70s Show Analysis

That ‘70s Show was a popular sitcom. The plot was based around seven teenagers growing up in Point Place, Wisconsin; a relatively small town on the outskirts of Kenosha. The show followed the fictional lives of Eric Forman, Donna Pinciotti, Steven Hyde, Michael Kelso, Jackie Burkhart, and the foreign kid simply known as Fez. The popular sitcom consistently referenced multiple current events and happenings formulated throughout the 1970s. These milestones included technological advances, political movements, and social movements; as well as cultural norms and developments dissimilar to contemporary society. That ‘70s Show achieved success by appealing to a diverse audience, including modern-day teenagers, young adults, and a middle-aged public

able to recall the lifestyle in which they were raised.
Fez is one of the more interesting characters. Unlike the others, he lacks two signs of concrete identity. He is the only member of the basic cast to lack either a given name or a surname. “Fez” is not a name but rather a poor acronym taken from the title of “foreign exchange student.” Though the show clearly shows that he is not American, the show goes to great lengths to obscure his actual nationality. The show portrays him as a foreigner, but neither the audiences, nor do the other characters in the series, know where he came from. He is nameless and placeless aside from his personality traits and he appears to lack identity. Much like the mask society puts over immigrants or even citizens from other countries that if someone does not appear to be white or are not originally from America that they are automatically titled the foreigner. This occurred in the 1970’s and as the 2016 Presidential race nears it is obviously still an issue in today’s society.
The most repeated conflicts in majority of the episodes are the generation gap between Eric Forman and his father, Red.

Red Forman was a working class WWII and Korean War veteran. He is extremely conservative and embodies the traditional American values, work ethic, and patriotism. He is a no-nonsense guy who is a tough father who like all others attempts to instill his sense of values into his son Eric. However, it is an unsuccessful routine and therefore serves as the foundation of the conflict in the show. Eric lives in the irresponsible trendy 70’s lifestyle where he drifts through life with a carefree attitude like most of his friends the hardly ever sees them working on homework or going to school but rather sit a around and goof off. Such activities such as smoking weed frustrate Red who at Eric’s age was serving his country in the Pacific. Kitty is Red’s wife and mother of Eric who coddles and covers for Eric and his behavior. She always comes to Eric’s rescue when Red becomes too much and

overbearing.
At the beginning of the show Red worked at a local auto parts plane in Point Place, Wisconsin. The plant soon closed during the show which left Red to begrudgingly work for his neighbor Bob Pinciotti’s store “Bargain Bob’s”. After that store closed he worked as a manager of Price-Mart which was a chain grocery store. Due to Red’s insistent attitude he was able to grab the manager position when he was originally being considered for a stock boy position which his son Eric ends up working as. Red soon after had a heart attack which he proceeded to blame on his son who causes him so much grief and therefore decides to become a small business owner when the opportunity comes to open up a muffler shop which he names “Forman and Son” which is funny since Eric his son does not work there. The store sadly does not last long but ends up showing the viewer that the 1970’s were not an easy time as a middle class worker. He had to switch jobs to keep his family financially stable which is proved when his wife Kitty kept cooking the same thing over and over for dinner due to a low budget.
The circle is a frequented scene in the show.

The group of friends sit in a circle and appear to be smoking marijuana. This scene can be found in almost every episode. Which suggests that in the 1970’s marijuana was very popular among young people. The friends use this time to talk to each other about their problems with each other and their lives in an environment that they feel is judgment free since they are under the influence of drugs. Kitty is a nurse in the show and she is aware of what her son Eric and his friends are doing in the basement. That 70’s Show attempts a subtle anti drug message by stating that it is okay for young people to smoke marijuana but when you become a responsible adult it is no longer acceptable. Kitty and Red both specifically disapprove of their recreational drug use and in one episode Red threatens to kick Steven, who is Eric’s abandoned friend who lives with them, out if the drug use continues within their

home.
That 70’s Show achieved success by appealing to a diverse audience, including modern-day teenagers, young adults, and the middle-aged public who are able to recall the lifestyle in which they were raised and show that to their families. The 1970’s were a crazy time to be alive. That ’70s Show often-covered real world events, social trends, and cultural icons of the 70’s era, all through the Forman family and the gang of basement-dwelling drug using misfits who were trying to find their way through the smoky haze of the 1970’s real world.