Suchergebnisse

This article is about the family (domestic) comedy, one of the most popular and enduring genre on television. The first section concentrates on the background and rationale for studying family life as portrayed in television's domestic comedies; the second follows the evolution of the TV family from Molly Goldberg in the 1940s when television came into American homes to the Nelsons (The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet) and the Stones (The Donna Reed Show) in the 1950s to the Huxtables (The Cosby Show) and Keatons of Family Ties in the 1980s. The focus is on how gender, race, and class have been portrayed over time, and whether the messages, issues, and themes about love and sex have changed and in what ways. After analyzing approximately 40 years of television, the article concludes by noting that the family is not always presented as conflict-free. Family members often make fun of each other; sometimes they deceive each other to get their way; and often interact by putting each other down. However, the family is basically the place where one goes for support, to solve problems that are generated from the outside, and to find solace when needed.

In this article, the social and political context of production of prime-time series and movies for television is examined to document the present struggle for control over content. The author contends that television drama is not necessarily a reflection of the tastes and ideology of either the creators or those who control the channels of communication; rather, it represents a negotiated struggle between a number of participants. In particular, these are the networks which presently control the means of communication, the advertisers, the government (especially Congress and the Federal Communications Commission), social critics, and citizen groups, as well as the program suppliers and the people employed by the program suppliers who create the drama (actors, writers, directors, and on-the-line producers). The struggle for control or access being described may exist in varying forms for all popular culture such as music, sports, and novels. For television drama in particular, the struggle has not been between the audience-which may be satisfied with the content of drama-and the creators, but among elites who value access for both social and economic reasons.

This article describes how the contents of two magazines, Redbook and True Story, differ and how fiction is selected for publication. The main body of the article focuses on the writers, their differences and similarities, and how they fit in the commercial system to which they are essential. In conclusion, the role of fiction writers in providing popular culture in America, especially popular culture for women, is discussed.