I Love Lucy was an American sitcom that aired in 1957. It won five Emmy Awards and quickly became the most watched show in the US. It was translated into dozens of other languages and gained a global audience. This show revolutionized American television by redefining what could be shown on TV.
Although many parts of the I Love Lucy storyline were challenged or altered, it broke many barriers.
The show changed the way pregnancy was portrayed on TV. It was one of the earliest shows that was even allowed to feature pregnancy. Moral standards of the television industry deemed the word “pregnant” too vulgar to say. So, the word was never used in the show. CBS even made a priest, minister, and rabbi look over the script and approve it before allowing their episodes to air. Many critics disliked the show when it first came out, saying that the plot was too crazy. Although the television industry worried about controversy, the American public seemed ready for the topics displayed on the show. The episode where Lucy gave birth to her son was aired one day before President Eisenhower’s inauguration. This episode had a greater viewing than the inauguration.
Lucille Ball was the star of the show, taking on one of the first female, comedic leads. However, she was not only an actress, but she also had lots of power in the industry. She co-owned the shows production company with her husband and produced many other popular TV shows. After she and her husband divorced, Ball bought her ex-husband out of the company. She was the first female leader of an influential production company that produced many successful shows like Star Trek and Mission Impossible.
The show was one of the first to display an accurate representation of female friendships. Unlike many shows, the women did not compete over men or status and took on their own adventures, showing love and support for each other.
I Love Lucy is also the first show to portray a multiethnic relationship. Lucille Ball fought with CBS and the show’s sponsors to get this approved. Many people did not think that the viewers would accept the couple.
Despite the many disagreements over the plotline of I Love Lucy, it became an American favorite and lead the way for a new wave of television.
I'm so glad you wrote this post! Lucille Ball has always been one of my idols - I actually dressed up as her for famous Americans day in 3rd grade. The success of I Love Lucy and the way it impacted so many aspects of American life really reveals the great impact television and the media has on our lives. I wonder if there's a show that has been as influential to our modern society as I Love Lucy was during the 50s and 60s.
ReplyDeleteNice post! I think that it's really interesting and important to acknowledge the contribution of I Love Lucy for television as a whole. I didn't do much research into the background of the complicated storyline but was it because of the standards that it pushed? It's also nice to see that even today it is still being viewed by millions around the world. In fact, in 2013 a color Christmas episode got over 8 million views on CBS, a testament to such a great and influential show.
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