The Evolution of Sitcoms: A Reflection of Changing Family Dynamics

Over the past half-century, sitcoms have evolved to mirror changes in lifestyle trends. They typically fall into two main genres: family dramas centered on sibling rivalry and sexual exploration, with family sitcoms emphasizing the dynamics between parents, children, and siblings.

Throughout the past fifty years, sitcoms have played a significant role in American homes. In the 1950s, traditional sitcoms portrayed fathers as heads of households and primary breadwinners, while mothers were responsible for domestic chores. These programs emphasized ethics and typically addressed problems and taught morals within a thirty-minute time frame through humor.

Whether featuring stay-at-home mothers or single/divorced guardians, sitcoms have evolved to represent various family arrangements while sticking to a recognizable formula.

Originating in the 1950's, sitcoms, as their name implies, revolved around a basic formula. Typically featuring a domestic family, comedic antics from children or neighbors, and a solvable problem within the span of a half hour episode. Viewers could expect a new lesson each week while characters reset to their original positions, facing a fresh humorous situation.

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The sitcom's humor stemmed from its predictability, as audiences knew how characters would react. For many viewers, sitcoms were the irresistible force that kept them glued to the TV screen.

Throughout the years, various types of sitcoms have been created, including Domcoms (domestic comedies) like "All in the Family," Kidcoms (kid comedies) such as "Happy Days," and couplecoms like "I Love Lucy." There are also SciFiComs like "Bewitched," ethnicoms focusing on a specific ethnic group like "The Jeffersons," and careercoms centered around a character's workplace and life like "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" (Christian).

Considered one of the first ethnicoms on TV, "Amos 'n' Andy" was deemed either the funniest or most offensive show on television (Christian).

During the Civil Rights Movement, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) made the decision to remove their show from television due to its negative depiction of African Americans. "I Love Lucy," a popular sitcom that premiered in 1951 and aired for more than two years, featured Lucille Ball as an eccentric wife married to Cuban immigrant Desi Arnaz. The show was notable for being one of the first to utilize a three-camera filming technique and was recorded in front of a live audience. Despite censorship regulations during that time period, CBS acknowledged Lucille Ball's real-life pregnancy by labeling her character as 'expectant'. Although it concluded in 1957, "I Love Lucy" remains beloved by fans and is still broadcast in reruns.

Sitcoms in the early 1960's began to challenge the traditional family dynamic seen in 1950's television shows, breaking away from the norm (Brook). One of these groundbreaking series was "The Beverly Hillbillies," which premiered in 1962. Instead of following a typical 'rags to riches' storyline, this show depicted a lower-class mountain family who struck oil and moved to Beverly Hills, California. By showcasing an upper-class lifestyle rather than a middle-class one, this sitcom not only started a new trend in rural-based comedies but also defied the standard plot and characterizations of that era (Seplow).

During the 1970s, sitcom audiences experienced a change in narrative that addressed significant social issues. "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" broke new ground by portraying a thriving single woman in the workforce, while "All in the Family" boldly tackled current social matters and caused controversy with scenes of characters using a toilet.

"All in the Family" tackled controversial subjects like racism, sex, religious intolerance, and homosexuality (Aamidor), as production costs for sitcoms rose in the 1970s. By the end of the decade, viewers favored action/adventure series over sitcoms, resulting in many sitcom cancellations or non-renewals. This shift led to a decrease in sitcom production and an increase in adventure program development (Brook).

During the materialistic 1980s, sitcom television saw a rise in ratings. "The Cosby Show" in 1987 emphasized family values with Bill Cosby's light-hearted humor. Soon after came the introduction of a new sitcom genre, the Slobcom, with "Married With Children" portraying a dysfunctional family of a deadbeat dad, a lazy housewife, and sexually charged delinquent children.

The traditional format of sitcoms shifted in 1989 when "The Simpsons" premiered, breaking the mold with its unique blend of humor that appealed to both children and adults. This animated show challenged the dominance of "The Cosby Show" on Thursday nights by drawing inspiration from predecessors like "Married With Children," ultimately raising the bar for future situation comedies (Bellisario).

In the 1990's, sitcoms began to explore new boundaries with shows like ABC's "Roseanne" which parodied family life by addressing unconventional topics such as teenage sex, abuse, and lesbian romance. Despite these controversial themes, there were also traditional sitcoms that reflected the trends of the decade.

Since the 1950s, there has been a shift in situation comedies towards a more liberal approach to humor. In the early decades, common norms such as gender roles were prominent, but today's comedies often explore topics like sex, violence, and racism that were unheard of in early television.

Works Cited

Internet Sources: Aamidor, Abe. "Time of Change 1900-1999: Sex--The Way We Lived." Indianapolis Star 11, April 1999: J1+ SIRS. Shatford Lib., Pasadena, CA. 25 Jan.2007.

Bellisario, Donald discusses the decline of traditional media in his article titled "Dark days for old media" published in The Ottawa Citizen on October 28, 2006. The article can be accessed through Proquest at Shatford Library in Pasadena, CA on January 25, 2007.

Brook, Vincent. "The Americanization of Molly: How Mid-Fifties TV Homogenized…" in the Brook Cinema Journal 1999, page 45+. Accessed through JSTOR at Shatford Library in Pasadena, CA on January 25, 2007.

Cayse, Allison. "Feminism on the Small Screen" Perspectives - Ohio 2003: 20+ SIRS. Shatford Lib., Pasadena, CA. 25 Jan.2007.

Christian, Bruce. "Television 50." Forum 21, May 1989:F1+. SIRS. Shatford Lib., Pasadena, CA. 25 Jan.2007.

"Communication: United States, 1940-59" The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Daily Life, 6. Daily Life Online. Shatford Lib., Pasadena, CA. 25 Jan. 2007.

Johnson, Steven. "Laughter." Discover April 2003: 62+ SIRS. Shatford Lib., Pasadena, CA. 25 Jan.2007. .

Kaledin, Eugenia discusses how television defined postwar America in her article published on Greenwood Daily Life Online by Greenwood Publishing Group on January 25, 2007.

Kaledin, Eugenia. "Television Defines Postwar America: Popular Sitcoms…" Greenwood Daily Life Online: Greenwood Publishing Group. 25 Jan. 2007.

Seplow, Stephen and Jonathan Storm authored an article titled "Remote Control: 50 Years of TV--Time" which was published in the Philadelphia Inquirer on November 30, 1997. The source was accessed through SIRS at Shatford Library in Pasadena, CA on January 25, 2007.