This is the first anthology that examines the TV sitcom in terms of its treatment of gender, family, class, race, and ethnic issues. The selections range from early shows such as
I Remember Mama
(George Lipsitz's "Why Remember Mama? The Changing Face of a Woman's Narrative") to the more recent
Roseanne
(Kathleen Rowe Karlyn's "Roseanne: Unruly Woman as a Domestic Goddess"). The volume also looks unflinchingly at major controversies; for example, the NAACP boycott of the stereotypical yet wildly popular
Amos 'n' Andy
and the queer reading of
Laverne and Shirley.
These diverse essays constitute a veritable history of postwar American mores. Some are classic, some forgotten, but all indicate the importance of considering text and subtext (social, historic, industrial) in the critical study of television. A final chapter by Joanne Morreale bids sitcoms adieu with the "cultural spectacle of
Seinfeld's
last episode."