Testing Censorship Boundaries in the 60′s
Television programming in the 1960′s focused on issues relevant to the normal American family such as the Taylors of the Andy Griffith Show and The Andersons of Father Knows Best. Even eccentric families such as the Beverly Hillbillies and prehistoric families like the Flintstones maintained high moral standards and personal ethics. Television families of the sixties were known to include a Martian, a witch and a genie but none were affected by domestic violence, divorce or infidelity. Though the civil rights movement and women’s liberation were changing the nation sitcom families of the decade were blissfully unaware of such social issues. Our believed families suffered no alcoholism, unemployment or sexual dysfunction. TV censors of the 1960′s were free to monitor the content of comedy programs like Laugh-In and the Smothers Brothers.
America would wait another decade before producer Norma Lear brought us realistic TV characters with shows like All In The Family. The Bunker family faced no other TV family had experienced. At the time there was an Archie Bunker in the majority of American households although his character may be credited with many recognizing and changing their behavior. TV censorship became an issue due to Archie’s views on politics, race relations, women’s lib and just about everything.