The 25 Sitcoms That Changed Television
Subtitle: Turning Points in American Culture
By: edited by Aaron Barlow and Laura Westengard
Edition: 1st ed.
Publisher: Praeger
Published: 2023
Place of publication: Westport, CT
Language: eng
Number of pages: 384
ISBN-13: 9798400605789
Subjects: Popular culture
Description: This book spotlights the 25 most important sitcoms to ever air on American television-shows that made generations laugh, challenged our ideas regarding gender, family, race, marital roles, and sexual identity, and now serve as time capsules of U.S. history.  What was the role of The Jeffersons in changing views regarding race and equality in America in the 1970s? How did The Golden Girls affect how society views older people? Was The Office an accurate (if exaggerated) depiction of the idiosyncrasies of being employees in a modern workplace? How did the writers of The Simpsons make it acceptable to air political satire through the vehicle of an animated cartoon ostensibly for kids?  Readers of this book will see how television situation comedies have consistently held up a mirror for American audiences to see themselves-and the reflections have not always been positive or purely comedic. The introduction discusses the history of sitcoms in America, identifying their origins in radio shows and explaining how sitcom programming evolved to influence the social and cultural norms of our society. The shows are addressed chronologically, in sections delineated by decade. Each entry presents background information on the show, including the dates it aired, key cast members, and the network; explains why the show represents a notable turning point in American television; and provides an analysis of each sitcom that considers how the content was received by the American public and the lasting effects on the family unit, gender roles, culture for young adults, and minority and LGBT rights.   The book also draws connections between important sitcoms and other shows that were influenced by or strikingly similar to these trendsetting programs. Lastly, a section of selections for further reading points readers to additional resources.
Table of contents: title: Introduction Laura Westengard and Aaron Barlow Part One: The Fifties and Sixties Chapter 1 I Love Lucy: An Appreciation Aaron Barlow Chapter 2 The Honeymooners: American Dreaming Scaled Down to the Small Screen Martin Kich Chapter 3 Leave It to Beaver: The Long and Memorable Life of Eddie Haskell Aaron Barlow Chapter 4 Big Lessons from a Small Town: The Andy Griffith Show Cynthia J. Miller and Tom Shaker Chapter 5 Spy Versus Reality: Get Smart, Satire, and Absurdity A. Bowdoin Van Riper Part Two: The Seventies Chapter 6 The Brady Bunch: A Thoroughly Modern Family? Laura Westengard Chapter 7 All in the Family: A Sitcom about a Changing America That Changed America Martin Kich Chapter 8 "I'm Every Woman": The Cultural Influence and Afterlife of Florence Johnston of The Jeffersons Stacie McCormick Chapter 9 Writing One Day at a Time: Reflections on a Life Inside the Tube Christine Tibbles McBurney Chapter 10 Lights Out in the Newsroom: The Mary Tyler Moore Show's WJM and the Decline of Television News Aaron Barlow Chapter 11 Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman: The 1970s and the Birth of the Surreal Sitcom Jerry G. Holt Part Three: The Eighties and Nineties Chapter 12 More Than Friendship: The Golden Girls as Intentional Community Jill Belli Chapter 13 Cheers: Where Everybody Knows Your Name Michael Katims Chapter 14 Feeling Some Type of Way: Whatever Happened to Murphy Brown? Monique Ferrell Chapter 15 It Still Matters: The Cosby Show and Sociopolitical Representation on Television Jacqueline Jones Chapter 16 "The Reagans Have Had a Very Bad Effect on You": Neoliberalism and Queer Possibilities in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Jessica Best Part Four: The Oughts and Teens Chapter 17 Nearly 30 Years of "D'oh!": The Animated Legacy of The Simpsons Paul Cheng Chapter 18 No Hugging, No Learning: Seinfeld between the Yuppies and Slackers Kevin L. Ferguson Chapter 19 Ellen: America's Coming Out Party Laura Westengard and Aaron Barlow Chapter 20 Beyond Wedlock: Developing Romance in Will & Grace Emily Mattingly Chapter 21 Ask and Tell: Ambiguity and the Narrative Complexity of Sex and the City Kimberly Hall Chapter 22 The Office: Broadcast Television in the Digital Era Leah Shafer Chapter 23 Black Lives Matter: Even in The Boondocks World Julian Williams Chapter 24 Broad City Scrambles the Formula Robert Lestón Chapter 25 "This Is What Happens When They Let Men Marry Men": Assimilative Politics and Liberal Identity in Modern Family Laura Westengard Postscript Laura Westengard and Aaron Barlow About the Contributors Index