The 1970’s were a time period full of freedom, equal opportunity, change, and war. In the 70’s, family roles were adjusting and divorce rates were rising (Walker). With the divorce rates rising, the traditional family values were seen as less important, values such as spending time as a family or everyone eating dinner all together. However, most shows during this era still portrayed the idea of a traditional family, which is having the mother stay home to cook, clean, and take care of the children, while the father is off at work supporting the family (Frum). T.V’s popularity in the 70’s was expanding, symbolizing a movement towards equality between races and genders (Frum). With the turn of the century, shows such as “Maude,” “The Jefferson’s,” “All In The Family,” and more began airing on national television (Frum). The social movements of the time period such as equal rights for women and the civil rights movement were becoming apparent in shows like these (Dow). Other than popular shows in the 1970’s, commercial television also had a profound and wide-ranging impact on American society and culture, therefore sparking a new consumer culture. Advertisements have been mentioned as major factors contributing to increased American materialism. With more and more people watching TV, this form of entertainment seemed at an all time high. But, since some shows like “All In The Family” started airing episodes that broke down the traditional family, people at home were starting to wonder for the first time if they really want a traditional family (All In The Family Cast). Sitcom comedies from the 70’s started to aggressively incorporate the idea of feminism in their shows. This time period contained shows, which had the main characters as women; “Maude” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” are two prime examples. “Maude” was a show about a woman named Maude Findlay (Dow). Kristen Lentz, a social worker from New York City notes that Maude was “overbearing, overly didactic, and intolerant of opposing viewpoints, clobbering other people with her political opinions, often lecturing her daughter and husband about ‘equality’ for women (Dow).” This was something that was very unordinary for many of the shows from the 70’s. Maude having these characteristics shows that Tandem T.V productions really wanted her to be a clear portrayal of the movements of independent women working towards an increased acceptance in society. The episode titled “Florida’s Affair” ties in directly with the new idea of feminism. While Walter, Maude’s husband, is waiting for her in the car, he is furiously honking his horn trying to get her out to the car (Fry). Maude, then, opens the door and yells at him to “cut it out (Fry).” Although this action isn’t very significant towards the development of the plot, it is vital in showing gender deconstruction. By yelling at her husband to wait on her, Maude goes against social norms. Most women in the 70’s would not have had the courage to come right out to their husbands. In another episode, the new idea of feminism happens when Henry Florida’s husband appears at the door. He has arrived to have Florida beg for his forgiveness after he caught her dancing with the plumber, Mr. Fulton (Fry). Maude, then, quickly defends Florida by saying, “Florida, after the way that man has treated you, you are not going with him until he begs for your forgiveness (Fry).” Being the supporter of equality for women, Maude wants Henry to express his forgiveness. However, going despite Maude’s words, Florida quickly begs Henry for forgiveness (Fry). Since Florida was the one who apologized, it made her seem dependent on her husband, which was something women were typically thought of being. Overall, Maude illustrates women in a different sense, portraying them as the opposite as most of the other shows in the 70’s, which portray women as being meek, mild, obedient, soft spoken, and silent. This show has really shed a new light on feminism. Alike “Maude” in it’s portray of feminism, “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” also caught fire during the 1970’s. “Mary Tyler Moore,” which premiered in 1970, was a breakthrough for leading female characters in television. This show deals with Mary’s marriage or lack thereof starting from the first episode (Dow 261). In the debut, Mary Richards, the main character, moves into her apartment and begins her new job (Dow 261). She has recently ended a relationship with a man she helped financially support through medical school, only to then find him still not ready to get married (Dow 265). Her ex-boyfriend visits her in Minneapolis, expecting her to fall happily back into his arms, even though he is revealed to be less than thoughtful by bringing her flowers swiped from a hospital patient (Dow 270). One aspect of the feminism in “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” is Mary Richards, a single woman in her early 30s who moves to the big city, and launches a television news career (Dow 274). It was a bold move for a sitcom’s main character to be a single woman, not just because of the many family oriented shows from the 50’s and 60’s, but because of the statement it made about a significant question of the “Women’s Liberation Movement:” Why couldn’t a woman define her happiness and success by things other than having a husband and children (Dow 274)? Given this very question to consider, people obviously didn’t view women like they did before. African American’s, then, like women, also starred in shows by themselves, indicating a new breakthrough, not only for women, but also for blacks. The new idea of having African American actors and actresses as the main characters in 70’s T.V shows was different than the roles African Americans held on T.V in the 60’s. In the 60’s, African American actors were told to act “colorless (Roe).” The producers were basically telling them to act as if they were white. When the end of the 60’s came around, this concept had changed a little, but not significantly. Then, in the 70’s, T.V contained an increase in the civil rights movement along with the idea of black power (Roe). Both of these issues found their ways into TV comedies from the 70’s. The sitcom comedy “Good Times” illustrated a struggling working class family trying to continue their good times in the ghetto of Chicago (Roe). In this show, James Evans, husband of Florida Evans and father of 2 children, was a man who struggled to find work (Roe). When he was out of work, he would sneak out of his house and hustle people on the pool table to make some cash (Roe). When James had the luxury of being employed, he was usually working two jobs such as a dishwasher of a car washer (Roe). The jobs that James worked, however, were temporary, and he only made enough to keep his family going (Roe). How “Good Times” had the father as a hard workingman was something that was typical of the idea of a father in this time period. But, just the idea that this working father was portrayed as an African American suggested that black people could be viewed equally in the eyes of society to white people. Although this show showed that African Americans could indeed have a regular, struggling family just like everyone else, “The Jefferson’s” was another show that proved that race doesn’t matter when it comes to making a lot of money. “The Jefferson’s” was a show that also starred African Americans as the main characters. The difference between “The Jefferson’s” and “Good Times” was that “The Jefferson’s” took place in an upper middle class family (Roe). This difference showed a change in the stereotypes that were shown in “Good Times” In this show, George Jefferson was a successful man who owned seven stores throughout New York City (Roe). This may have came to surprise viewers who were used to thinking that African American men from the 70’s were unsuccessful and struggling. Lionel, son of George, shows qualities that were those of a young man who had been affected by the civil rights movement. He was very out spoken; he spoke out when thought what someone had said was wrong (Roe). This was only one of the first African American young men to be shown in this light on TV, putting positive insight on a stereotype of African American men (Roe). They finally could speak out freely on issues they didn’t agree on. The expectations for an African American male in the 70’s weren’t very high (Roe). “Good Times” is a good example of a gender construction for this as James struggled with keeping a steady income. The struggle of keeping a steady income, however, was one that most viewers wouldn’t be surprised with seeing associated with an African American man. The idea of keeping a steady income is shown completely differently in “The Jefferson’s.” George was shown as a very successful man who lived an upper middle class life style. This lifestyle was one that many wouldn’t associate a man of his color to be living, thus going against the expectations of the African American man. “The Jefferson’s” actually reached number four in the annual television ratings in 1974, demonstrating that shows starring African Americans could achieve widespread and popular success (Roe). With shows portraying the different roles African Americans and women could play in society, it is no wonder how commercial TV also became very popular. With popular TV shows came a breakthrough for the commercial industry as well. People all over the world, while waiting for their favorite shows to return, had to listen while commercials tried to sell their products. Thus, a new consumer culture became the norm in the United States. Television advertising was becoming more sophisticated by the early 1970’s, but not by much. The typical early-seventies commercial would still feature actors representing just plain folks using a product or an expert-looking person extolling a products virtue (Walker). During the early 70’s, commercial breaks were rarely longer than one minute, so there was a great deal of less clutter for advertisers on TV to break through (Walker). Beauty products, gasoline, cars, chemical companies, soap, food, cleaning products, toys, Coke, Pepsi, and McDonalds dominated the primetime and daytime commercial landscape during this period (Walker). A commercial aired sometime in 1975, targeted women. Called “Timex,” this advertisement tried to sell a sleek watch line designed for 1970’s sensibilities (Walker). This type of watch contained lots of odd shapes and ugly fake gold (Walker). Yet, “Timex,” dominated the market. Thanks to decades of strong marketing, by the time this TV ad aired, one out of every two watches bought in the U.S, was a Timex (Walker). Another popular product that gained popularity in the 70’s was “Kodak.” “Kodak” had been around since the 1880s when the roll film was introduced, making photography accessible to the general public (Walker). In 1972, however, Kodak shrank their immensely popular Instamatic cameras down to pocket size (Walker). As a result, by 1975, the company sold 25 million units of these mini-cameras (Walker). Commercials in this decade also introduced sexist portrayals of men and women. In a particular 7-Up commercial, TV featured a gorgeous guy, who was drinking a 7-Up, driving in a hot car at full speed (Walker). He then gets pulled over, and is promptly read the rights of his arrest (Walker). The female police officer, after doing so, then takes off her hat and starts grinning at the guy (Walker). She soon falls head over heels in love with the guy, so he doesn’t get arrested (Walker). After getting in the car with him, they drive off, leaving the other male police officers flabbergasted (Walker). The theme song throughout this commercial was: “Are You Up For It? (Walker)” This advertisement showed how 7-Up could in fact pick up girls. Obviously this wasn’t the case, but a lot of men fell for it, proving that women were the actual products being sold, and not the item itself. The idea of having women as “sex” objects stuck around to the present time. Everywhere today, people may see women selling cars, clothes, beer, etc. etc. These commercials all contain one message however: if one buys the product, one can also get a cute girl. With TV starting to objectify women in the 70s, one shouldn’t be surprised to also see how the traditional family values are also starting to dissipate. With popular TV shows airing every night, everyone could watch the same program halfway across the nation. But, to those people watching TV, the idea of the traditional family had no effect like it once had been. Through shows such as “All In The Family,” the family barriers were soon broken down. Showing a disclaimer when it first aired, “All In The Family” premiered in 1971, and Americans all over the nation heard ethnic slurs for the first time on television (All In The Family Cast). This show represents a turning point for the American situation comedy. Archie Bunker, the main protagonist of the show, hardly knows best as evidenced by his racial slurs and patriarchal ideals (All In The Family Cast). Edith Bunker, the mother/wife of the show, unlike women of the time period, hardly deals with family issues and parenting crises (All In The Family Cast). “All In The Family” tackled the American mythology with a portrayal of realistic issues. Issues of contemporary society like homosexuality, racism, sexism, and economic uncertainty (All In The Family Cast). These topics were portrayed in ways never seen before. As the show progressed, however, it grew further and further away from its original format. During the 1977-1978 season, Archie gave up his job to pursue the American dream of owning his own business (Television Shows 70s). So, he purchased a bar from a friend, and reopened it as “Archie’s Place. (Television Shows 70s)” This season included episodes with some very adult themes, including one in which an intruder attempted to rape Edith (Television Shows 70s). By having rape on a sitcom really showed how this show has progressed since the first season. Then, at the end of the season, 2 very prominent actors, Rob Reiner and Sally Struthers, announced that they were leaving the cast of “All In The Family” for ventures of their own (Television Shows 70s). It also saw the kids moving to California, away from Archie and Edith (Television Shows 70s). The episode was a tearful and sentimental farewell, leaving Archie and Edith with an “empty nest.” Showing things that have never before been shown on TV, the show combines a plethora of different controversial themes throughout the course of the lifetime. But, the most significant of these themes is the break-up of family. As seen in the show, the family, after a couple of seasons, begins thinning down as more and more people leave and go start other lives elsewhere. Just two seasons after came a development that in the early days of the series would have seemed unthinkable. Edith died suddenly, of a stroke (All In The Family Cast). Edith, portrayed by Jean Stapleton, feeling that she had exhausted the potential of her character, wished to be played out of the series in the previous season (All In The Family Cast). So, the show killed her off. Thus, during the premiere of the next season, Archie was seen grieving over Edith’s unexpected death (All In The Family Cast). Life did go on, however, and Archie hired a black housekeeper, Ellen Canby, to help look after his niece (All In The Family Cast). With Edith gone, Archie gingerly moved into the dating scene, for the first time in more than 25 years (All In The Family Cast). Throughout all of these changes, “All In The Family” remained one of the top hits on television (1970s Period of Change). It did not begin that way, however. It took 1971 audiences several months to adjust to the blunt, outrageous humor of the show (1970s Period of Change). At a time, it seemed possible that the show might be canceled given how it portrayed controversial issues through humor. But, by the summer of 1971, the show had become a hit and the number-one program on television (1970’s Period of Change). Part of its appeal was based on the fact that it could be interpreted in several different ways. The loud-mouthed yet vulnerable Archie Bunker was a man for all audiences. TV is a constant presence in most Americans’ lives. With its fast-moving, visually interesting, highly entertaining style, it commands many people’s attention for several hours each day. The 1970’s proved to be a breakthrough for TV. Through different shows and commercials, the ideas of women, race, and family were all portrayed un-traditionally on TV. Prompting a national culture through television, in fact, brought many Americans closer together. A person watching a show in California could easily contact his/her friend halfway across the nation to discuss what’s going to happen next. TV played, and is still playing an important role in American society. Because of the ideas portrayed back in the 70’s, people today are viewing women and African Americans in society as equals. Everybody in this society isn’t part of a perfect, traditional family. Divorces are common, and single women are not perceived as weird. To sum up, television will remain one of the most popular sources of entertainment throughout American society, regardless of the development of other sources of technology. Despite the message that it carries, TV will forever bring about a sense togetherness that people before the 70s couldn’t really experience.