Teen Sitcoms of the 50's-60's - An Essay

Leave it to Beaver is a show that aired from 1957 to 1963. It follows the life of a young boy named Theodore but called Beaver. He has America’s most ideal family, with a stay-at-home and ever-smiling mother, a working father, and a seemingly wiser older brother. When trouble arises, Beaver confides withWally for brotherly advice. His parents reflect a good cop/bad cop dynamic. His father, the “Man of the House,” uses threats to get his children to do as he says. When that does not work, his mother steps in with patience and reason.

In the episode screened, the conflict the family faces comes from a letter to Beaver’s mother from the Beaver’s teacher. He proceeds to avoid delivering this message and ends up entangled in a web of lies to save himself. As it goes, the moral of the episode is that the truth will always come out.

At the beginning of the episode, the father’s voice over is heard, however, this does not put the show in his point of view. As the title suggests, we see the world from Beaver’s perspective, except for a few moments in which we see more than what he does. This includes the teacher revealing that the letter was about the play, or the parents talking about the children while the boys took a “bath”.

The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis aired from 1959 through 1963. In the beginning, Dobie is seen monologing towards the camera before cutting to a flashback of the story he is telling. This narrative device is used between cuts for commercials. Dobie Gillis’s family has a similar dynamic seen in Leave it to Beaver. The father is seen to be more cynical while the mother is more passive. Dobie’s best friend is a beatnik and often used as the butt of the joke and the girl that Dobie is trying to win over is portrayed as a shallow pretty lady that only cares about money. Throughout the episode, Dobie strikes a deal with the owner of the clothing show, Ziggler’s as his father tries to encourage him to work for what he wants. This follows the moral of the episode, reflecting the American value of getting to work. When Dobie does not follow this expectation, his father lets his disappointment be known.

Gidget aired from 1959 through 1963 and has a different take on family dynamics. It has a single father raising his only daughter, Gidget. In this episode, Gidget deals with what has become of the societal standards when it comes to courting someone. Her dad reminisced how in order to win a girl over, he had to keep proving himself worthy, whereas Gidget’s boy Mark does the bare minimum, taking her for granted. The story is told by Gidget, who uses voice-over narration.

Unlike the two previous families, Gidget’s father is not harsh but is seen to be very loving and allows his daughter to learn her own lessons and be independent. It is nice seeing a family that is not afraid to talk to each other. Gidget has many friends with which she encouraged to stop giving into every whim that a boy puts on them. The girls are supportive of what Gidget is saying but when it came down to action, they all end up leaving her behind. On the opposite end, the boys are portrayed to be mindless, not understanding why girls may be upset. In the end, she and Mark are able to learn that compromise and meeting each other halfway is the way to go.

The Wonder Years was produced a few decades after the last three shows. It has very different energy throughout the show, in which it does not show a cookie-cutter quirky sitcom family. It is based in the late ’60s and the family is very dysfunctional. The two brothers are constantly fighting, the mother runs the house, and the father is unforgiving. Along with this family dynamic, as growing boys entering middle school are, there is a new interest in girls. The main girl, Gwendaline “Winnie” Cooper is the girl next door that the main character, Kevin, finds gross, having grown up with her always around. On the first day of school, she rebranded herself, and Kevin has to reconsider what he thinks of her. Her older brother, Brian Cooper, is the classic “Cool Kid” that was said to run the street and keep Kevin’s brother, Wayne, in his place. Kevin idolizes him, asking himself “What would Brian Cooper Do?”

We see the world through Kevin’s eyes, as his future self narrates what we see on screen. The moral of the show is that events will happen in one’s life that will make a kid mature. Life is not the perfect picture that it has been represented as, where the biggest problems come from not giving your parents a letter from the teacher, or boys not giving you the time of day. Life has unexpected and sometimes terrifying twists, and you have to play the cards you’re dealt with.