Pop Media - Sitcoms and Magazines

Pop Media

Approach – I will be looking at magazine covers and advertisements as well as sitcoms. My data will range from the 50’s until present day. I will be looking at these media outlets searching to find the way that women are represented and portrayed in these images and sitcoms.

The magazines I will be looking at are Rolling Stone, Life, Playboy, and several others that I have yet to determine. The way I choose my magazines first had to do with a popularity factor. The second determining factor was availability. I originally wanted to do the sears catalogue but could not find them on either the web or in the library. The Sears Catalogue is only available for collectors. I am also deciding if I should do Victoria secret but I have not been able to find any past magazine archives. The other magazines that I am planning to incorporate are Cosmo and FHM. If in my research I find other relevant magazines that pertain to either the past or present I will add them accordingly.

I did an Internet search of top sitcoms of all time and then a search based on era. I then looked up what resources were available to me to do research on. I have picked a few and will determine what is a fair amount of viewing time for each. Most of these shows aired for several seasons with several episodes in each season. The main three shows that I have picked this far to watch and research are from three time periods. The first is the 50’s-60’s, which is when, “Leave it to Beaver” aired (1957-1963). The second is the 70’s -80’s, which is when, “Happy Days” aired (1974-1984). The third is the 90’s -2000’s, which is when, “Everybody Loves Raymond” aired (1996-2005). I may incorporate other sitcoms in my research but seeing as how most episodes are anywhere from 30-45 minutes it is a time consuming endeavor. 

best of luck to everyone!

-nichole