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Sex and the City, Platinum Edition: How The Golden Girls Altered American Situation Comedy

Brown, Jared Clayton
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1366060647

Abstract Details

2013, Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, Popular Culture.
When The Golden Girls premiered in 1985, the show helped usher in a new era in American situation comedy television. American audiences had never seen a situation comedy where a group of adult women were the focal point of each episode. There had certainly been programming prior to the show where women held starring roles, but never before had anything like The Golden Girls been shown in American prime time television. The show left an indelible mark and millions of Americans have followed the adventures Dorothy, Rose, Blanche, and Sophia, both in its original run from 1985 to 1992, and in its current syndication status on several cable television networks. Sex and the City, Platinum Edition: How The Golden Girls Altered American Situation Comedy explores several of the ways in which the program effected American culture in terms of television as well as away from the television screen. The first chapter of the project explores how the show laid the groundwork for several other programs followed the show’s lead by installing a group of adult women at its center. Comparisons between The Golden Girls and several of these shows (including Sex and the City, Designing Women, and Hot in Cleveland) are made in terms of character types and plotlines. The conclusion is drawn that The Golden Girls was the first adult female ensemble in situation comedy television and these shows were inspired by the program. The second chapter of the project examines how each of the characters through the performance of age and sexuality were actively fighting denigrating stereotypes often associated with older females in American society. The chapter contains specific examples from several episodes involving each of the series four main characters and how each of these portrayals stands in direct contrast to the beliefs typically attributed to older American women regarding the intersection of age and sexuality. The third and final chapter of the project explores how the series was able to connect with audiences members of all ages. One key way the series was able to establish its audience was through addressing real life social issues, which had become popular during the 1970s through shows such as All in the Family, Maude, and The Jeffersons; all created by producer Norman Lear. The chapter specifically focuses on the The Golden Girls’ treatment of controversial topics including HIV/AIDS, homosexuality, and homelessness. In confronting topics such as these, the show was able to contribute to real life discourses that were occurring when show was originally airing. The assertion is presented that by tackling social issues such as these, the characters were able to de-centralize their ages and connect with audience members of various age demographics because issues such as these affected people of all ages.
Becca Cragin, PhD (Advisor)
Jeffrey Brown, PhD (Committee Member)
Scott Magelssen, PhD (Committee Member)
58 p.
Aging; American Studies; Communication; Gender; Gender Studies; Gerontology; Mass Communications; Mass Media; Multimedia Communications; Performing Arts; Theater Studies; Womens Studies
The Golden Girls; Television Studies; Situation Comedy; Sitcoms; Women in Television; Television Performance; Performance Studies; Genre Studies; Television Comedy; Female Comediennes; Female Sexuality; Social Issues in Television; Older Women on TV

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Brown, J. C. (2013). Sex and the City, Platinum Edition: How The Golden Girls Altered American Situation Comedy [Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1366060647

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Brown, Jared. Sex and the City, Platinum Edition: How The Golden Girls Altered American Situation Comedy. 2013. Bowling Green State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1366060647.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Brown, Jared. "Sex and the City, Platinum Edition: How The Golden Girls Altered American Situation Comedy." Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1366060647

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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© 2013, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Bowling Green State University and OhioLINK.