Families were a big part of this time period though. Many people voted that the 1950's was the best time to live but didn't include the negative aspects of that year. Also they forgot to include that the years that followed were just as good and things were still improving. While wages were steady, there were less choices to be made, there was a family and social importance being shown, but at the same time women and minorities weren't treated fairly and poverty was higher then what it is today. Was the 1950's ideal for everyone? What was so great about that year that it won the vote?
According to Coontz "They watched them to see how families were supposed to live- and also to get a little reassurance that they were headed in the right direction" (33). So even back then in the 1950's people weren't living how they wanted to. They would watch T.V. shows to guide them and help them portray the "perfect family". These T.V shows only showed how other families acted maybe they weren't even ideal families. Why didn't they want to live there own lifestyle? What did the t.v families do that was so perfect?
I think family life is completely different today then it was in the 1950's, not many families rely on t.v. shows to learn how to act. They live how they want to. Families in this year seem to still have a great importance but many parents are now divorced. Will the future eventually change typical family lifestyles? Will the divorce rate continue to drop? Also can families finally forget about how the typical family is supposed to act and just live how they want to?
Brittani,
ReplyDeleteA very thought-provoking statement you made was that you would rather live in todays era rather then in another time. I think I would have picked a different era to live in due to the money issues our country is having lately. There was less poverty and just less money problems in general in the 1950's and I think we as a country really miss that. Also, I think that we miss all the families. Today almost everyone we know is either divorced or there parents are divorced or are affected by divorce some way.
I agree that families are a lot different from now to back in the 1950's. I am not really sure why this is, but it could be because of the way we react to television today. Do you have any other ideas of why families are so different?
Thanks,
Amanda