Compare and Contrast Television 50's

The Transformation of Television Programming Television became a national mass media during the 1950’s and 1960’s and has changed its programming throughout the years to become what we watch today. Starting off with only three channels, NBC, CBS, and ABC, its content has transformed into something new. Television programming in the 50’s and 60’s is differentiated in many ways from the television programming we find today. Differences in television programming from the 50’s and 60’s and present day life include the roles of women, language, the society each period reflects, viewing experience, and dressing attire. The roles of women took a big turn and have developed into new roles for them today in modern society. According to Erika Cox in Life in the 1950’s, “Life in the early 1950’s was still very strict. Women were still obligated to the status of housewives and men were the main breadwinners in the family.” In the 1950’s and 60’s housekeeping and raising a family were considered ideal female roles. Women were expected to be perfect, in every way. Everyone wanted the perfect TV family and a wife who would gladly wash the dishes and do the housework. In 1950s Daily Life, Kayla Allen writes “Women were the ones who had to cook and clean. They had dinner on the table before their husbands came home from work. That lets them know that their wives are concerned for their needs.”For example, other than women having dinner ready, they also had to take care of the children, keep the house organized, and happily wait for their husband to come home from work. In our television programming of today, we see women taking the jobs of men. Women are now able to get an education and become police officers, join the military, and many other things. Females are now able to take the role of a female along with the role of a male. They have now become the housewife and the breadwinner in the family. Language in television programming has also changed throughout the years. During the 1950’s slang words did exist on television, but did not express any type of vulgarity at all. For example, people used slang words like “bash” which meant party, or “flip” which meant to freak out. According to Cox in Life in the 1950’s, “ Sex was a taboo, premarital sex was not accepted…” It was around the 1960’s where sex humor and racist humor started to show up on television programming. Words like “sex pot” which meant sexy or seductive woman”, and “easy” which was used for a female who was sexually easy. Words like “black” and “white” were also starting to be used on television, giving racist comments about different ethnic groups. On television today, the language that is expressed has gone a step further. Vulgarity and violence has become part of the words that people have come to use. Television shows have become censored with this vulgar language and profanity. Sex humor and racist/ethic humor has gone up a level since the 1950’s and the 1960’s The society television reflected back in the 1950’s is also very different from the society television reflects now. In Life in the 1950’s, Cox writes, “Children still obeyed parents. Females were still expected to act a certain ladylike way and males were still expected to act like gentlemen.” During the 50’s life was way more peaceful because people were way more respectful and less violent. Shows on television showed families living happily in a peaceful home with much less conflict than we find in today’s television programs. Programs in the 50’s gave an example of the daily routine of the families in that society. Today, television programs also give an example of what life is like in our modern society. They show how society has become disrespectful and full of violence. Teenagers who talk back to their parents, who smoke and drink, and who drop out of school are now displayed on our T.V. screens. The viewing experience in the 1950’s and 1960’s was more of a nice family experience than today. According to Cox in Life in the 1950’s, “In the 1950’s, television was becoming more and more a part of everyday life, more families had televisions in their homes…” The families back in the 50’s and 60’s had certain times during the day in which they watched television together as a family. Their experience was much more fun and amusing because they enjoyed the few programs they had as one. According to Allen, “After dinner the whole family would sit and watch TV. There was hardly anything back then. For example there was no phones, no stereos, no vidoes games, no malls, and no computers.” Their viewing experience was even more enjoyable because it wasn’t an everyday thing so, when they did get the chance to watch television, it was way more exciting. Viewing experience for television is different today because families have come apart. It is very rare nowadays to see a family on television programs watching a television show together at certain times of the day. Now, people usually watch the television separately, either alone or with just friends. Television today has also become a part of every day life and can be watched at any time of the day, so the viewing experience isn’t as exciting as it was back in the 50’s and 60’s. The experience for viewing television programs has changed a lot from back in the days to modern day life. Lastly, the dressing style has also transformed drastically compared to the dressing attire a few decades ago. People sometime during the 1950’s wore more formal clothes even in their houses. Women wore long skirts with heels, carried jewelry, and had their hair nicely done. Men wore suits and ties along with dress shoes. However, some changes occurred later during the 1950’s and 1960’s. In Life in the 1950’s, Erika Cox writes, “Changes in clothing styles, especially for teens, started to appear. Guys started wearing their hair longer with sideburns and slicked back with grease. They also wore jeans and leather jackets and the girls wore ponytails, poodle skirts, pedal pushers, and scarves.” In the television programs back then, people started changing the way they dressed to a more casual look. According to Allen in 1950s Daily Life, “A young women might wear a halter top, with the stomach barely showing. Unlike today, the look is very discreet.” When the 60’s came along, females started wearing shorter skirts than before with midriffs and males kept the casual look with the T-shirts and leather jackets. Now, in today’s television shows, people are dressed in so many ways. The casual look has evolved into so many other styles and the formal look is only worn for special events. In conclusion, there are many differences between the television programs during the 1950’s and 60’s and television programs of today. Differences like the ones discussed such as women’s roles, language and other things that will continue to evolve throughout the next couple of decades. People will have their own new styles; there will be new slang words in our language, and new experiences with television programming. There will also be new reflections upon society and new styles to buy. After we have given society time to transform, then later in the future we can look back at today and see how much life has changed.