American Families in TV - 1970's blog entry

With civil rights movements, Affirmative Action, and groups such as the Black Panthers, and the ACLU popping up around the country, it’s only logical that the ideas of social change from the 1960’s would expand onto television in the 1970’s. Many of these "radical" ideas gained wider acceptance in the new decade, and were quickly mainstreamed into American life, culture and media. Even with all the movements and protests, the views of African-American’s were still greatly varied across 1970’s television shows.


In the several television shows I watched, race, diversity and difference played out in a very obvious way… but ways that were new to the times they premiered. On “All in the Family”, Archie Bunker brought out the prejudices and ignorance that had prevailed among older generations for a long period of time. From his excitement regarding Lionel’s education: “I’s gonna be a ‘lectrial engineer” to his detest at the idea of being mistaken for a “Jew”, Archie Bunker brought to the surface the feelings and thoughts of many American’s who were set in their mind of how people should be regarded. Many American’s claimed to be pro-civil rights, but were not so easy to change their way of thinking and their way of viewing their fellow American’s. Comments such as “I like colored people, but I don’t want them living next door” showed the feelings that many older American’s had. Through comments like this, they truly believed that they were not prejudiced, and that others were condemning them unjustly.


For the first time on mainstream television, we were also introduced to the inner circles of African-American homes on “Good Times”. We get a chance to see their fears, their concerns and the things that are important to a group of people that we may not have had any exposure to previously. On “Good Times” we see a very different view of the world than we saw on “All in the Family”. Throughout the pilot of Good Times, we are regularly told of their views of the “white man”, and how the “black man” needed to have more pride in their race. Through the younger son, Michael, we see the epitome of the “black pride” movement and how young African-American’s were being raised to think about their race.


In the late 1970’s, “Diff’rent Strokes” was the first television show to combine these two different cultures: upper-class European and lower-class African –American. In the first episode we are introduced to Phillip Drummond, an incredibly wealthy Caucasian man who promised his late African-American maid that he would look after her two young boys. Willis and Arnold move into the Drummond penthouse from their home in Harlem and find themselves feeling out of place as the “two black kids” in the very white Drummond home. In Diff’rent Strokes we see the combining of two cultures that, on the surface, appear very different. Throughout the whole episode, the concept of race appears many times, yet in very different ways than in both Good Times and All in the Family. In Diff’rent Strokes, Arnold brings his black goldfish, Abraham, to the penthouse, where Mr. Drummond tells him that he’s never seen a black goldfish. Arnold replies that it’s ok because Abraham “never saw a rich white man before either”. Where Archie Bunker makes racist remarks based on ignorance, Arnold makes comments out of innocence.

The innocence of Michael’s pride, and Arnold’s spunk show how the younger generations were ready for the racial rights movements that were exploding during the 1970’s. The ignorance shown by Archie Bunker demonstrated the views of the older generations who may not have been ready for the changes that were occurring in the country, and demonstrated that it may take a little longer for some people to accept the ideas and beliefs that the younger generations had so readily accepted.

What I'm doing in one of my classes....

Hey everyone. Sorry I haven't been the greatest this term about catching everyone up on things. I'm going to make a point to do better! :-)

I realized that some of you may want to know what I'm doing in my classes.... so I'm sending you the link to the blog I have to maintain for my American Family in TV class. We've had to write up blog posts (aka... papers) about certain things pertaining to television families. The first one was the 1950's... and the second was a move comparison. Basically, we take one theme, and compare it (or contrast it) with the other television shows/movies that we were supposed to watch. Most of the shows we were assigned, we watched as a whole in class.... but then we were given 1 show we could sign up for and do independant of one another.

I definitely think you'll enjoy the thoughts from them.... and if you enjoy them... look for new ones every Monday night for the next 4 weeks. :-)

http://jennifer-cfs399.blogspot.com/

American Families in TV - Pleasantville vs. Sound of Music

In nearly every family psychology class I’ve had, “Pleasantville” has been a required part of the curriculum. I’ve looked at the themes of race and change as well as the idealism that existed in 1950’s television. This assignment, however, was the first time I’ve had the opportunity to take this movie favorite and compare a specific element to another movie favorite or mine: “Sound of Music”. After initially thinking about all the themes that run through both movies, I decided to focus specifically on the way the role of woman, wife, and mother were portrayed in Pleasantville and how they contrasted those portrayed in Sound of Music. These two movies provide a unique element that many movies do not – the contrasted time lines. The Sound of Music was produced in the 1960’s, yet portrayed the late 1930’s. Pleasantville occurs in both the 1950’s and the 1990’s. I’ve looked at a few specific examples that I felt stood out in both movies, and have tried to connect them with the stereotypical views of women in these 4 time periods.


The theme that came to mind was the idea of “knowing ones place”. In Pleasantville, it is quickly obvious that Betty knows that her place is in the home, caring for her husband and children. Her elaborate meals, her clean home, and her knowledge of the children’s where a bouts makes this very clear. When the mayor, Big Bob, comes to the Parker home to offer George a place on the city council, George offers Bob hoer doerves, it is assumed that Betty is standing in the kitchen just waiting to be called upon to serve. A general observation that also stood out to me was the idea that George’s “extra-curricular” activities of bowling and attending the barber shop occur outside the home, where Betty’s activity of playing cards also occurs in the home… and it isn’t until the “change” occurs, and Betty is colorized that we see her outside in the community. When Betty tries to stand up to George and tell him that she is not attending the town meeting, he sits down and explains what is “going to happen”. This shows that Betty rarely (if ever) stands up to George, tells her opinions, and does what she chooses, without direct approval/permission.


By contrast, in Sound of Music, the lines surrounding these “rules” are much more vague. Maria comes to the Von Trapp home talking about the concern of what her place really is. Immediately upon meeting Captain Von Trapp, Maria expresses her distaste for the whistle method and refuses to use it, and even mocks his usage of it by blowing it, and requesting to know “his signal”. Maria goes over the Captain’s head when it comes to making the children play clothes, taking them out in the town, and teaching them to sing. Maria’s role in the home is questioned again when the Baronness is introduced as the soon-to-be new wife of the Captain, showing that she is not the mother, but simply the governess. Maria is shown as being much more comfortable in the town, on the mountaintop and outside than she is inside the home. Maria is portrayed as a very outspoken woman. One example that comes to mind is when she begins to sarcastically thank the children for her welcome at the dinner table… and despite the discontent on the Captain’s face, continues to enjoy her meal.


In Pleasantville, although it is obvious that Betty loves her children, it is not until the “change” has occurred that she is shown displaying physical signs of affection (crying, hugging her children, laughing with her husband). From the very beginning, Maria made it a point to love the children, hug, teach, sing to, and bond with her children. These emotions led to a seamless bond between her and children when she married their father and stepped in as their mother. In Pleasantville, George is seen at a bowling alley with several other men from the town. When showing the iron burn on Roy’s shirt, it is said that his wife burned it because she was “just thinking.” Books in Pleasantville do not have words in them, and questions in class are answered in very simple terms. These examples show that a woman’s place in the world is not to think… but simply, to do. By comparison, Maria is continually thinking of things to do with the children, ways to expand their worlds, and ways to connect with their father.


It occurred to me that the movie that connects most with the modern day view of a woman is the movie that was created the longest ago, and portrays an even further ago time period: The Sound of Music. Although it is true that during the Sound of Music, it is obvious that the father makes the majority of the decisions, these decisions rarely override what the mother chooses to do. For example: the Captain did not want the children to sing in public… well, they do; the Captain did not want the children to go out in the town and frolic… and they do. I found it interesting that a movie, portrayed in Salzburg in 1938 would more closely connect to our current views of motherhood, as opposed to the movie portrayed in the 1950’s.

Understandably, Pleasantville was created as an “ideal” situation in a fictional television show, and not meant to portray reality… but I believe it did still ring true on some of the basic thoughts around that time period. In the same way, The Sound of Music was portraying a true story, yet in a more “Hollywood-ized” version… I felt that it still hit on many of the thoughts and feelings surrounding womanhood of the time period.

In the 1930’s (when Sound of Music was portrayed), women were viewed as a vital asset to the family. This may have been simply due to the fact that husbands were preparing to go into battle, and needed to rely on the women to “hold down the fort” and step into their shoes within the working world. Women were also seen as “a mother for his children”, which carried with it many specific duties and responsibilities. This may have explained why she was able to be so outspoken… how many women are willing to step into the role of “mother to seven”.

In the 1950’s (when the majority of Pleasantville was portrayed), women were seen as important, primarily in appearances (home, children, meals, etc). Yes, they had responsibilities, but their sole position was the homemaker and wife of the husband/breadwinner. It was their job to see that the home was immaculate, meals were prepared (and served on time), children were happy, clean, and fed, and that upon a moments notice, company could be invited over without too much pressure to prepare the home.


In the 1960’s, when Sound of Music was filmed, the introduction of “equal rights for women”, the role of Maria may have been slightly skewed to that time period as opposed to being true to the time of the script. Maria’s outspokenness may have been a slant given in the film to appeal to a wider audience and may have been a subtle mix of the two decades.

In the 1990’s, when Pleasantville began and ended, the roles of the mother were very much glossed over, although the undertones were very apparent. David’s mother’s strain to leave for the weekend, disregard for leaving the children home alone, and stress from a failed marriage may have simply been the contrast needed to invoke the idea of what was lacking in the twins world, that they may have been seeking for in Pleasantville. I do believe that these glimpses into the 1990’s mother were accurate in that divorce is considered more “the norm”, and that the life situations of mothers may, indeed, lead to an increased amount of stress… which then tends to affect the way that they interact with their children.