Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, December 25, 1993 TAG: 9312250166
SECTION: SPECTATOR PAGE: 17 EDITION: HOLIDAY
SOURCE: RICHARD HUFF NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
According to a new study done by the University of Dayton, extended families - where, say, an aunt and uncle live under the same roof as the immediate family - are the most popular TV model.
The study, which looked at four decades of TV between 1950 and 1989, found that, of the five longest-running series, three revolved around extended families and two around nuclear families. "Ozzie and Harriet," led the pack, followed by "Bonanza," "My Three Sons," "Happy Days" and "All in the Family."
The Nelsons, from "Ozzie and Harriet," and the Cunninghams, of "Happy Days," represent the nuclear families, while the Cartwrights ("Bonanza"), the Douglases ("My Three Sons") and the Bunkers ("All in The Family") represent the extended family.
Researchers found that real-life families rarely take their cues from TV.
"We don't find life imitating art," said Thomas Skill, an associate professor of communications at the university. "People are not picking up grandma at the nursing home and bringing her home to live."
Indeed, the study indicates that TV has never been an accurate reflection of family life.
In the '50s, the researchers said, 17 percent of all TV families were headed by a single father, while a 1960 census showed that only 1 percent of real-life families were headed by a single father. Likewise, divorced, separated and unmarried parents were invisible on TV in the '60s, despite census reports that showed 67 percent of all single parents fell into those categories.
Black families, the study said, finally made a dent in the 1970s, where they increased from 1 percent in the 1960s (with the 1968 series "Julia") to close to 17 percent in the '70s (with such shows as "The Jeffersons," "Sanford and Son" and "What's Happening").
Single mothers were a feature of the '80s with the likes of "Kate & Allie," "Mama's Family" and "Who's the Boss." That decade also introduced shows like "Dallas" and "Dynasty," which the researchers said were too convoluted to fit into one category.
The study also found that the '80s emergence of young, urban professionals with double incomes and no kids failed to influence TV's family portrayals. Married couples without kids represented 25 percent of the TV families in the '50s, and have been on the decrease since.
What do all these families have in common? No matter what the TV configuration, they're all happy, the researchers said.
by CNB