Television is not just a form of entertainment, but it is an excellent form of study of society's view concerning its families. This study focuses on the history of television beginning in the early 1950s and will run through present day. It examines the use of racial, ethnic and sexual stereotypes to characterize the players of these shows. The examples assist in tracing what has happened to the depiction of the American family on prime time television. It reveals the change of the standards employed by network television as disclosed to the American public. Finally, I will propose the question of which is the influential entity, television or the viewing audience.

The Goldbergs, which was originally a radio show, became the first popular family series. It became a weekly TV series in 1949, revealing to Americans a working class Jewish family who resided in a small apartment in the Bronx. The show, while warm and humorous, confronted delicate social issues, such as sensitivity due to the Second World War. It is an excellent example of an ethnic family's status in society.

A classic among classics, I Love Lucy appeared on television on October 15, 1951, (http://www.nick-at-nite.

The end of the 1960s witnessed a drastic altercation in America's culture. Television's reflection of society had begun to mature. A solitary bed replaced the twin beds customarily utilized in the depiction of bedrooms. The relationship shared between parents and their children possessed increased difficulty. "The Brady Bunch" challenged the accepted family structure as it pertained to television. Televisions first "blended family" was introduced. The program contested certain typical regulations while practicing others.

Following the All in the Family genre, family series took a more conservative approach. In Family Ties, the mellow 1960s clashed with the conservative 1980s, which in some ways reflected America's changing values in the Reagan era. The children's ideas were in sharp contrast to that of their parents, leading to humorous conflict between the two groups. The Bill Cosby Show also addressed the variance between children of the 1980s and they're contrasted parents. One substantial discrepancy between the two shows was race and economic status. The Bill Cosby Show confronted the social issues that pertained to a black upper class family. Both programs represented conservative issues that the majority of American families faced at this time.

The view of the American family modified little when the sixties arrived. Leave it to Beaver dominated television through 1963. In 1961, the "Dick Van Dyke Show" aided in reinforcing the flawless family image. Some viewers thought Rob and Laura Petire were visibly similar to the first family, John and Jackie Kennedy. The highly successful series Bewitched further developed the perception of an immaculate suburbia. The identic

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Ward Petire, Family Television, Married Children, Bill Cosby, Ward June, Archie Bunker, Love Lucy, Brady Bunch, Family Ties, Happy Days, american family, racial ethnic, social issues, depiction american family, middle-class family, american families, relationship shared, family series, parents children, depiction american, bill cosby,
Approximate Word count = 1138
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)