TV Revolution

May 23, 2004

The portrayal of homosexuality on television, from the less than flattering depiction of gays in the 1950s, through Billy Crystal's gay character on ""Soap"" to the present-day phenomenon of ""Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.""

May 23, 2004

How women have been portrayed on TV, from the 50's housewife in pearls on ""Leave It to Beaver"", through the depicion of an independent woman in ""The Mary Tyler Moore Show"" and the ""jiggle TV"" of ""Three's Company"" and ""Charlie's Angels"", to the complex schemers of ""Dynasty"" and ""All My Children.""

May 24, 2004

A history of sex on American TV includes the sexless 50's, when TV husbands and wives slept in separate beds, through the sexual revolution in the 1960s and the magically powerful women of ""Bewitched"" and ""I Dream of Jeannie"", the ribald comedy of ""Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In"", the development of ""T&A TV"" in the 70s, and finally the impact of the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal.

May 25, 2004

The depiction of minorities on American TV, and how it changed with the development of the civil-rights movement, up to the present with ""The Bernie Mac Show."" And Julia was the first show that had a African American lead.

May 26, 2004

How violence has been depicted on TV over the years and how it may affect viewers, from the gritty crime dramas of the 50s like ""The Untouchables"" to the gritty crime dramas of today like ""The Sopranos"" and ""The Shield"", including the westerns of the 50s and news coverage of the Vietnam War.