Tv Representation of Families and Society – 1950s to Present

The television shows from 1950 to the present are connected in many ways.
The characters showed in the 1950s television show called Leave It To Beaver all have white coloured skin and portrayed as a happy, perfect family. As the decades increased, the nuclear families turned into blended families, and the television shows started to have coloured characters. The families started to have problems and social situations. The viewer sees the conflicts inside the family begin as the years progress. For example, in the 2000’s we examined a television show called Arrested Development.The show portrays the characters as if they are troubled and have problems. The children do not listen to their parents but instead have their own path in life, and their father is in jail.
The representations of families changed according to society. In the 1950s, society acted traditionally, and old-fashioned. Therefore, the families portrayed in television were traditional, old-fashioned, obedient, and responsible. However, as the years progressed, society changed. The people became more free, open-minded, united, and dysfunctional.However, even though there are many differences between the television shows from the decades, there are still similarities between them. Even though society changes through time, families are still connected through love, support, care and responsibilities.

In my family, we always stick together, support each other’s choices and love every person unconditionally. The television show that I can most relate to is The Crosby Show for many reasons. The Crosby Show has a humorous father, and a caring and loving mother who are both hard working, siblings who fight but still love playing and music.The female teenager called Denise is independent, likes boys, music, wants an education, but still has fun which is alot like myself. The family had the same values as mine, such as education is important in the household, being healthy, and having a respectful and honest relationship with everyone. However, the past television show which I least relate to is called The Brady Bunch. It is a blended family which consists of a father who is an architect, a mother who stays home, a family nanny, and six children.
The parents act romantic, loving and do not raise their voice or argue. The children behave properly nd do not have their independent voice nor their freedom. My family is not perfect like The Brady Bunch but we are a loving family with modern values and morals. The past television shows I have examined demonstrated morals, and values in families. In my opinion, the most realistic TV show about a family in the past was the Cosby Show. The Cosby Show was the only TV show that had a normal family. Both the parents had a successful job, the children have morals and optimistic values, and the family is always positive and humorous.
The children have normal problems at their age, they care about education and social standards.They make it seem as if everyone is equal and fair, and everyone has their own opinions not just following every action. On the other hand, the TV show which had a dysfunctional and least unrealistic family was Married With Children. This family was chaotic, uncontrolled, and they have dysfunctional values. The mother does not think straight and wants control over her husband. The father on the other hand, gives away his money without an opinion, and does not give authority to the children. The children do not care about school, nor health.
They cannot be controlled and handled by the parents very well.Half the time, the parents do not even know where their children are. In my opinion this is not healthy nor a stable environment for the children to grow up in. Overall, families in general are represented in TV shows by how society is acting in that specific year. For example, in the 1950s families were behaving properly and according to the rules. They had perfect hygienic appearances and they were precise about everything they did. They had a daily routine including work, chores, school, healthy food, doing homework, speaking politely, and the husband was the man of the house.
In the 1960s, they begin to blend a family together and the viewer begins to see a small change. The children start to argue and disagree with many things, the father is still the only one working and still the man of the house. The family begins to have arguments and situations but learn how to solve it by communication. In the 1970s, the children begin to think more modernly and start to think for themselves. The parents are older and the children are younger. The children begin to wonder; my parents are older and they do not understand me.The values of the children are liberal while the parents are more conservative.
In the 1980s, the families begin to show humour, choices, and diversity. The shows begin to have dark coloured skinned characters, and freedom of speech. The children begin to engage in extra curriculum activities and have their separate social lives. The parents are strict but still loving, and the family thinks modern and up to date but the husband is still the man of the house. In the 1990s, the families represented in the TV show, become disoriented, their values are mixed up, eat unhealthy, and do not follow any morals or rules.The parents do not seem to care or worry about their children. The children begin to disrespect their parents and not pay attention to the rules.
In the 2000’s, the family is more dysfunctional, and less sophisticated. The children are rebelling against their parents and their father is in jail. Basically, as the years progress, the values and morals of society changes thus, changing the morals in families. Report On The Image Of American Society In Films Representations of the American society in films changed throughout 1950s to the present. American society revolves around the typical American family.The family structure has changed dramatically over the years. In the early years, the family was represented as a perfect family structure that acted politely, sophisticated and came together as a family.
The family communicated with each other and spent valuable time as one. They sat down together as a family and bonded. As the years increased, the morals and values began to get lost in time through technology. Family keeps everyone together and responsible but without an authority figure inside the family, the family will start lose their bond.Throughout the years, the husband was the authoritarian man figure, however, as years progressed from the 1970s to the present, allowed women an amount of independence to express their freedom by getting a chance to support their families and to receive an amount of responsibility. The films demonstrated that the families in the past had morals and values but decreased throughout the years. However, families still have honesty and unity to live by these days and no one can take that away from them.
American’s society has a wide view on people based on the present life experiences.American films from the 1950s to the present have families based on the expectations of society at that moment. The past American film that I can most relate to is The Breakfast Club. The Breakfast Club is a movie from the 1980s about a group of different teenagers stuck in detention. These teenagers all have different personalities and hang out with different people. In the present society, I do not stick myself with one “crew” or “clique”. I pay attention to different kinds of people, with unique social standards and diverse appearances.
The teenagers all come together and help each other and put aside their differences.The American film which I least relate to is called The Fight Club. This American movie about society got society all wrong. Society is not that cruel, guilty, and violent. The entire film is about a depressed man who meets another man who is played by Brad Pitt and form a fighting club for the men who need confidence and never fought in their lives. The two men lose their jobs, homes, and health and begin to live in a broken down house and rebel against the law. They lose themselves inside the money they earn and the fights they fight.
They do not understand the true meaning of life.In my point of view, I cannot relate to those men fighting and rebelling against society. American society creates films based on the American population’s beliefs and moral values. America’s most realistic form of society in a film is Saturday Night Fever. This film toke society’s fashion, fads, slang, and the realistic view of society at that moment and brought it to life. John Travolta played a young adult who worked part time, but still made his own decisions and worked hard for what he wanted. He had an extra curriculum activity which was dancing, and that was special for him.
He worked hard, and he devoted himself to his passion.In civilization, human beings work hard to become someone that’s treated with respect. His family was not always beside him and supporting him but they got around like a normal loving family. He has freedom of speech and is involved with everyone around him. In that moment in society, the director got the exact moments, and social events precisely into the films. In my opinion, the least realistic film that was brought to the public based on the public was The Fight Club. The Fight Club did indeed touch people and made people want to fight to prove themselves worthy, however, society is much better and efficient than that.
If one works hard, then the hard work will be paid off correctly and they will become a winner on their own. One cannot achieve greatness and success over one fight. One has to work hard, believe in themselves and have hope. Society is not weak and does not fight because they need confidence. In reality, people challenge themselves and earn their life and living in a proper educated manner. Overall, American society in general are represented according to the community’s actions, feelings, and moral values. The world begins to think less old fashioned and the directors understand that.
Young adults are changing the future as we know it. Society is going to act accordingly to modern young adults’ opinions and attitudes. The films represent the positive views on society. They demonstrate the modern experiences and attitudes that the director places in the movies. Technology is taking over our world and has a huge impact in the movies. Directors try to catch the attention of their audiences but placing modern attractions into the movies. The films try to be what the society is at that moment so that people will want to see the movie and think that it is the coolest and top movie that there is.
Modern Representation of Families in Society A modern Canadian society is represented through a TV show called Degrassi: The Next Generation. This TV show is about young adults in a high school trying to fit in, living through every day situations, and trying to understand life. The TV show focuses on many different life situations and unique kinds of people. These characters face various challenges such as poor self image, sex, AIDS, cheating, death and suicide, depression, bullying, homophobia, racism, eating disorders, peer pressure, child abuse, sexual identity, gang violence, self-injury, teenage pregnancy, and drug abuse.These are all topics that teens experience in high school, and there is no sugar-coating. In my point of view, this realistically relates most to the young adults and the adults in the show, also face daily modern situations such as divorce, abuse, economic problems, and identity issues. Degrassi is not for everyone, mainly because it’s an honest account what it’s like to be a teen in a society which values cliques and confrontation over truth and real growth.
Teenagers in society are beginning to learn their purpose in life and try to create their existence in society a worthy one.They believe that they can change the world and put their education towards a worthy cause. In the show, there are many cases of modern problems which demonstrate to the public that those are the situations that need to be changed. For example, teen pregnancy. Teen pregnancy is high in America. 1 in 20 young females will become pregnant before they graduate high school. Teenagers need to realize that they do not live in a Barbie perfect world but have complications to face.
With this TV show, teenagers, and young adults can realize the world issues out there and can fix them before they get out of hand. The audience gets a warning of the real world and chance for them to redeem themselves. The TV show is like a window into the modern world. The audience seems weak and confused on their path in life but if they get an opportunity to see the outcome of their actions, (such as having sex which can lead to pregnancy) they can learn what not to do. Television is a part in our modern society and media survives on the audience’s remarks.Basically, people enjoy watching what they can relate to or what they are interested in. This show is important to society in general for the Canadian community.
The issues portrayed in the television show is the most realistic representation of modern society. It is based on real life stories and events that happened. It is important that television portrays the real society at that moment because people start to act according to them. For example, ideas and themes become main stream in society so do they become more common on television.Women would never sleep in the same bed as her husband on television. This is because at the time “Leave it to Beaver” was being aired, it was a social taboo to talk about sex, or sexuality, even between married couples. Today, we have shows about single moms and sexuality is openly displayed by characters on TV.
This shows a change in our cultures values and how we need to be completely and clearly informed every moment we get in our lives so we can learn from TV characters’ mistakes.