Proceedings of the 2021 International Conference on Social Development and Media Communication (SDMC 2021)

Correlation Analysis on the Maternal Role in American Family Sitcoms During 1951-1960 and 2011-2020

Authors
Shiyu Ye
Shanghai Foreign Language School, Shanghai, 200083, China
Corresponding author. Email: gaoming@cas-harbour.org
Corresponding Author
Shiyu Ye
Available Online 17 January 2022.
DOI
10.2991/assehr.k.220105.130How to use a DOI?
Keywords
sitcoms; motherhood; family; gender roles; cultural industry; media studies
Abstract

Family sitcoms, as part of the cultural industry, are viewed by millions of people, if not more, every year. This study looked into the transition of maternal role in American family sitcoms, thus reflecting corresponding change in perception of mothers in the society. The paper utilized a quantitative and correlational analysis method to examine if differences exist between the representation of mothers in 1951-1960 and in 2011-2020. After retrieving a list of all television and radio sitcoms ever made, items that were produced outside the US, produced outside the designated time range, or did not focus on family were excluded. Thus a sample of 65 sitcoms, with 14 released between 1951 and 1960, and 51 released between 2011 and 2020, was created. Implemented relativity tests included a Chi-Square Test and a One-Way ANOVA Test between the variables of Starting Year and Marital Status/Number of Kids. As a result, an association was found between the year and marital status of mothers, while little association was found between year and kid numbers. The analysis revealed that while pervasive ideas regarding kid number and couple marriage remained dominant, qualities such as mothers’ marital status became more diverse, indicating the growing independence of mothers from their spouses.

Copyright
© 2022 The Authors. Published by Atlantis Press SARL.
Open Access
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license.

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Volume Title
Proceedings of the 2021 International Conference on Social Development and Media Communication (SDMC 2021)
Series
Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research
Publication Date
17 January 2022
ISBN
978-94-6239-512-1
ISSN
2352-5398
DOI
10.2991/assehr.k.220105.130How to use a DOI?
Copyright
© 2022 The Authors. Published by Atlantis Press SARL.
Open Access
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license.

Cite this article

TY  - CONF
AU  - Shiyu Ye
PY  - 2022
DA  - 2022/01/17
TI  - Correlation Analysis on the Maternal Role in American Family Sitcoms During 1951-1960 and 2011-2020
BT  - Proceedings of the 2021 International Conference on Social Development and Media Communication (SDMC 2021)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 707
EP  - 712
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.220105.130
DO  - 10.2991/assehr.k.220105.130
ID  - Ye2022
ER  -