Meet The Simpsons Essay -- essays research papers fc

Meet the Simpsons Over time, the definition of what exactly "family" means has changed with time. Usually, what constitutes making up a family is relative to a specific culture, but as always, there are exceptions to the rule. Ever since the golden age of television had sprung upon American culture, television has tried to mimic the "ideal" American family through it's programming. Even as early as the 1950's, television producers made programming that would represent what exactly the ideal American family was. Take for example the show "Leave It to Beaver". While I am not going to go in detail about each character, I am going to summarize the family structure and the role of the member. There was a father figure, his job, or responsibility rather, was to financially support the family, while being an exemplary father to his children. The mother on the other hand, was solely responsible for being a typical housewife, while not neglecting the rearing of her children. The children did not have any real responsibility, but they respected their parents and attempted to stay out of trouble. Television shows for the most part in this early era of programming followed among these lines. There has always been at least one show each decade that followed the evolution of American life. In the 1960's, there was the "Andy Griffith Show". In the 1970's, there was a different spin on family life with the show "All in the Family", which did not have the typical white collar father, and its emphasis was not on raising the children, rather it was after the children had grown up. While in the 1980's there was a split in the television programming representation of American families. There were still shows that represented the "ideal" American family, such as "Different Strokes" and "Family Ties" as well as "The Cosby Show", but there was also a more realistic representation of American life in "Married With Children". However, it is not in a drama that American family life is best represented in the 1990's. Instead, it is in the animated series, "The Simpsons". "The Simpsons" follows suit with the other dramas that reflected the decade in which they aired. According to the U.S. consensus for March 1... ...certain traits that common among many American middle aged men. Marge is a housewife that holds the family together by straightening out any problems that arise and by being a concerned, caring mother. Bart and Lisa are two different examples of the youth of our generation. Bart is the typical rebellious child, while Lisa is the aspiring and more intelligent of the two. Thus, the Simpsons best represent American family life in the 1990's. Works Cited: Cawley, Donovan; "A Summery of Lisa Simpson"; Http://www.xoom.com/LisaSimpson/summery.html; 2/15/99 Hall, Dave; "The Bart File"; Http://www.snpp.com/guides/bart.file.html; 2/15/99 Hall, Dave; "The Homer File"; Http://www.snpp.com/guides/homer.file.html; 2/15/99 Hall, Dave; "The Marge File"; Http://www.snpp.com/guides/marge.file.html; 2/15/99 U.S. Bureau of the Census; All Parent/Child Situations, by type, race, and Hispanic Origin of Householder or Reference Person; Http://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/hh-fam/htabFM-2.txt; 2/15/99 U.S. Bureau of the Census; Households by Type and Characteristics: 1998; Http://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/hh-fam/98ppla.txt; 2/15/99