Seven Decades of "Perfect" American Families on TV

For Perfect Family Day. I decided to take a look at television shows to see how American families, or rather the portrayal of American families, has changed over the years. For example, take this article from CNN from 2010, where they talk about how "we have moved from what's most ideal to what's most entertaining". And it's not only that, but Americans have also come to embrace the idea of separated families – families dealing with divorce, families with two dads or two moms, families with no parents at all… It seems we've come a long way from the shock of Mr. and Mrs. Brady sharing a bed in the 70s and embraced the changing American familial landscape. Check it out as I share a few clips from some of my favorite American family sitcoms from the past seven decades.

50s

• Dennis the Menace

bragging

• Leave It to Beaver

family breakfast

60s

• My Three Sons

implications much?

• The Flintstones

A party gone wrong…

70s

• The Partridge Family

gender & censorship

• The Brady Bunch

movie night & the "perfect" American Thanksgiving story

80s

• The Cosby Show

a new job

• Full House

breakfast

90s

• Home Improvement

school trouble

• Party of Five

dealing with family issues

00s

• Two and a Half Men

more insinuations… but less married ones.

• 7th Heaven

drug straight talk

10s

• Liv and Maddie

famous person coming for a visit

• Girl Meets World

putting the youngest to sleep

Looking through the clips, did you notice any similarities or differences in the way topics are dealt with, or the layout of each of the families? Are there any tv shows or particular clips from tv shows that you think would better illustrate the changes we've seen in tv families from the past seven decades?

* I'm spending July writing my blog posts in response to all of the wacky (and not so wacky) national and international holidays that occur during this month. Today's blog post was written in response to National Perfect Family Day!
** This post was written in advance. I am out of town and working full time most of this month. I appreciate your understanding if I am slow to respond to comments and questions. :)