Fifties Essay
Fifties: Television and American Society
Mallory Roberts
April 29, 2014
American History 3
Mr. Predmore
As we all know, television from the fifties to television in the present has undergone major changes. Of course quality has improved as technology has but not only that, the themes of TV have changed. Television in the fifties portrayed the ideal family. The ideal family was that the wife stays at home doing housework and taking care of the children while the husband is at work. She then greets her husband at the door when he comes home and has supper ready. This scenery is presented in “Leave It to Beaver”. In the fifties, there weren’t any computers or cell phones so the children played outside. This is not the same today. Today, most mothers/wives work, there is divorce, there are interracial families, and children sit inside watching TV and playing video games. As we all know this idea of an Ideal Family has changed just because our way of living has changed. The model families presented on television Today, we are exposed to so much more then what people in the fifties were exposed not only in real life but in television also. On television today, we see drugs, violence, cursing, and highly suggestive scenes. These ideas were not even thought of then to be projected to audiences. For example, whenever there was a scene in the bedroom, they would show the husband and wife sleeping in separate beds. They did not show these certain subjects in the fifties because
Mallory Roberts
April 29, 2014
American History 3
Mr. Predmore
As we all know, television from the fifties to television in the present has undergone major changes. Of course quality has improved as technology has but not only that, the themes of TV have changed. Television in the fifties portrayed the ideal family. The ideal family was that the wife stays at home doing housework and taking care of the children while the husband is at work. She then greets her husband at the door when he comes home and has supper ready. This scenery is presented in “Leave It to Beaver”. In the fifties, there weren’t any computers or cell phones so the children played outside. This is not the same today. Today, most mothers/wives work, there is divorce, there are interracial families, and children sit inside watching TV and playing video games. As we all know this idea of an Ideal Family has changed just because our way of living has changed. The model families presented on television Today, we are exposed to so much more then what people in the fifties were exposed not only in real life but in television also. On television today, we see drugs, violence, cursing, and highly suggestive scenes. These ideas were not even thought of then to be projected to audiences. For example, whenever there was a scene in the bedroom, they would show the husband and wife sleeping in separate beds. They did not show these certain subjects in the fifties because