When you've had a long and stressful day, one of the best things you can do for yourself is have a hearty laugh. A great way to get the laughter you need is to watch television comedies. What any people don't realize is that while they watch classic TV sitcoms, they may be exposed to new ideas or to different perspectives on old issues and that in time their attitudes may change for the better.
The humor in a sitcom normally comes from the situations in which the characters find themselves. This is why the genre is more formally known as the situation comedy. One of the great American classics in the genre was 'I Love Lucy' in the Fifties, while lines from the British 'Fawlty Towers' from the Seventies are still quoted even by people who've never seen this hilarious show.
A recurring theme in the history of sitcoms is that of family life. Often that family consists of a man and woman as the parents to several children. This type of set-up was very popular in the Eighties, when the Reagan administration focused on family values such as those shown by the Keatons in 'Family Ties' and the Huxtables in 'The Cosby Show'.
Today not many families resemble the traditional model. There are many households headed by a single parent, for instance. Some shows of the Eighties started touching on this idea, notably 'Full House', which showed men in all the parenting roles, and 'Kate and Allie' with its two single mothers. Some families today consist of adult relatives living in the same household, such as Frasier Crane and his father Marty in 'Frasier'.
As young people move to cities like New York, they leave behind their families and need to find a new support system that they can count on. The urban family that is made up of unmarried friends started featuring in shows such as 'Seinfeld' and the trend continued with 'Friends' and later with 'How I Met Your Mother'. 'Will and Grace' broke new ground by making two of its main characters openly gay.
Cultural differences can make for some great laughs, as proved by the old British sitcom 'Mind Your Language', about an eclectic group of immigrants learning English. However, shows that used this theme have been very helpful in creating cultural tolerance and understanding. 'Aliens in America', for instance, featured a Muslim exchange student from Pakistan, at a time when many in the Western world feared Islam.
A long-running sitcom of the Eighties had as its setting one of the most horrific situations possible. 'MASH' was set during the Korean War, specifically in an army field hospital. Heart-wrenching scenes of death and destruction were placed in between scenes of the wildest, funniest antics. Interestingly, this was very realistic, since humor was a way for medical personnel during that war, and in most others, to handle the daily horrors of armed conflict.
These days it's incredibly easy to watch almost any classic sitcom you can think of. Sometimes you may find reruns on TV. Many shows are available on DVD as well and with a good internet connection, you also have the option of simply streaming the episodes you want to see.
The humor in a sitcom normally comes from the situations in which the characters find themselves. This is why the genre is more formally known as the situation comedy. One of the great American classics in the genre was 'I Love Lucy' in the Fifties, while lines from the British 'Fawlty Towers' from the Seventies are still quoted even by people who've never seen this hilarious show.
A recurring theme in the history of sitcoms is that of family life. Often that family consists of a man and woman as the parents to several children. This type of set-up was very popular in the Eighties, when the Reagan administration focused on family values such as those shown by the Keatons in 'Family Ties' and the Huxtables in 'The Cosby Show'.
Today not many families resemble the traditional model. There are many households headed by a single parent, for instance. Some shows of the Eighties started touching on this idea, notably 'Full House', which showed men in all the parenting roles, and 'Kate and Allie' with its two single mothers. Some families today consist of adult relatives living in the same household, such as Frasier Crane and his father Marty in 'Frasier'.
As young people move to cities like New York, they leave behind their families and need to find a new support system that they can count on. The urban family that is made up of unmarried friends started featuring in shows such as 'Seinfeld' and the trend continued with 'Friends' and later with 'How I Met Your Mother'. 'Will and Grace' broke new ground by making two of its main characters openly gay.
Cultural differences can make for some great laughs, as proved by the old British sitcom 'Mind Your Language', about an eclectic group of immigrants learning English. However, shows that used this theme have been very helpful in creating cultural tolerance and understanding. 'Aliens in America', for instance, featured a Muslim exchange student from Pakistan, at a time when many in the Western world feared Islam.
A long-running sitcom of the Eighties had as its setting one of the most horrific situations possible. 'MASH' was set during the Korean War, specifically in an army field hospital. Heart-wrenching scenes of death and destruction were placed in between scenes of the wildest, funniest antics. Interestingly, this was very realistic, since humor was a way for medical personnel during that war, and in most others, to handle the daily horrors of armed conflict.
These days it's incredibly easy to watch almost any classic sitcom you can think of. Sometimes you may find reruns on TV. Many shows are available on DVD as well and with a good internet connection, you also have the option of simply streaming the episodes you want to see.
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