Homemaker Families In The 1950's

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Media has been constantly changing since it was created. One might wonder why media changes and what causes media to change. Media is influenced by society and changes with society. Media receives ideas on what to portray based on the events going on in society. As society has grown in the acceptance of new ideas, media has portrayed the new ideas, thus showing society influences the media. The changing of the family unit is one way society has shown acceptance. Families in the 1950’s were known as breadwinner and homemaker families. The breadwinner and homemaker families were seen as the ideal family during the 1950’s. The breadwinner, in the ideal family, was the father, who brought home money to support his family. The homemaker was the mother who stayed at home while the father worked and took care of …show more content…
The ideal, traditional family unit of the 1950’s is shown in the sitcom Leave It To Beaver. In the Leave It To Beaver episode called, “Beaver and Andy,” Beaver’s mother plays the role of the stereotypical homemaker housewife, cleaning around the house, making dinner, and taking care of the kids. Beaver’s father plays the role of the breadwinner, working to provide for his family and being the head of the household. The breadwinner and homemaker roles are shown when Beaver’s mother said, “I have to go pick your father up at his office” (“Beaver and Andy”). The stereotypical housewife character was shown in the 1960’s television show Dick Van Dyke. In the 1965 episode titled, “Coast to Coast Big Mouth,” the stereotypical housewife is shown through a character named Laura. The episode portrays Laura in a negative way as she is unable

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