Gender Roles In Television Shows

Television shows have been a popular form of entertainment since they first aired in the early 1900s. As time has progressed, the values and norms presented in the shows have also progressed due to the changing time periods and political and social reform. Although gender roles in society, family dynamics, and pace of shows have changed drastically over the past 50 years in the television industry, the values and norms presented, from a bigger picture, are principally similar. One of the many aspects of TV values that has changed is the role of men and women in society. In “I Love Lucy”, Ricky is seen as the breadwinner and Lucy the housewife. In the beginning of the show, Lucy is mending Ricky’s socks and then is later asked to make Ricky breakfast or else he’d go hungry. In …show more content…
“The Andy Griffith Show” from the 60s shows the virtues of small-town American life and its simple nature. During the 60s, there was a great push for political and social reform, but this show stepped aside from the popular counterculture movement. It held conservative views and displayed them through the use of simple characters and plot. In this episode, they were looking for an escaped criminal but compared to shows today, the criminal chase was less than dramatic. This, along with Otis letting himself in and out of jail, values a slower time where good beats evil and problems are always resolved by the end of the episode. As technology advanced and we became more dependent on it, we developed shorter attention spans and needed shows to constantly catch our attention and draw us in. “Desperate Housewives” has a fast-paced, complex plot. Scenes shift from Bree going out with her pharmacist while her husband is back at home to Susan’s ex-husband showing up to the search for Mrs. Huber to the nanny situation involving Tom. It constantly changes to accommodate its audience of