TV Depictions of the American Family in the 1950s–1960s

Television as a Cultural Force in Postwar America

Television has for many years shaped American society depending on the prevailing circumstances of the time. Ordinarily, one would expect television, as a form of art, to mimic real life — but this has not always been true across the eras. At certain points, television shaped and gave direction to the style of life people aspired to, presenting viewers with an "ideal" society that programmers believed would keep audiences glued to their channels, rather than reflecting the real society around them.

The depiction of the American family by television in the 1950s through the early 1960s was geared primarily toward portraying a peaceful culture devoid of the challenges facing other parts of the world — financially stable and happy. This trend functioned as a kind of anesthesia for the pain of World War II and the difficulties of the Cold War that were unfolding at the onset of the 1950s.

After World War II, the popular culture introduced by TV entertainment proved to be a strong political force in defining "culture." Popular culture acquired a positive image, and many embraced it as a form of liberation from societal structures and formalities (Jenkins, n.d., p. 27). It represented a subversion of dominant notions of taste. It is also worth noting that the American population formed an intimate bond with television and film entertainment, since both required no critical effort from the viewer — they did everything for the audience, giving viewers a sense of effortless pleasure. Television shaped American families to embrace the easy path to knowledge and entertainment. Unlike reading a novel, television offered its audience dreamlike qualities that demanded only passive mental attention, rather than the active engagement required by theater or print. The 1950s through the 1960s saw the emergence of various genres — not as types of narrative with fixed meanings, but as repeated ways of doing things that became lodged in the minds of both viewers and programmers, making programs such as sitcoms immediately recognizable (Taylor, 1989, p. 18). These genres were not static; they were largely socially constituted, forming a fluid link between the programmer and the viewer.

Postwar Economy, Consumerism, and the Nuclear Family

Television entertainment also acted as a catalyst in reshaping the psychology of Americans toward the postwar economy, which presented a sharp dichotomy: a few members of society enjoyed economic affluence while the greater majority struggled under the burden the war had placed on the economy and on family livelihoods. Television therefore prepared Americans to embrace 1950s consumerism, a striking departure from the more reserved habits of the post-Depression era. Family structures were also altered, with father figures frequently absent or returning from war with serious injuries and disabilities (Lipsitz, 1990, p. 44). Television programs of the 1950s placed great emphasis on the relationship between the economy and the family, and the role of motherhood was taken very seriously as a result of these structural changes.

The 1950s marked the era in which TV became the badge of consumerism, reflecting the strengthening of the economy, increasing employment, and rising productivity. Television managed to reconstruct the consistency of the American family, and the nuclear family became the accepted image of the ideal American household — a departure from the extended family structures that had been predominant during the 1930s, when the Depression had drawn people together out of necessity.

The Rise of Genre: From Anthologies to Sitcoms

Television in this period became more like the theater, with anthologies dominating the screen. This was an attempt to keep the heterogeneous audience of postwar urban America entertained and their varied needs fully met. However, this format did not last long, and programming shifted from live anthologies toward movies and sitcoms, since the latter offered consistency in characters alongside variety in episodes and subjects — a combination that kept viewers more reliably engaged and, in turn, delivered those viewers to program sponsors. At this point, genre was used strategically as a tool for managing audience response.

TV programmers and sponsors regarded the American public as consumers or potential consumers, not merely as people to be entertained. Television owners and sponsors used Nielsen ratings to determine how many people were watching at any given time. This allowed broadcasters to identify prime viewing hours and price advertising accordingly, while sponsors used the same data to assess whether they were achieving a return on their investment.

In 1958, a new trend emerged: episodic series that worked particularly well for broadcasters because they delivered viewers consistently and reliably to sponsors. These series were crafted to revolve around one or two central characters rather than a fixed plot, and were delivered in weekly installments, each episode carrying a complete story built around those characters. The format meant that viewers developed an attachment to particular characters and felt compelled to follow their actions and trials from week to week. This promised consistent viewership — a captive audience effectively delivered to the sponsor.

References

Jenkins, H. (n.d.). The politics and pleasure of popular culture (p. 27).

Lipsitz, G. (1990). Time passages: Collective memory and American popular culture (p. 44).

Taylor, E. (1989). Prime-time families: Television culture in postwar America. University of California Press.