Sitcoms

14 October 2013
Sitcom Internet Assignment Sitcoms have essentially been around since the beginning of television in the 1940’s. One of the first sitcoms was “The Goldbergs,” which moved from radio to television in 1949 (Fordham Metz). This show was centered on a family living in the Bronx made up of Molly and Jake Goldberg and their two children. The Goldbergs were Jewish immigrants and dealt with the everyday family-related problems of the time. Molly was a good housewife and mother to her children. While sitcoms have been on a steady incline since the days of “The Goldbergs,” some critics say that in the past couple years the sitcom has been slowly killed off in the name of reality TV. According to Senior Writer for BuddyTV, John Kubicek, 2012-2013 is the year the sitcom died. He comments on the fact that while shows like “Modern Family” and “The Big Bang Theory” have experienced great success, many others have failed. Shows that have lasted years such as “The Office” and “30 Rock” have completed their final seasons and others are soon to follow. In the light of so many failures, networks are unlikely to order more (Kubicek). People are no longer drawn to the scripted comedies. They are leaning more, now, towards the idea of the “real-life” comedies of reality TV. These shows give the viewer some nostalgia and a sense of believability that sitcoms do not allow. According t the Neilsen ratings, this change is slow but nonetheless visible. Most of the top watched shows are either reality TV shows, such as “Duck Dynasty” and “The Voice, or they are shows like “NCIS” and “The Walking Dead” (Nielsen). Shows like “The Voice” and “Dancing with the Stars” are a fast approaching genre of reality competition TV. These types of shows far outrank the sitcoms. Unfortunately, sitcoms are appearing to be on a downward spiral. They are being taken over by reality TV shows and competition shows. Maybe the writers need to change their themes, or maybe we, the audience, are simply uninterested in the scripted comedy anymore when we can be entertained by “real” events. Another critic of sitcoms is their predictability. Reality TV shows give viewers a sense of suspense that is no longer present in sitcoms. Sitcoms rose in popularity in the aftermath of World War II because Americans wanted to watch shows that would make them laugh in light of the seriousness around them. Drama TV shows, reality, and competition TV shows give the audience the suspense and unpredictability that we are now eager for in the TV entertainment. The audience no longer wants “lame sitcoms” over drama and action (DaVulture). The new sitcom family has definitely incorporated more diversity than in previous years. Previously sitcoms only showed the nuclear family of the white mom, dad and children. Sitcoms do try to represent society at the current moment (Garrison). However, do they achieve this? In an article by Mike Duffy for the Chicago Tribune, he quotes Montel Willams saying, “"When I sit in a restaurant in New York or other cities, there 's black people, white people, Asians, Hispanics," Williams says. "Why can 't we see that America on TV?" Williams is right, since the Cosby show we haven’t had a top ranked show based around the life of an all African-American family, and we certainly have never had a representation of al all Asian family that reached the top watched list.
I do think that sitcoms are trying to represent diversity with shows like “Modern Family” and “The New Normal,” however; they are till playing it safe. In the representations of diversity in the “Modern Family” we see stereotypical portrayals of the new ideas of family. Gloria’s role as the Latina mother who has a child and marries an older white male is a stereotype of this new type of family. She is highly sexualized and overly emotional, which is the stereotypical Latina woman. Both she and Claire are stay-at-home mothers. Even in the representation of the gay couple, Cameron and Mitchell, one is more ideologically masculine and the other plays more of the feminine role. “Rather than deriving humor from touching on cultural anxieties about a changing society, the show employs satire and stereotypes to critique the discourses about traditional families that we might expect from television and to comment on the contradictions of contemporary family life” (del Rio, and Mitchell). These critics say that “Modern Family” and shows like it use stereotypes in order to only further ridicule the classic ideals of family. Unfortunately, I agree with this perspective. I also feel as though we would not accept or watch shows that represented diversity in a way that broke stereotypes. Audiences need characters that they can relate to. Stereotypes serve to ease uncertainty in our social interactions and help us interpret the world around us when we are unsure how to do so. This is what these shows are doing; they are easing us into the new notions of the traditional family. It will take time, but I believe that we will eventually have more accurate portrayals of the American family in due time on television.
One place we have seen advancements is in the portrayal of women on TV. Women used to be strictly housewives and mothers on TV, nothing more or less. One of the first shows to show the mother in a new light and in a lead role that actually moved women in media forward was “Roseanne” (Jordan). Roseanne was not classically beautiful nor was she just a stay-at-home mom. The sitcom mom is no longer just the perfect image of a housewife she is daring and intelligent. Now, with shows like “30 Rock,” which presented a powerful businesswoman as the lead role, and “Weeds” we are seeing strong women in lead roles. These women run the narrative and are smart, talented and interesting. However, we still see the highly sexualized nature of women in TV. “Roseanne” was a break from the mold, but we have not gone back to shows run by a woman that breaks the ideological mold of beauty and elegance. Some may says “Nurse Jackie” breaks this mold because she is so tough and rough around the edges, and she doesn’t necessarily fit the mold of being ideologically good-looking. These shows are rarities.
Women in television are still expected to be beautiful and are sexualized in ways male characters are not. Again, even shows like “Modern Family” show the two main female characters as being beautiful characters. Even though Claire is the dominant one in her household, she is still expected to be both a good mother and a beautiful woman. Three of the four main male characters on that show are not classically good-looking, but they can still run the narrative nonetheless. There is more emphasis on their character’s personality than on their looks. Nancy Botwin of “Weeds” is considered one of the funniest female sitcom characters of all time (Lind-Westbrook). This show revolves around the life of Nancy, who is a single mother who starts selling marijuana in order to maintain her lifestyle after her husband dies. While Nancy is a strong character how is fierce in her pursuits, she is still very sexualized, often getting what she wants in the show by using her sexuality. Nancy is beautiful and smart, but her life is constantly revolving around her romantic partners in a way that male role do not always need to do. Most female sitcom characters are supported by not only their beauty but by their romantic relationships as well. Women are constantly discussing their relationships with men and making sacrifices on TV. Although it is the female leading the narrative, the underlying narrative is that of her romantic relationships and herself in relation to men. Yes, the role of women on TV is changing, but, again, it is at a slow rate and there is still a lot of room for improvement.

Works Cited
Fordham Metz, Winifred. "How Sitcoms Work." How Stuff Works. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Oct 2013. .
Kubicek, John. "2012-2013 TV Season: The Year the Sitcom Died." BuddyTV. N.p., 14 Feb 2013. Web. 23 Oct 2013. .
Jordan, Christine. "10 Sitcoms That Actually Moved Women Forward." FlavorWire. N.p., 27 Oct 2011. Web. 23 Oct 2013. .
Lind-Westbrook, Jennifer. "Make 'Em Laugh: TV 's 50 Funniest Female Sitcom Characters of All Time."BuddyTV. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct 2013.

Cited: Fordham Metz, Winifred. "How Sitcoms Work." How Stuff Works. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Oct 2013. . Kubicek, John. "2012-2013 TV Season: The Year the Sitcom Died." BuddyTV. N.p., 14 Feb 2013. Web. 23 Oct 2013. . Jordan, Christine. "10 Sitcoms That Actually Moved Women Forward." FlavorWire. N.p., 27 Oct 2011. Web. 23 Oct 2013. . Lind-Westbrook, Jennifer. "Make 'Em Laugh: TV 's 50 Funniest Female Sitcom Characters of All Time."BuddyTV. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct 2013.