“Now With 50% Less Sugar:

The Transformation of Television Families From Idyllic to Realistic”

By Lisa Potter

With silverware clanking and the delicious aroma of her new chicken casserole recipe wafting through the air, it is a busy night for June Cleaver as she entertains some unusual dinner guests. Only familiar with her own conservative world of Leave it to Beaver, she tries to hide her shocked expression as Carol Brady from The Brady Bunch enthusiastically discusses the controversial events of her most recent political rally. In an effort to compose herself, June calmly offers dessert to Married With Children father Al Bundy who immediately whispers a sexist joke to the man sitting next to him, Peter Griffin. When he sees that Peter, the father from Family Guy, is staring blankly into space with a confused look on his face because he doesn’t understand the joke, Al releases an enormous belch and the two men simultaneously burst into hysterics. June and Carol exchange disapproving looks as Al and Peter nearly fall out of their chairs from laughing so hard.

Florence Henderson and Barbara Billingsly are both famous for their roles as two of television’s most beloved mothers, Carol Brady of The Brady Bunch and June Cleaver of Leave it to Beaver.

Admittedly, this dinner scene has never actually taken place, but imagining direct interactions between past and present television family members is an incredible realization of the profound transformation these characters have undergone over time. A crucial key in unlocking the mysteries of past American history, television families also serve as a mirror to reflect the present state of today’s culture. Each passing decade of American television has gotten progressively less moral and has further rejected traditional values.

Television producers and writers are not the only ones who have shunned tradition. Today, with live videos, picture images, and constant news updates being sent to us via cell phones and the Internet, the availability of accurate information has eliminated the need for sugarcoating and the illusion of perfection. The changing image of families on television simply reflects the public’s desire, which has progressed through the decades from ethical, idealistic, and consequently inaccurate, to radical, revolutionary, and realistic. Thanks to the availability of reality-based information, American television today doesn’t feel the need to give the appearance of perfection, as was the case in the 1950’s when television was first introduced.

The Birth of Television:

Women Say Goodbye to

Careers, Hello to Kitchen

A curious but still apprehensive American public was excited about TV because there had never been anything like it before. There was no previous standard to go by, so the American people were like naïve, trusting kittens waiting to gobble up whatever food their master placed in front of them. World War II had ended a few years earlier and soldiers were returning home from battle, expecting to pick up their old jobs where they had left off and resume life as it had always been. A previously empowered generation of women was suddenly expected to quietly sink back into silent obedience to their husbands. Like teaching a small child how to ride a two-wheeler one day and then telling them to go back to training wheels the next, this regression did not feel natural to most women. In order to help discourage the frowned-upon businesswoman, masculine-dominated television programming featured plenty of obedient homemakers as an example of how women should be acting.

The Return of the Breadwinner

Any men home from the war who were hesitant to re-submerge themselves back into work and family were out of luck too, because television was chock-full of dependable breadwinners. An eternal spring of idealism, television fathers consistently spewed out infinite quantities of good advice, firm but loving discipline, and wisdom aplenty. In his book Behind and In Front of the Screen: Television's Involvement with Family Life, Barrie Gunter, a professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Leicester observes that “offering information to others” in the form of advice or counsel was “the dominant mode of family interactions during this time” (39). When comparing these fathers to the stressed, busy, workaholic fathers of today, it would appear that fathers have declined in quality over the years. The reality is that people today just expect that they will see less idealism on the screen.

To prove that television producers accomplished their goal, just try and imagine what “family” looked like in the 1950’s. The cliché image of a fresh-faced mother in the kitchen is guaranteed to come to mind. As a homemaker, she has spent the entire afternoon dutifully preparing a delicious supper. Her hard-working husband sweetly kisses her as he walks through the door, promptly at five p.m. The couple’s son is most likely on the school baseball or football team, and if their daughter is not in the kitchen helping her mother, she is upstairs studying. Leave it to Beaver, created in 1957, represents this ideal world.

Even when there was conflict in the family, it was always easily resolved. In “Beaver Runs Away,” Beaver threatens to leave home. To humor him and teach a lesson about parental authority, his father, Ward, simply offers a firm handshake as Beaver wanders out the door. After Beaver is gone for some time, Ward starts to worry but eventually finds him safe and sound at a friend’s house. He apologizes to Beaver for not being understanding enough, and suddenly all is right with the world again (Smeby). Even with the parental figure being the one at fault, the show still keeps drama to a minimum and makes sure everyone is happy by dinnertime. The issues dealt with were not controversial, nor were they political. Viewers enjoyed the constant sense of normalcy and order provided by the show. This perfect family image, although a soothing comfort after the devastating effects of World War II, would soon run into conflict with the newest American battle: the struggle for racial equality.

All White is Not All Right: Embracing the 1960’s

In 1960, America’s population was far from being all white with over 20 million minorities living in the country according to the U.S. Census (Gibson), but by simply watching television, a person would never know it. The Cleaver family was white, and only in two instances did the show feature minorities (Smeby). A leading expert in the portrayal of families on television, Dr. William Douglas observes that similar to their real-life equivalents, “African-American television families were late and often unwelcome residents of television’s middle-class suburbs” (141). Reflecting America’s sluggish acceptance of non-white races, television stubbornly dragged its feet before allowing minorities to become a prevailing force on screen. Race issues bled deeper into the 1960’s and with so much controversy surrounding the marches and protests, it was just easier for television writers to present a more politically correct portrayal of white-bread America than to deal with the messiness of “multi-grain.”

The Munsters (1964) reflected the new,

non-traditional family of the 1960’s.

With the new decade of the 1960’s came a new kind of family. Over 70 million children from the post-war baby boom became teenagers and young adults (Gillis), and American culture started focusing more on youth and new ideas. Like a rebellious adolescent itself, America rejected the ways of the conservative fifties and began embracing innovation. The hippie movement drove America’s youth, and with these new revolutionary concepts came unusual families. The Munsters, made in 1964,were technically traditional as far as the fact that they were a loving, married couple with children, but the show was based on a Frankenstein look-a-like father, a vampire mother, and of course their werewolf son. Marla Brooks, an expert on the entertainment industry, notes in her book The American Family on Television that throughout the revolutionary sixties and trend of “other-worldly” families, producers still tried to create shows with solid family units and traditional values like The Dick Van Dyke Show (52). Featuring a happily married couple, producers didn’t seem to notice that divorce rates had more than doubled (McLanahan 148). Although increasingly more common, divorce was still generally frowned upon, and the concept of a blended family was revolutionary. Eventually, television writers finally caught wind of the change and started mixing up conventional marriage. Even Darren and Samantha Stevens of Bewitched had a sort of mixed marriage with one being mortal and the other a witch. The Brady Bunch, created in 1969, involved two single parents, each with children from a previous marriage.

Even as an unorthodox family, however, the Brady’s never seemed to encounter a problem they could not resolve with a little hard work or some plain old good advice. Although the children often found themselves in difficult or challenging predicaments at school or with friends, they never failed to pick the “right” choice, often after consulting their parents for advice. Paralleling “Beaver Runs Away,” the Brady’s youngest son Bobby decides to run away in “Every Boy Does It Once” after his stepmother Carol asks him to sweep out the fireplace. He had just watched Cinderella and thought his stepmother was evil too (Hollander). Mike and Carol eventually dissuade him and all is well that ends well, but the underlying issue is actually a valid one. From 1950 to 1980, the number of children involved in divorces increased 175 percent (Crouch). Blended families were an issue that many kids dealt with, and much of the success of The Brady Bunch can be attributed to the fact that viewers were starting to see television families as relatable instead of unattainable ideals.

The general topic of gender equality was never directly addressed on the show, but Carol Brady was one of first television mothers to balance outside careers and her duties at home. A political activist who enjoyed writing, sculpting, and singing (Carol), she was not ashamed to have a maid help her cook and clean. Alice even lived with the family and became a central character on the show. This, however, was as far as The Brady Bunch dared to venture into tough social issues of the day. The Vietnam War lasted from 1963-1975, and even though it chronologically sandwiched the 1969-1974 television life of the Brady’s, it was never mentioned in a single episode (U.S.).

Controversy Knocks,

Television Answers

The Vietnam War escorted America into the mid 1970’s, where families were no longer restricted to being white and parents were allowed to divorce and remarry. Before long, another new idea knocked at America’s door of values, asked for permission to enter, and suddenly homosexuality became the newest hot topic among Americans. Up until 1970, according to the American Psychiatric Association, homosexuality was medically diagnosed as a “serious mental illness” (Braverman 653). Simply retracting such an insulting label didn’t completely alleviate the negative connotations the general public had with homosexuality, but it was a start. As it became a more pressing issue in America, homosexuality started affecting the television family as well. In the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” episode of Roseanne, a show about a lower class family named the Connors, Roseanne visits a gay bar with her lesbian sister and girlfriend, where the girlfriend eventually kisses Roseanne, a straight, married woman.

Roseanne (1988) openly welcomed

and discussed controversial topics.

As they lay in bed later that night, Roseanne and her husband are discussing the situation when she realizes the thought of lesbian sexuality is arousing her husband. She in turn starts discussing gay-male homosexuality, and he immediately “turns off” (Walters 70). This scene shows how television families were blatantly encountering homosexuality and weren’t afraid to boldly discuss it. Although the Cleavers would have been repulsed at discussing such a topic, the Connors embraced it.

Discussing raunchy subject matter was not a problem for Al Bundy, the father in Married With Children. From 1987 and throughout its ten year run, it epitomized the final transition of the non-traditional portrayal of television families. Although Al and Peggy Bundy were technically still married, they barely seemed able to stand each other. The marital happiness that seemed constant in shows with married couples was no longer present.

In Married With Children (1987), Al and

Carol Bundyweren’t afraid to show the married life in a dejected, unhappy light.

Topics discussed on the show included alcohol but mainly focused on sex. Al was always vulgar and crude, and his wife was a shallow ditz. Their two children’s lives centered around partying. It is important to note, however, that although Al was constantly verbally bashing his family, it was apparent he still cared about them by the way he would threaten to beat up his daughter’s boyfriends and put up with a mediocre job to ensure his family was provided for. He never cheated on his wife and actually admitted to his friends once that he really did like his family.

The Explosion of Technology: Accurate Information Becomes

a Necessity

The cause of this depiction of family as immoral, perverted, and disrespectful of each other can be attributed to what was going on in America in the 1990’s. Microsoft had just become the first personal computer software company exceeding $1 billion in sales in a single year (Suder 555). The World Wide Web was created in 1992. Accurate information was becoming more easily accessible, and people’s desire for genuine, bona fide truth grew. The more realistic depiction of family in Married With Children reflects this expectation.

The end of the Bundy’s in the late nineties also signified the beginning of what we today consider our current time period. Although it is difficult to objectively evaluate the decade one is still currently living in, it is safe to say that the first six years of the 2000’s has made up for whatever values the late nineties still clung to.

Analyzing the Family

Through the Father

As the traditional breadwinner, the father is an extremely influential factor in setting the tone for a family. One of the easiest and most direct ways to evaluate television families today is by comparing the most recent fathers television has had to offer with older television fathers.

June Foster, an employee of the State of Illinois Children and Family Services, conducted a research study to see if current television fathers represented accurate or ideal fathers. This is very similar to comparing fathers today with fifties sitcom fathers and seeing how they measure up. Reflecting upon her research results in “Father Images: Television and Ideal,” she finds that television has “[presented] multiple father images over time” and the most recent television fathers “differ greatly from the ideal father” (355). Her findings are not hard to believe because as television fathers have become less ideal, they’ve become more accurate at representing actual fathers of today.

Revealing the true nature of the majority of fathers today is not difficult and can be easily accomplished through cold, hard, irrefutable facts. Perhaps the only evidence more alarming than the 9.8 million single mothers living in America today is the mere 4% of children living with a single father compared with the whopping 23% living with a single mother (Prewitt). Although a man may have left his wife and children for understandable and seemingly valid reasons, these statistics reinforce the commonly held notions that the majority of fathers today are self-centered and without regard for their families.

Peter Griffin, the unintelligent dad in Family Guy (1999) reflects the growing perception during the 2000’s that

fathers are generally incompetent.

Coming Full Circle:

Exaggerating the Truth

Although the majority of television programming has become more realistic, in true television fashion, it couldn’t stop with complete accuracy; the exaggeration of television families has now continued in the other direction. The image of fathers, and consequently families in general, has now done a complete about-face. Instead of being a picture-perfect ideal, they’ve become extremely inept, often to the point where situations are beyond belief.

Selfish, idiotic Peter Griffin in the sitcom Family Guy reflects this embellished perception. Show after show, his concern centers on himself and his own trivial problems. One shudders to imagine that this unpleasant character represents the type of man who is actually out in the world, reproducing. Even when Peter Griffin tries to show some attention to his kids, his efforts are thwarted by his own stupidity. This image is drastically different from the fifties sitcoms where the father was a hallowed, respected icon. For example, would you believe me if I told you the following conversation occurred on an episode of The Brady Bunch?

Dad (to daughter): Remember that

pony you wanted when you were six?

Well, I've been waiting for a time just

like this. (Opens closet door and sees