My Three Witches (1960s)

The 1960s brought color TV to the world. This new novelty was first shown by the National Broadcasting Company (NBC). It was a symbol of a promise of American splendor and optimism. Times were changing throughout this era. TV reflected those changes, as well.

In the 1960s, the nuclear family structure was beginning to break down. In reality, divorce rates were climbing. The nation had just been struck by the Presidential family being broken when JFK was shot. The tight-knit family was becoming rarer. TV shows began to reflect this as they begin featuring single-parent families. The censors required that they not be shown as divorced, but widowed (Spigel 588).

Another popular new trend was “fantastic” families. These focused on characters that had some sort of bizarre twist such as magic or powers. They often had traditional views with untraditional characteristics.

These untraditional structured families often still reflected the values of the 1950s. The focus was still placed on the family being cohesive and supporting each other. Two popular shows would be My Three Sons and Bewitched.

My Three Sons was touted as a program that was representative of America. Up until the 1960s, most TV families were nuclear but My Three Sons put the focus on a single, widowed parent raising the family. It has been criticized as being misogynistic. It touted men as being completely capable of all the things women do and showed the female guest stars as slightly hysterical.



The opening



A promo for the show

Bewitched was the story of Samantha and Darrin Stephens, a young couple that had a unique twist. Samantha was a witch. The conflict was usually family based and was often fixed when Samantha used her powers. Darrin makes her vow to not use her powers, but she often does for the sake of her family. This show showcased some of the underlying issues of women’s role in society and changing domestic ways of life.



The original black and white opening



Sam and Darrin at home.

Bibliography:
Lane, Christina. "Bewitched." Encylopedia of Television. 1st ed. 1 vols. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn, 1997.

Leibman, Nina C. "My Three Sons." Encylopedia of Television. 1st ed. 2 vols. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn, 1997.

Marc, Robinson,. Brought to you in living color 75 years of great moments in television & radio from NBC. New York, NY: Wiley, 2002.

Spigel, Lynn. "Family on Television." Encylopedia of Television. 1st ed. 1 vols. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn, 1997.