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Father Knows Best Character Analysis

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Television situational comedies have the ability to represent different values or concerns of their audience, these values often change every decade or so to reflect and highlight the changes that the audience is experiencing within society, at the time of production. Between the years of 1950 and 2010, the representation of gender roles and family structure has been addressed and featured in various sitcoms, such as “Father Knows Best” and “Modern Family”, through the use of narrative conventions, symbolic, audio and technical codes. These representations have transformed over time to reflect the changes in social, political, and historical contexts. The 1950’s sitcom “Father Knows Best” traditionally represents the values of gender roles and family structure in a 1950’society, with the father, held high as the breadwinner of the family and the mother as the sole homemaker. The family in “Father Knows Best” is also portrayed as a very …show more content…

It portrays a very air-brushed, touched-up picture of family life that the audience could aim for. The historical context of this time tells us that the 1950’s is when the Second World War had just recently ended and Americans seemed to have a bright future ahead, joy and optimism thrived. “Father Knows Best” reflects this state of mind and was seen as an ‘improvement’ on reality. Many westerners in the 1950’s desired to live the “American Dream”, entailing that they owned a large house with specific roles for the males and females of the home, and acquired the latest home entertainment systems. The specific episode of “Father Knows Best”, “Sparrow in The Window”, has all these factors that build the picture of the American dream.

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