TV Shows in the 1950's Compared to Today

Reality TV Show Comic

I have been researching the history of the American Family portrayed in television shows and am not too surprised by what I have found. I started off by researching television shows from the 1950’s and watched a few episodes. I then watched a few shows from today’s time so that I could get the full picture of how different these shows really were. Most all of my information came from my own knowledge after watching a couple of episodes of Leave It To Beaver as well as Keeping Up With The Kardashians and 19 Kids and Counting I was able to come up with my own opinion on which of these shows are the most alike, and what makes them so different from each other.

The Cleaver Family

In the 1950’s, television shows were very family friendly. Most of them portrayed the family life to be an extremely pleasant, picture perfect lifestyle. After witching a few episodes of Leave It To Beaver, I noticed how the show had no profanity at all. The Cleaver family also wore very conservative clothing that covered most all of their skin. One of the episodes that I watched showed Beaver Cleaver receiving a note from his teacher at school. His teacher told him to take the note home and give it to his parents. This did not settle too well with Beaver because of the fact that the last kid who took a note home to his parents was expelled. Beaver postponed giving the note to his parents and the story went on. He later ended up running away because he thought he was going to get in trouble. Later that day his mother, father and brother found him in a tree. This shows how innocent family life was portrayed to be back in the 50’s. An object as simple as a note was a big deal back in that time. Also, it was no big deal for Beaver to run away in his small town. His family, though they were a bit worried, knew they would find him at the end of the day and that everything would be okay. 

Kourtney, Kloe and Kim Kardashian

In today’s society, television shows that are most popular are ones such as Keeping Up With The Kardashians and 19 Kids and Counting. These two shows are completely opposite from one another. For example, Keeping Up With The Kardashian’s is about a family who’s wealth is used for both good and bad. This show that I am very fond of, uses a lot of profanity and the stars show a lot of skin. The Kardashian’s are a very tightly knit family and would do anything for one another. Kim, Kourtney and Kloe are some of the most famous sisters in the world. But what are they known for? Their bodies, clothing line and their choice in men. These extremely popular women are seen as sex symbols by people everywhere. They know what they have and like to fault it. All of this is shown by watching just one episode of their reality TV show. On the other hand, 19 Kids and Counting is a television show portraying the gigantic Duggar family. Although I have only seen a few episodes of this strange TV show, it is nothing like the Kardashian’s. This family has a strong bond between one another and the love of Christ. Their morals are completely different than those of the Kardashian’s. In this show, I have never once heard any of them use and explicit, wear revealing clothing, or even show affection to someone outside of their family such as a boyfriend. One episode I clearly remember seeing, was one of their older daughters was starting to date this guy. They were not aloud to be alone together so their mom, dad or one of their siblings has to go wherever they go. They also are not aloud to kiss, or hug from the front, only a side hug is aloud. This show is extremely popular in today’s time because it shows how different their family is from the rest of the world and they are okay with it. 

The Duggar Family

When comparing Leave It To Beaver with Keeping Up With The Kardashian’s and 19 Kids and Counting, it ends up being most like 19 Kids and Counting. No surprise there! Leave It To Beaver and 19 Kids and Counting seem to both display the same morals throughout the show and give off the impression that they are both good family shows. These are also shows that you could sit down and watch with your whole family while on the other hand, I would be embarrassed for my mother to watch an episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians with me, or even by herself. But, going off the example I told about Leave It To Beaver, if someone’s child was to run away in today’s society his or her family would have every right to think everything might not be okay and to think about the worst case senario. This clearly shows how times have changed drastically. Also, people in today’s society would much rather watch a rich family who curses and wears skimpy clothing rather than a family who is not wealthy and wears conservative clothing. Why, you may ask? Well, a family who’s mother and father curses and buys their children everything they ask for seems a lot more appealing to people in today’s time. This explains why Keeping Up With The Kardashian’s is such a popular show. 

TV from the 1950s

After my research I have concluded that to be a successful, popular television show in today’s time, you have to be provocative, extremely wealthy and willing to do whatever it takes to become famous. In the 1950’s, television shows were based off of a good family who loved one another and showed their daily life. Shows back then did not have to have profound language for people to enjoy it. 

Sources.

E! KUWTK 

This allowed me access to watch the show. It was very helpful and it's the official website of Keeping Up With The Kardashians. 

TLC 19

TLC gave me access to watch 19 Kids and Counting. This is where I found out about the show and the Duggar family. It was very helpful.

Netflix LITB

Netflix allowed me to watch Leave It To Beaver. It was so helpful because I have only seen the show once a long time ago and gave me access to learn more about it.

AOL 50'

This was helpful because it gave me background information on TV show from the 1950's. I really didn't use it that much though because a lot of it was my own knowledge.

Retro Waste TV Shows

This was pretty helpful because it gave me lists of shows that played in the 1950's so that I could watch episodes of them or find out more about them if I needed to. 

Perfect TV Families

This website was very helpful and helped me see how perfect the family life was portrayed as in the 1950's.

The Great Depression Essay

        Cinderella Man is a great movie that clearly depicts American life in the Great Depression. The movie was filled with various scenes displaying what life was really like during such a hard time. For my tiny book project, I read about radios and movies during the great depression. The book stated that families would gather together and listen to the radio outside on their porch or even in someones home. As an example from the movie, when Mae Braddock dropped her children off at her sister’s house, she later returned and found everyone in the home, including the children, gathered around the radio listening to a live broadcast from the place where her husband was boxing. Another example that the movie did a great job of depicting was the fact that by 1932, 25% of the American work force was unemployed. When James Braddock got laid off from his boxing job, he found himself, along with several other men, standing outside a gate hoping to be one of the few men that they chose to work that day. Cinderella Man also showed James Braddock going to a public relief system, that gave him enough money to get by for a little while. When he was in the relief system, it showed tons of other people in line begging for money. This clearly shows why the relief systems failed, due to the vast amount of people lined up everyday in need of money. One scene I clearly remember was when a lady was screaming at her husband as he was running away from her in the street, this showed to me that men were leaving their women left and right. Maybe because they couldn't support them anymore or maybe because they were embarrassed that they lost their jobs. This is an example of the fact that people blamed themselves for the depression and for being laid off from their jobs which led to situations like I said above.  Another prime example from the movie that was displayed exactly as I think it would be like in real life were the Hoovervilles. These nasty, unsafe areas of land filled with shacks were depressing and is hard to believe that some families had no other choice but to live there. Watching Cinderella Man and reading about it in our book really put in perspective for me just how devastating the Great Depression really was. I never quite realized how it tore some families apart and forced men to beg for money. The Great Depression seems like a time of sadness throughout the entire United States and I’m so glad I didn't have to experience it and my heart aches for the families that did. 

The Treaty of Versailles

Treaty of Versailles

Versailles Palace

Woodrow Wilson

Treaty of Versailles

World War 1 in class questions

1. In my research I found out that WW1 broke out due to a lot of tension in Europe that had been going on for several years.  Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated which really started the war. Austria Hungary declared war on Serbia. The US, Great Britian, France, Russia, Belgium, Italy, Japan and others were against Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria. 
2. The US got involved in WW1 on April 6, 1917 when they declared war on Germany. The US got involved because Russia was ready to leave the war so the US took their place. 
3. 

Country	Total Mobilized Forces	Killed	Wounded	Prisoners and Missing	Total Casualties	Casualties as % of Forces
ALLIED AND ASSOCIATED POWERS
Russia	12,000,000	1,700,000	4,950,000	2,500,000	9,150,000	76.3
British Empire	8,904,467	908,371	2,090,212	191,652	3,190,235	35.8
France	8,410,000	1,357,800	4,266,000	537,000	6,160,800	73.3
Italy	5,615,000	650,000	947,000	600,000	2,197,000	39.1
United States	4,355,000	116,516	204,002	4,500	323,018	7.1
Japan	800,000	300	907	3	1,210	0.2
Romania	750,000	335,706	120,000	80,000	535,706	71.4
Serbia	707,343	45,000	133,148	152,958	331,106	46.8
Belgium	267,000	13,716	44,686	34,659	93,061	34.9
Greece	230,000	5,000	21,000	1,000	27,000	11.7
Portugal	100,000	7,222	13,751	12,318	33,291	33.3
Montenegro	50,000	3,000	10,000	7,000	20,000	40.0
TOTAL	42,188,810	5,142,631	12,800,706	4,121,090	22,062,427	52.3
ALLIED AND ASSOCIATED POWERS
Germany	11,000,000	1,773,700	4,216,058	1,152,800	7,142,558	64.9
Austria-Hungary	7,800,000	1,200,000	3,620,000	2,200,000	7,020,000	90.0
Turkey	2,850,000	325,000	400,000	250,000	975,000	34.2
Bulgaria	1,200,000	87,500	152,390	27,029	266,919	22.2
TOTAL	22,850,000	3,386,200	8,388,448	3,629,829	15,404,477	67.4
GRAND TOTAL	65,038,810	8,528,831	21,189,154	7,750,919	37,466,904	57.5

4. WW1 ended when Germany ran out of resources and soldiers on June 28, 1918. It also ended with the Treaty of Versailles.

The Great White Fleet postcards

Dear Mom,                  December 23, 1907                                                                            

http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/18b.htm

I hope you are as excited as I am about my choice to join the navy and to embark on this great journey. We are doing great things for the US by showing our superiority and how strong we are. I am stationed aboard the USS Connecticut and our leader is Rear Admiral Robley D. Evans. We have just made our first stop in Trinidad since our departure from Hampton Roads, VA on December 16th. I participated in this great ceremony called the “Crossing The Line” ceremony since I had never crossed the equator before. Several of the other men on the ship participated in this ritual too, it was a special time for us to bond. You would be so proud of what we are doing for our country. Write you again soon.

With love,
     John

                                                                                                                                                                                     Dear Mom,                     January 13, 1908

http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/18b.htm

I got your letters! We just arrived in Rio last night on January 12, 1908 and were handed our first batch of letters. Boy does that feel good to hear from you! We all headed out to the local bar here last night and several of our men got into a fight, that was entertaining and a bit frightening. As I mentioned in my other letter, Rear Admiral Robley D. Evans is our leader and he got a severe case of gout, but he will be alright. Write you soon. 

Much love,

        John

                                                                                                             

Dear Mom,             February 20, 1908

http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/18b.htm

Leaving Rio was a bit difficult. The Straits of Magellan were extremely rough and pretty dangerous. We had to make a stop at Punta Arenas before we made our way through those bone chilling waters. We safely made our way to Callao, Peru where we had an amazing 9 day celebration in honor of George Washington’s birthday! Can you believe that? The next time I write you’ll I’ll hopefully be in Magdalena Bay, Mexico. Talk to you soon.                   

               Love,

                 John

Dear Mom,                          March 14, 1908

http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/18b.htm

We are spending a whole month here in Magdalena Bay, Mexico to practice our gun skills.The day we arrived here was March 12, 1908; my birthday! It has been loads of fun to shoot these firearms and since I’ve always been a big hunter, this is something that is up my ally. Almost everyday of this adventure we have had to scrub down the decks of this massive ship to make sure it stays in the greatest shape possible.... It is getting kind of old. We have been loading the ship up with coal here too, you should see how black my hands are!                                     
                           Lots of love,
                              John
                                      

http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/18b.htm

Dear Mom,                      March 30, 1908
         Admiral Evans had to leave the ship because his health is in terrible condition. Hopefully he will return soon, I have really grown fond of him. We have spent our days here still practicing our shooting, loading the ship with coal, and making foot mats. Our next stop after we finish here in Mexico is the beautiful USA! I cannot wait to be back on my own turf. 
                   Love,
                     John

Dear Mom,                            May 6, 1908

http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/18b.htm

          I'm sorry it's been a while since I've written. It's been so busy here on the ship lately. On the bright side, we made it to San Francisco! Seeing the Golden Gate Bright for the first time was better than I ever expected, it's huge! I wish you could see it, maybe one day. I love being back with more American's and not just the men on the ship. All of the people I've encountered on this journey have been very nice, but not as nice as people from the greatest country in the world! Admiral Evans rejoined us and seems to be doing better. I'll keep you posted.

                             Much love,

                                 John

Dear Mom,                                July 2, 1908

http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/18b.htm

          These parties are amazing! You would absolutely love them, the food and wine is delicious, the best I've had in a while! The food reminds me of home and your great cooking, oh how I miss it. Rumor has it that when we leave here and head towards Hawaii, Rear Admiral Charles S. Sperry will be leading us. We are supposed to depart for Hawaii on July 7, 1908, only 5 days away! It will be hard leaving California, it's such a beautiful state. I will have to come back and visit one day. 
                               Love you,
                                  John

http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/18b.htm

Dear Mom,                                October 22, 1908

          I hope you haven't been worried about me, I feel terrible that I haven't written you in so long but I hope you understand. We are now in Yokohama, Japan and everyone is unbelievably nice and welcoming here! We are only here for a couple more days but our week has consisted of celebration after celebration. One of these grand celebrations was hosted by Admiral Togo Heihachiro who was a winner in the Battle of Tsushima, he is pretty famous around here. I'll be home soon. 

                           Love you lots,

                                John

Sources:

Great White Fleet – History and Memorabilia

I used this helpful source to look at where the Great White Fleet traveled to. I learned how far the Fleet traveled and it put in perspective for me how far they traveled from home. This source was pretty helpful and introduced me to the Fleet because it was the first source I chose.

Naval History – Great White Fleet 

This source was extremely helpful and gave great information on the Fleet as a whole. It told me exactly how long their journey was and really allowed me to understand the purpose of the Fleet and what they did. I thought this website was an incredible source and helped me out a great deal with my project. 

Great White Fleet Information – Library of Congress 
This website was very helpful and was such a clear, easy to read, source. I liked how it introduced the Fleet and its mission in the first couple of paragraphs, and then went into a timeline describing where the Fleet traveled to and when in chronological order. I loved how short and simple the timeline was but it still included great detail. 

Smithsonian – History of Postcards
This source was helpful because it displayed authentic postcards from the time period of the Great White Fleet which made it easier to pick out ones that looked like that to use as my images. I found it interesting to see what postcards looked like then and compare them to how they are today; very similar!

Navy Source- The Great White Fleet
This amazing website is where a lot of my facts, and all of my images came from. It gave great detail on the ship that I chose for my character to be on and described all of the stops it made on the journey. I loved being able to use actual pictures of the ship that I was writing about and being able to use them in my final paper. This website is extremely well done and very reliable!

Military History- The USS Connecticut
This is where I got some information about the ship that my character was on. It was an extremely helpful source and gave great description on the ship and the stops it made. Very helpful source!!

Spanish American War cartoons

http://oll.libertyfund.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1592&Itemid=263

In this cartoon, I see a lot of Philippine people surrounding Uncle Sam. The Filipino's are trashing America and standing up for what they believe in. The first thing I noticed was uncle Sam is laid out on the ground while the Filipino's are forcing him to drink whatever is in their giant keg through a funnel that has "House and Senate" written on it. Also, one Filipino is in the background kicking what looks to be a hat filled with American ideas. This cartoon has a good amount of words such as; "This flag will stay put" and "Expansion". In real life pictures, I think the Filipino's would look differently and Uncle Sam would not be as big as he is depicted to be in this cartoon. Uncle Sam is a symbol for America and freedom not only in this cartoon but everywhere. I think the audience for this cartoon would have been Filipino people as well as Americans. This cartoon shows the issues between America and the Philippines during the Spanish American War. The methods the cartoonist used to persuade the audience would have to be showing the Filipino people smaller than Uncle Sam. By doing this, he would make the audience feel that the Filipino people were at a disadvantage due to how much smaller they were than Americans.

Ghttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/10kMiles.JPG

In this cartoon, the thing that stood out to me the most would be the huge Bald Eagle on top of the United States with his wings stretched out to make it look like he was covering half of the world. There are not many words used in this cartoon due to the fact that the illustration is so clear and easy to understand. The Bald Eagle is used as a symbol for America as well as the stars and stripes in the background of this cartoon. I think the audience of this cartoon would have been American people because it is showing the US dominating other countries that they were fighting for during the Spanish American War. I think the cartoonist's opinion on this issue would have been in favor of the United States. The methods the cartoonist used to pursue the audience would be the eagle and how scary and fierce it looks. Also, the words at the bottom of the cartoon are very bold and stand out a lot.

http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large/philippiines-cartoon-1898-granger.jpg

This cartoon of Uncle Sam holding onto a chain which is connected to an elephant that has "Philippine Islands" written on it was a little hard for me to understand at first. The thing that I first noticed was the elephant, due to how big it is and how long it's legs are. The elephant is shown to be very beaten up and has a few bandaids on his skin. At first, I thought this cartoon was meant for an American audience and it might be, but the more I thought about it it seemed like this would be directed towards a Filipino audience to show what's going to happen to them if America takes control of their country. This cartoon only has three words on it; "US", and "Philippine Islands". This is the type of cartoon that is so bold and clearly drawn that words are not a must. Uncle Sam is used in this cartoon as a symbol of America and freedom. The elephant is used as a symbol to represent the Philippine islands. If this was meant to be directed towards American citizens, I think the cartoonist was trying to show how strong and powerful the United States is and that they can take over and control anyone.