Evolutionary Families

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Waking up in the morning and scrambling to finish homework, realizing you left your textbook at your dad’s could be a problem. Your mom is late for work and cannot drive you to your dad’s house. As a result, you will receive a zero for the assignment. A few decades ago, scenarios like this were not prevalent. However, with the change in family structure, this situation is now very common. Over decades, television shows have reflected the social changes of the family structure. Starting with the 1960’s, a family commonly consisted of parents and their children. Nuclear families, with parents and children, embodied shows like Leave it to Beaver and The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriett. Family was everything to people back in the day. People lived to create and spend time with their family. Television shows were emerging steadily and became popular. Also, television was a main source for families to bond over, and it influenced the behavior of family members. Leave it to Beaver and Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet played a major role in shaping the family structures. During the 1960’s, middle-class white families dominated television shows. Situation and family drama’s mainly influenced the traditional family structure (Television and Family 1). In Leave it to Beaver, the focus was on the ideal suburban family in the fifties through the sixties. The show was mild and the spotlight was more on the children in the family compared to the adults. The theme presented was a happy and loving family (Cox 1). The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet was an enduring family-based comedy on television. For decades, the Nelson family symbolized a wholesome and normal family. Their main focus was to epitomize a happy, upright family life (Wesblat 1).... ... middle of paper ... ...levision - Single Parent, History, Families, Relationships, Portrayals, Programs, Children, and Parents ." Marriage and Family Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2011. . "The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald." eBooks@Adelaide: Free Web Books, Online. N.p., 12 Jan. 2009. Web. 19 Feb. 2011. . "Two and a Half Men Reviews - Viewpoints." Reviews, Consumer Reviews, Product Reviews - Viewpoints. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. . Wesblat, Tinky. "THE ADVENTURES OF OZZIE AND HARRIET - The Museum of Broadcast Communications." The Museum of Broadcast Communications. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2011. .

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