During the “Golden Age of Television,” which lasted from 1950-1970, America underwent a number of ideological and social changes, many of which can be found both on the television screen and in real life. Two sitcoms in particular exemplify these changes. Beulah, which was one of the first television shows to feature a black protagonist, and The Mary Tyler Moore Show which highlighted a career driven single women living in the city. Between the twenty year intermission between the makings of these two sitcoms, a number of cultural transformations occurred that reshaped the way that people in the United States thought about womanhood, the significance of race, and suburbanization.
The suburban family sitcom centered on family unity and life …show more content…
She always placed the needs of her white employers above those of her own and of her family. This sentiment can be seen through Beulah’s lack of nuclear or extended family. Her boyfriend Bill and female friend Oreole serve as her only ties to the African American community. The Henderson family on the other hand features frequent visits from familial cast members such as mother-in-laws, uncles, and cousins. Beulah meanwhile has just a small racial group from which she can draw strength from and no blood family. Therefore, Beulah considered the Henderson’s her family despite the fact that she did not live with nor eat with them. Dialogue in the scripts capture this sentiment as well as Beulah’s loyalty. When the Henderson’s made an effort to cut their domestic budget in one episode, Beulah responded by informing the clan that “I am not going to have my family eat cold cuts on Saturday night.” She always considered herself to be part of the Henderson’s white family, despite the realizations she was just an employee. What is important about Beulah’s lack of a black nuclear family structure is the fact that family has always been an important weapon in the struggle for survival in the black community. If you deny yourself a black family, you are denying the struggle as well. Beulah and other early 1950 sitcoms did not portray the …show more content…
Loans were not given to African Americans who were qualified which made purchasing a home in the suburbs difficult. Following World War II, there was an effort to leave the city and to promote separatism and exclusion from non-whites. The Federal Housing Association was influential in promoting homogeneously white neighborhoods making these practices more public policy than personal opinion (Citation Beuka). “White Flight” from the urban cities to the suburbs was not only a rejection from the crime that revolved around urban living, but also the color that filled those metropolises. The idea of a suburban utopia was not intended to benefit or include everyone. According to Haralovich, an ideal white and middle class home was the primary means of reconstituting and resocializing the American family following World War II. By defining access to property and home ownership within the values of the conventionalized suburban family, women and minorities were guaranteed economic and social inequality. White racial homogeneity was one the major perks that sold suburban life to many Americans. This discrimination was reflected on television as well. If suburbia lacked African Americans off screen, there would be none on screen as
The suburban family sitcom centered on family unity and life …show more content…
She always placed the needs of her white employers above those of her own and of her family. This sentiment can be seen through Beulah’s lack of nuclear or extended family. Her boyfriend Bill and female friend Oreole serve as her only ties to the African American community. The Henderson family on the other hand features frequent visits from familial cast members such as mother-in-laws, uncles, and cousins. Beulah meanwhile has just a small racial group from which she can draw strength from and no blood family. Therefore, Beulah considered the Henderson’s her family despite the fact that she did not live with nor eat with them. Dialogue in the scripts capture this sentiment as well as Beulah’s loyalty. When the Henderson’s made an effort to cut their domestic budget in one episode, Beulah responded by informing the clan that “I am not going to have my family eat cold cuts on Saturday night.” She always considered herself to be part of the Henderson’s white family, despite the realizations she was just an employee. What is important about Beulah’s lack of a black nuclear family structure is the fact that family has always been an important weapon in the struggle for survival in the black community. If you deny yourself a black family, you are denying the struggle as well. Beulah and other early 1950 sitcoms did not portray the …show more content…
Loans were not given to African Americans who were qualified which made purchasing a home in the suburbs difficult. Following World War II, there was an effort to leave the city and to promote separatism and exclusion from non-whites. The Federal Housing Association was influential in promoting homogeneously white neighborhoods making these practices more public policy than personal opinion (Citation Beuka). “White Flight” from the urban cities to the suburbs was not only a rejection from the crime that revolved around urban living, but also the color that filled those metropolises. The idea of a suburban utopia was not intended to benefit or include everyone. According to Haralovich, an ideal white and middle class home was the primary means of reconstituting and resocializing the American family following World War II. By defining access to property and home ownership within the values of the conventionalized suburban family, women and minorities were guaranteed economic and social inequality. White racial homogeneity was one the major perks that sold suburban life to many Americans. This discrimination was reflected on television as well. If suburbia lacked African Americans off screen, there would be none on screen as