Sitcom Citizenship: Civic Participation within Postwar Suburban Sitcoms, 1952-1972

Abstract

Postwar suburban sitcoms such as <italic>Father Knows Best</italic> and <italic>The Donna Reed Show</italic> are traditionally thought of as wholly focusing on themes of domesticity. This project argues that such programs also served as instruments of good citizenship, modeling civic participation within neighborhoods. In their depictions of this activism, suburban sitcoms emphasized the importance of individual responsibility and the family, themes which both compelled viewers to become civically engaged and also restrained the potential radicalism of their behavior.