Bewitched (1964-1972)
Bewitched follows the life of a "typical housewife" by the name of Samantha Stephens. Her husband, Darrin, works as an advertising agent to support their middle-class lifestyle. So, what makes the show interesting? Samantha is a witch, making her more powerful than her mortal husband. Darrin made Samantha promise not to use her powers, thus taking control as the head of the house him be in control. Samantha, however, used her powers to solve a variety of problems that arose throughout each episode.
Samantha dressed and acted like a typical housewife of the time (except for her occasional use of magic.) She shows that while she appears to be a typical housewife, she is so much more than that, and that portrayal shows the start of the shift from housewife of the fifties to a more independent image in later decades. But, Bewitched also showed that women should want to be housewives. Samantha's mother in the show points out that she could have stayed independent as a witch, but threw that away to marry a mortal, therefore saying she wanted to be a housewife, or would accept that status, as a result of her marriage.
Samantha dressed and acted like a typical housewife of the time (except for her occasional use of magic.) She shows that while she appears to be a typical housewife, she is so much more than that, and that portrayal shows the start of the shift from housewife of the fifties to a more independent image in later decades. But, Bewitched also showed that women should want to be housewives. Samantha's mother in the show points out that she could have stayed independent as a witch, but threw that away to marry a mortal, therefore saying she wanted to be a housewife, or would accept that status, as a result of her marriage.
I Dream of Jeannie (1965-1970)
Captain Tony Nelson finds himself on a deserted island after his one-man space capsule lands far from its intended target. He finds a bottle that contains a genie, Jeannie, who's been stuck inside for two-thousand years. After being trapped inside for two millennium, Jeanie falls in love with Tony on sight, and chooses to stay with him as her "master" after he frees her in exchange for her summoning a rescue helicopter. Back home, Tony is engaged to the daughter of his commanding general, and Jeannie breaks it up. For a while, in an attempt to control her, Tony keeps Jeannie in her bottle, but then allows her to have her own life free of it.
Jeannie, aside from her magical abilities as a genie, is not a typical female of the era. From the way she dresses (in pantaloons and with a bare midriff), to the fact that she's a woman living alone with a man without being married to him. In the show, we again see the start of a shift of the portrayal of women from typical housewife to what we would typically see in later decades as Jeannie is portrayed as more of an independent woman than previous roles of women in television. She never becomes a housewife, as other shows of the era portrayed their women, and wasn't even married until near the end of the series, showing that women could have a different life than just being a housewife.
Jeannie, aside from her magical abilities as a genie, is not a typical female of the era. From the way she dresses (in pantaloons and with a bare midriff), to the fact that she's a woman living alone with a man without being married to him. In the show, we again see the start of a shift of the portrayal of women from typical housewife to what we would typically see in later decades as Jeannie is portrayed as more of an independent woman than previous roles of women in television. She never becomes a housewife, as other shows of the era portrayed their women, and wasn't even married until near the end of the series, showing that women could have a different life than just being a housewife.
References:
http://womenshistory.about.com/od/feminismandpopculture/a/Feminism-Bewitched-Sitcoms.htm
http://www.tabula-rasa.info/BurntToast/Issue11/Bewitched.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bewitched
http://www.idreamofjeannie.com/theshow/concept.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Dream_of_Jeannie
Images:
http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/bewitched/images/7971814/title/bewitched-collage-wallpaper
http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/i-dream-of-jeannie/images/2793847/title/dream-jeannie-wallpaper-wallpaper
http://womenshistory.about.com/od/feminismandpopculture/a/Feminism-Bewitched-Sitcoms.htm
http://www.tabula-rasa.info/BurntToast/Issue11/Bewitched.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bewitched
http://www.idreamofjeannie.com/theshow/concept.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Dream_of_Jeannie
Images:
http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/bewitched/images/7971814/title/bewitched-collage-wallpaper
http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/i-dream-of-jeannie/images/2793847/title/dream-jeannie-wallpaper-wallpaper