchasing televisions, the historical importance of this show would soon become undeniable. Sticking to its ground-breaking tradition, ‘Lucy’ was the first major TV series to feature a pregnant leading actress although they were not allowed to say ‘pregnant’ on the air, substituting ‘expecting’ instead. On the eve before the first widely televised presidential inauguration, it was “the birth of Little Ricky on ‘I Love Lucy’ that captivated the television viewing audience, pulling in an estimated 44 million viewers compared to the 29 million viewers who tuned in to watch Eisenhower’s inauguration the following day.” (Noll, Amanda