1970s Sitcoms

            The previous two decades we’ve seen the stereotype of a typical household, more so in the 1950s than in the 1960s. We see a stay at home mother, some with children some without, and we see the provider of the house – the husband. Now we’re going to take a look into the 1970s, a decade that came after a big turning point for the United States.

            The first sitcom for this decade that we’ll see is The Brady Bunch. This sitcom as aired in the early 1970s but portrays a very different family scene than decades before. In this sitcom we see two divorced people, Carol and Mike, who each have three kids from their previous marriages. Before this we haven’t seen any families portrayed with divorced parents. This is a significant change, especially for the role of the mother. Previous beliefs were that divorcees were shamed and definitely not put into the spotlight of a sitcom, especially for women. However Carol Brady still remains a stay at home mother, taking care of her now six children while Mike Brady works to support the family.

            The second sitcom we’ll look at is called The Odd Couple. Like The Brady Bunch it depicts two divorcees but in this situation it happens to be two divorced men. Felix and Oscar live together in a small apartment in Manhattan. The relationship between the two men remains completely plutonic but its one of the first times we see men playing both the provider of the house as well as all the chores women usually do like cooking and cleaning. This sitcom opened viewer’s eyes to a whole new kind of relationship. Previous beliefs would have stopped this sitcom from airing but as the nation changes so does the forms of entertainment. Though both men are expected to fulfill the role of the ‘woman of the house’ the sitcom portrays Felix as the more ‘motherly’ role, cooking the majority of the time as well as being cleaner than Oscar.

            This decade shows a lot of progression of gender roles, introducing some new concepts such as divorcees getting remarried or two men living together. We’ll see some more of these concepts in future sitcoms as well as more progression to a more gender equal sitcom.