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Criticism and Television Comedy Drama: An Analysis of All in the Family

Wright, John Lewis
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1566297715172567

Abstract Details

1975, Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, Media and Communication.
Television has become the medium for the most popular art forms of our time, and there is a need for television criticism which is investigative and founded on knowledge of traditional patterns of artistic expression. Television comedy drama is a new part of a long comic tradition. At the same time the medium itself changes somewhat the nature of the work; for example, the structure and pace of television comedy is highly controlled, the process of creation is communal, and the pervasiveness of the broadcast medium provides an audience of the greatest diversity. To demonstrate the application of traditional literary theories and methods, the various elements in the success of the American television comedy series All in the Family are analyzed, using the original scripts of the first four seasons as source materials. The British prototype, Till Death Us Do Part, is examined in some detail, as the American series is closely based on this program, with its bigoted father, absent-minded mother, and their troublesome daughter and son-in-law in realistic conflict in a lower-class setting. The study then traces the premiere of All in the Family: the process of getting the program broadcast, the critical reception, and the popularity of the series in its first season. The success of All in the Family may be attributed to a skillful combination of invention and convention. The program brought new depth to American television comedy by providing a realistic setting, by giving the family a past, and by introducing complex and controversial characters and issues. While the characters are recognizable members of a modern lower-middle-class urban family, they are also founded on stock comic figures: Archie the buffoon, Mike the ironist, Edith the naif, and Gloria the ingenue. Similarly, though current and controversial issues are raised, the resolution of problems is based on a traditional comic ethic of moderation and pragmatism. Finally, the series has been successful because it has created and maintained a tension between the modes of low and high comedy, blending farce and social satire. Included in the study is a listing of the episodes of the first four seasons of the series, with titles, taping and air dates, personnel involved, and brief summaries.
Thomas L. Wymer (Advisor)
American Studies

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Wright, J. L. (1975). Criticism and Television Comedy Drama: An Analysis of All in the Family [Doctoral dissertation, Bowling Green State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1566297715172567

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Wright, John. Criticism and Television Comedy Drama: An Analysis of All in the Family. 1975. Bowling Green State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1566297715172567.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Wright, John. "Criticism and Television Comedy Drama: An Analysis of All in the Family." Doctoral dissertation, Bowling Green State University, 1975. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1566297715172567

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

bgsu1566297715172567
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