A History of Couples on Television

Paper Summary:

The paper analyzes how people naturally seek out partners in an effort to be a part of a couple, and so they find other couples fascinating, watching them, observing them, and silently comparing their experiences together with their own. The paper examines how the history of couples on television, especially in America, serves as an intriguing study into American culture and values in general. The paper describes how couples on television have been portrayed differently over the decades as American beliefs and values have changed. The paper proposes that to study the history of couples on television is to study American attitudes toward a variety of social institutions and situations.

From the Paper:

"Perhaps the first famous television couple in America was the duo of Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball. Exploding onto American television screens in the early 1950s, Lucy and Desi were unique in that they not only played a married couple on television, but they were also married in real life (Douglas, 2003). Because of this real life connection, the Lucy and Desi duo was a particular source of fascination to the American public for many years. People wanted to watch Lucy and Desi to see not only what unbelievable exploits they would get into week after week, but to see if any part of their real life relationship was translated onto the television screen."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Bryant, Jennings and Bryant, Alison J. Television and the American Family. New York: Lawrence Earlbaum Associates. 2001.
• Cruz, Jon and Lewis, Justin. Viewing, Reading, Listening: Audiences and Cultural Reception. New York: Westview Press. 1994.
• Douglas, William. Television Families: Is Something Wrong in Suburbia? New York: Lawrence Earlbaum Associates. 2003.
• Hagevik, Sandra. "From Ozzie and Harriet to the Simpsons: Generations in the Workplace." Journal of Environmental Health, 61(9). 1999.
• Haralovich, Mary Beth and Rabinovitz, Lauren. Television, History, and American Culture: Feminist Critical Essays. North Carolina: Duke University Press. 1999.

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