Carter 1
Breanna Carter
Smith-Parris
English 1000/84
May 4, 2014
The "Funny Girl" on Suburban America: The Impact of Lucille Ball
Today, the coined term "nuclear family", refers to the ideal white husband and wife, along with their well-behaved children, that life in the lovely suburban neighborhood with a loving home and a white picket fence. There was a lot of hype that this was the "American dream" that every man in America strove for. However, during this era, there was a strong gender divide in what it was to be a man, and what it was to be a woman. Men were the dominant beings, making the money for their families and laying down the rules within their home. Women consisted of the "typical" housewife, one that was a nurturing mother, while expected to keep the house clean and to have dinner on the table by the time her husband returned from work.
English: Publicity photo of Lucille Ball and Desi ...
Publicity photo of the I Love Lucy cast: William F...
English: Ad for I Love Lucy baby doll.It was not the woman's place to speak out against her husband, but instead follow along with his opinions and guidelines. With such a routine lifestyle, it was hard for the average woman to break out of her shell and redefine societal norms on what it took to be a "woman". Lucille Ball, known for her main role in the television sitcom I Love Lucy, was the voice of this woman-in-distress role that was stereotypical of that era. She was the funny girl turned successful and showed the world that though she played a role who often needed a man, that was not necessarily the case in order to be her own woman, an idea that would spark a generation.
The introduction of live television and television sitcoms dissolved the gap of differences between "what was real" and "what was fake". In order to...