Impact of the show Father Knows Best on the American society
Father Knows Best is an American comedy show that aired between 1954 to 1960. It encompasses the daily lives of the Andersons who are a middle-class nuclear family that dwelled in the suburbs of Springfield. The family is white and comprises of five family members. The father, Jim Anderson, is a car salesman and head of the family. Other family members include Margaret, who is his wife; Betty is their teenage daughter; Bud is the adolescent son; their youngest daughter is Kathy, and the family owns a kitten.
Portrayal of men, women and children in the show.
The show reflects on the norms and values that were considered acceptable at the time. The show can be referred to as racist since any character that was not white was deemed to be untrustworthy or as an outsider by the family. Girls learn various life lessons on being good ladies and preparing for marital roles. Women are supposed to have pink-collar jobs such as secretary or receptionist jobs since their crucial work was to take care of the family. Their contributions to the family were not applauded. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
On the other hand, men were expected to be the breadwinners and decision making heads of each family (Olson, Beth, and William 1997). The children were portrayed as respectful individuals who heeded their parent’s advice, although they had some flaws. For instance, the youngest daughter is good at lying which is not a good trait among young children
Type of issues the family deals with
The family dealt with regular family issues among the children and their parents. For instance, financial matters and guiding their children in their various walks in life. For example, when Anderson was supposed to buy his wife an expensive coat, but he could not afford it, he calmly addressed the issue without breaking his wife’s feelings. The children needed advice every other day and especially Betty, who was a teenage female looking to work as an engineer at the time when women are viewed as incapable of such professions. Such problems as honesty among the children have been addressed and these virtues instilled in them by their parents. For instance, when Bud wanted to lie on his job résumé, but his father’s advice made him get the job through honest ways In the long run. The show addresses regular family issues of the American family, and each episode provides a solution to these arising problems.
Message conveyed to Americans about family life.
Jim Anderson teaches his family ways of overcoming obstacles that came their way. Most importantly, the show focuses on the virtues of love and respect among family members. The play portrays the father as the problem solver of the house even though he is busy working; he became involved in the daily activities of his family issues. It shows that men should not leave the responsibility of the family to the woman. Family tensions can lead to breakups if unresolved and Anderson’s family values teach that everything is possible to make a happy family if both parents are equally involved in the parenting and maintenance of their homes. Family comes first, and this is reflected when Anderson has to choose between attending a PTA gathering at Cathy’s school where she was to read a biography about him and attending a meeting at the Chamber of commerce. His move to choose his daughter overwork is career limiting (Haralovich, Mary 1989). However, that is what the show about; putting family before anything and ensuring that every parent is involved in their children’s life to offer moral and emotional support just like the Andersons.
Work Cited.
Olson, Beth, and William Douglas. “The family on television: Evaluation of gender roles in situation comedy.” Sex Roles 36.5-6 (1997): 409-427.
Haralovich, Mary Beth. “Sitcoms and suburbs: Positioning the 1950s homemaker.” Quarterly Review of Film & Video 11.1 (1989): 61-83.