The Sitcom Of Television By William Asher s Bewitched ...

Situation comedies, or sitcoms for short, first began between 1946 and 1947 in the United Kingdom when broadcast station BBC aired Pinwright’s Progress (Aaron,2014). The United States soon followed airing their first sitcom in 1950. William Asher has been credited with being the â€Å"man who invented the sitcom,† having directed over two dozen of the leading sitcoms from the 1950s through the 1970s (Cook, 1999). Some of Asher’s finest works include â€Å"Bewitched† and â€Å"I Love Lucy†, classics that are still around today. Although situation comedies have been able to withstand time, even with new evolving technology that allows a high focus on effects that have allowed science fiction shows to thrive, they are far from where they began from William Asher’s time. Television has always portrayed the culture of the time and in the 1950s a very domestic picture was painted. Family, marriage, and an obedient housewife were all a common factor in sitcoms during this time. Contrary to popular belief, sitcoms in the 1950s rarely portrayed men as loving, doting, patriarchs, but rather as distant providers of the family with stick and stern rules for both their children and wife. (Anderson, 2012). Although television has changed rapidly since the 1950s I argue that the representation of men in sitcoms have evolved very little over time. Using both sitcoms from the 1950’s and today I plan to prove that an emphasis on masculinity and male dominance have remained a common underlying theme since