University of Florida Thesis Or Dissertation Formatting

Home , Aunt Bee, A House Divided (Dallas), Becky Hill, Boss Hogg, Delta Burke, Dennis Moore (actor)

THE TELEVISED SOUTH: AN ANALYSIS OF THE DOMINANT READINGS OF SELECT PRIME-TIME PROGRAMS FROM THE REGION

COLIN PATRICK KEARNEY

A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA

2020

To my family

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

A Doctor of Philosophy signals another rite of passage in a career of educational learning. With that thought in mind, I must first thank the individuals who made this rite possible. Over the past 23 years, I have been most fortunate to be a student of the following teachers:

Lori Hocker, Linda Franke, Dandridge Penick, Vickie Hickman, Amy Henson, Karen Hull, Sonya Cauley, Eileen Head, Anice Machado, Teresa Torrence, Rosemary Powell, Becky Hill, Nellie Reynolds, Mike Gibson, Jane Mortenson, Nancy Badertscher, Susan Harvey, Julie Lipscomb, Linda Wood, Kim Pollock, Elizabeth Hellmuth, Vicki Black, Jeff Melton, Daniel DeVier, Rusty Ford, Bryan Tolley, Jennifer Hall, Casey Wineman, Elaine Shanks, Paulette Morant, Cat Tobin, Brian Freeland, Cindy Jones, Lee McLaughlin, Phyllis Parker, Sue Seaman, Amanda Evans, David Smith, Greer Stene, Davina Copsy, Brian Baker, Laura Shull, Elizabeth Ramsey, Joann Blouin, Linda Fort, Judah Brownstein, Beth Lollis, Dennis Moore, Nathan Unroe, Bob Csongei, Troy Bogino, Christine Haynes, Rebecca Scales, Robert Sims, Ian Ward, Emily Watson-Adams, Marek Sojka, Paula Nadler, Marlene Cohen, Sheryl Friedley, James Gardner, Peter Becker, Rebecca Ericsson, George Mushrush, Catherine Wright, David Miller, Richard Norton Smith, Angela Suarez, Xiaomei Cai, Cindy Lont, Ryan Swanson, Suzanne Smith, Frank Philpot, Jessica Matthews, Tim Gibson, Mike Dickerson, Stephen Groening, Constant Cheng, Constance Hylton, Derek Sweetman, Paula Petrik, Greg Crabtree, Cheryl Wood, Robert Gaudian, Nancy Signorielli, Scott Caplan, Jenny Lambe, Danna Young, Lindsay Hoffman, Steve Mortenson, Tracey Holden, Debbie Treise, Cynthia Morton, Norm Lewis, Louise Newman, Bernell Tripp, Tami Tomasello, Huan Chen, Ronald Rodgers, Rich Conley, Amy Jo Coffey, Ben Wise, Jasmine McNealy, and Herbert Lowe.

I must give my advisor and committee chair, Dr. Ronald Rodgers, thanks for his tireless efforts and consistent source of help for not only this work, but for my personal and professional growth as a person and scholar. He allowed me not only to grow through this work but pushed me throughout the process to make it a piece of academic literature worthy of publication.

I would also like to thank my other committee members, Dr. Norm Lewis, Dr.

Frank Waddell, and Dr. Benjamin Wise. Throughout this process, you each have

uniquely ensured that I be put on a track to complete a well-written and researched work. Each of you brought a level of enthusiasm to this project that made me believe that his project was one worth pursuing.

To my cohort, for always having a level of understanding and ability to create a new community in Gainesville, Florida – a place not originally on my radar when beginning this experience. I am deeply indebted to your support, kindness, and compassion.

To Summer Shelton, Amanda Kastrinos, Austin Vining, Dave McLean, and

Vaughan James, for providing unwavering friendship and unrelenting fun during this experience. You provided so many shoulders to cry on and tables to play games on that it felt as if we were laughing and crying at the same time, but either way the past years have flown by.

Finally, to my family, you always have known when I needed encouragement, support, and love. You were never hesitant to give advice, ask if I needed help, or simply be there for me at just the right time. I love you all.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

page

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...... 4

LIST OF TABLES ...... 8

ABSTRACT ...... 9

CHAPTER

1 INTRODUCTION ...... 10

Television In America...... 12 America: 1960s-1990s ...... 19 Civil Rights: 1954-1968 ...... 20 Vietnam: 1959-1975 ...... 21 Watergate: 1972-1974 ...... 22 Conservatism: 1980-1993 ...... 23 The Critical-Cultural Trend Of The Mid-Twentieth Century ...... 24 Study’s Purpose ...... 26

2 LITERATURE REVIEW ...... 27

Studying The Media ...... 28 Theoretical Perspectives ...... 30 Symbolic annihilation ...... 30 Critical theory and cultural studies ...... 33 Stuart Hall and the encoding/decoding model...... 34 Symbolic annihilation & cultural studies: comparisons and contrasts ...... 37 The Mediated South ...... 39 Reruns: Television’s Heartbeat Of Enduring And Culturally Relevant Programming ...... 42 Research Question ...... 44

3 METHODOLOGY ...... 46

Textual Analysis ...... 46 Semiotics ...... 47 The Codes Of Television ...... 50 Character ...... 51 Narrative ...... 51 Setting ...... 51 The Discourse-Historical Approach ...... 52 Study Population and Research Sample ...... 53 The Andy Griffith Show (1960-1968) ...... 60

The Waltons (1972-1981) ...... 61 The Dukes of Hazzard (1978-1985) ...... 61 Dallas (1978-1991) ...... 62 The Golden Girls (1985-1992) ...... 63 Designing Women (1986-1993) ...... 63

4 RESULTS ...... 65

Community Trumps Individuality ...... 65 Progress Can Complement But Not Supersede Tradition...... 70 Ends-Based Justice ...... 76 Women as Bearers Of Meaning ...... 81 Stereotypes Combat Regional Pride ...... 94 Responsibility Guides Philosophy ...... 101

5 DISCUSSION ...... 107

Growth Of Theoretical Perspectives ...... 123 Limitations And Future Research ...... 125

APPENDIX: LIST OF EPISODES ...... 129

LIST OF REFERENCES ...... 134

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH ...... 146

LIST OF TABLES

Table page

3-1 Population of Programs ...... 54

3-2 Programs by Nielsen Rating ...... 55

3-3 Prime-Time Emmy Nominations and Awards by Program ...... 56

3-4 Programs by Number of Episodes and DVD availability ...... 57

3-5 Summary of Criteria within Total Population ...... 58

Abstract of Dissertation Presented to the Graduate School of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy

THE TELEVISED SOUTH: AN ANALYSIS OF THE DOMINANT READINGS OF SELECT PRIME-TIME PROGRAMS FROM THE REGION

Colin P. Kearney

December 2020

Chair: Ronald Rodgers Major: Mass Communication

From 1960-1993, prime-time television’s portrayal of the American South shifted from rural-oriented shows to those set in more urban settings. Yet, the underlying question of how the South was presented, regardless of setting, has yet to be fully discovered. Through a textual analysis and use of Hall’s Encoding/Decoding model of programs from this period, this study identified six key readings: Community Trumps

Individuality; Progress Can Complement but not Supersede Tradition; Ends Based

Justice; Stereotypes Obscure Regional Pride; Women as Bearers of Meaning and

Responsibility Guides Philosophy. Combined, they present a televised region focused on one common thread: nostalgia. The fictional, televised South has been a reliable way for television executives to create massive profits while embedding their perceived meaning of the region. Such imposed meanings have therefore been decoded by generations of audiences for over six decades to create a fictionalized, nostalgic area of comfort and familiarity.

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

Between 1960 and 1993 the American South was represented and portrayed on broadcast television in two distinct waves. The first, depicted the region through the rural South with comedies such as The Andy Griffith Show, Green Acres, and The

Beverly Hillbillies being mainstays in the primetime lineup. The second wave introduced a more urbanized south, with shows like Dallas and Designing Women showcasing the region in a completely different way.

A decade after purging rural, Southern-based programs, broadcast television opted to give new life to the South, focusing on both rural and urban-set programs with shows such as Dallas, The Golden Girls, and Designing Women. Using theoretical perspectives, including Cultivation Theory and Symbolic Annihilation and Stuart Hall’s

Encoding/Decoding Model involved a message analysis of rural programs to better understand what types of images and content they contained.

The current multifaceted state of television, through broadcast, cable, and streaming platforms has allowed creators and writers of content more opportunity to tell stories and broadcast programs on various channels. However, even in this seemingly infinite state, few programs are set in the American South; neither the rural or urban

South has achieved parity compared to the Northeast and West Coast of the United

States. In some instances, programs that aired on broadcast television a half-century ago remain the only ones to be set in a city or state in the South. Furthermore, the impact of reruns for certain popular programs, including The Andy Griffith Show and

Dallas, has provided a boon in syndication for broadcast and cable syndication alike in the twenty-first century (see Stevens, 2012).

Thematic elements such as race, gender, and class are common themes within the historical analysis of television studies. However, there is little work examining the importance regionalism plays as an overarching theme and paradigm within an audience’s understanding of a place. During broadcast television’s three-decade oligopoly before the rise of cable in the 1990s, the importance of the medium is necessary to understand how such portrayals evolved, changed, or simply reinforced the stereotypical representation of the South. The dominant reinforcement of the region as a harbor for rednecks or hillbillies has been widely discussed (see Eskridge, 2018).

However, there has yet to be any deep analysis on the evolution of the region through television or what truly are the dominant themes of the representation and portrayal of the region have been broadcast to audiences.

The positioning of the 1960s through the early 1990s also holds a unique point in the overall history of television and American History as a whole. During this period, permeation of color television sets in households was over 80 percent and broadcast television, specifically ABC, CBS, and NBC had a three-pronged oligopoly over the content viewed on a nightly basis (http://www.tvhistory.tv/facts-stats.htm). Cable television, while becoming more common in households, would not reach a majority of homes until 1987 (http://www.tvhistory.tv/facts-stats.htm). Therefore, it was not uncommon for a program to get a 20 rating or higher, meaning that at least one-fifth of the country was viewing it at any one time. In the last twenty years, no program has seen a rating at or above 20, and only a few programs reached that mark from 1989 to

1998 (Brooks & Marsh, 2007). Yet as new forms of television-based media, including

Cable, Satellite, DVDs, and streaming platforms were introduced to home audiences,

the recycling of content from broadcast television became a constant. Thus, generations of audiences have been exposed to the messages received from shows as far back as the early 1960s over and over again.

Television In America

From its inception in the mid-1940s to the early 1990s, broadcast television served as the primary source of information and entertainment in the United States.

Customers by the millions clamored to purchase a new set and became loyal audiences to the three primary broadcast networks: ABC, CBS, and NBC. In its earliest days, the necessity to produce any type of content was paramount. Unlike today’s multifaceted media environment, network executives in television’s early days only had to paraphrase the Field of Dreams model: “If you show it, they will come.” With ratings in the 40s and 50s, network executives could produce a program and ensure that up to half of Americans who owned a television set would tune into their program (Kisseloff,

1995).

In 1939, David Sarnoff introduced television to the masses at the World Fair in

New York City. He noted that the medium was “a new art so important in its implications that it is bound to affect all society” (Watson, 2008). Less than a decade later, in 1948, television entertainment slowly began to replace radio as the dominant medium in

American households (Watson, 2008; Edgerton, 2007). By the 1950s, television, as

Watson (2008) noted, “wasn’t simply replacing the time Americans spent with other media … it was changing their everyday patterns in fundamental ways” (p. 26). The number of households with a television set multiplied exponentially, from 9% in 1950 to

87% in 1959 (Sterling and Kittross, 1990).

Throughout television’s earliest years, programming content expanded across almost every genre – ranging from game shows to vaudevillian-inspired comedies to mystery dramas. Many of these genres originated on radio and easily made the transition to an audiovisual medium (Edgerton, 2007). However, according to producer

Fred Coe, the ABC network began a trend in the late 1950s by introducing “horse-ass operas” – Western-themed programs that were low in quality but garnered a high audience rating (Kisseloff, 1995). In television’s earliest years, advertisers – and their clients – held immense power in determining a program’s fate. Just as the number of sets grew through the 1950s, the number of advertising dollars grew as well (Alexander, et al., 1998).

In television, demographically-sound ratings typically equate to advertising dollars. Put another way, network executives seek specific demographics – typically adults between 18 to 49 years of age. The higher the demographic through the measured rating, the more money a network will receive from outside advertisers

(Barnouw, 1992; Bedell, 1981). Such an unexpected rise in popularity by ABC – generally regarded as the perennial third-place network – put pressure on NBC and

CBS to not only produce content but also programming that would garner equally high ratings (Kisseloff, 1995).

While ABC’s unexpected rise in the late 1950s introduced them to a national audience, CBS and NBC had long been the dominant two broadcast networks since television’s earliest years. From 1956 to 1969, CBS had been the king of the airwaves, serving as the number one network in the country in that span (Bedell, 1981). Yet,

NBC’s steady rise to challenge CBS’s network supremacy led each to reconsider the

true value of an audience member. Network executives, no longer concerned with the ability to reach a mass audience, began to examine the specific demographic characteristics of each audience member.

As Erik Barnouw (1992) noted, “gone were the days when sponsor decisions might derive from personal reactions to programs” (p. 470). As Sally Bedell (1981) observed, some of this power-shifting was a direct result of the quiz show scandals in the 1950s. Programs such as Twenty-One and The $64,000 Question had direct sponsorship with specific companies, and such companies assisted in the rigging of the programs (Bedell, 1981). The thought was that by highlighting certain camera-friendly contestants on quiz shows, it would result in higher audience interest. But by the 1960s, networks like CBS and NBC not only aired the program but had ownership and production rights as well (Bedell, 1981). This shift allowed the networks to both have more agency of their programs, and network executives like CBS’s Mike Dann continued the tried-and-true method of looking at the total number of viewers to determine a program’s success or failure (Bedell, 1981).

This philosophy directly led to a hierarchy of importance placed on premium viewers who had expendable income and would be attractive to purchase such advertised products. In the mid-1960s, CBS and NBC dominated the airwaves with a combination of Western programs, rural-based comedies, and stars from television’s earliest days, including Lucille Ball and Red Skelton (Edgerton, 2007). By the end of the decade, each respective type of program would practically disappear. One type that was particularly purged from the schedule were those centered on the rural South – simply because they did not attract audiences from major metropolitan areas such as

New York and Los Angeles. What was most eye-opening about this move was that most of these programs were flourishing in the Nielsen ratings. In television, ratings typically define a program’s long-term success; however, many of the programs canceled, including The Beverly Hillbillies, Mayberry R.F.D., and Green Acres were all ranked in the top twenty at the end of the 1969 television season and yet were off the schedule by 1971 (Brooks & Marsh, 2007).

Since its founding, CBS has been a staple in the world of broadcasting. Founded in 1927 as the Columbia Phonograph Broadcasting System, it turned to Sam Paley, an individual who inherited his fortune in the cigar business to compete with radio powerhouse NBC (Fisher & Fisher, 1996). Within a decade, Paley guided the company to equal footing with NBC in the radio airwaves (Fisher & Fisher, 1996). By the 1950s, as television was replacing radio as the dominant home medium, programming on CBS reached ratings numbers that have not been seen since. The pinnacle mark occurred in the 1952-1953 season when I Love Lucy finished with a 67 rating – two-thirds of television audiences watched the show weekly (Brooks & Marsh, 2007). For comparison’s sake, when CBS would again hold the number one spot in broadcast television with CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, the rating would drop to a measly 16

(Brooks & Marsh, 2007). Legends of the small screen including Lucille Ball, Jackie

Gleason, Jack Benny, and Red Skelton – to name a few – all called CBS home in the

1950s and 1960s.

The National Broadcast Company (NBC) got its start in radio in the 1920s. The

Radio Corporation of America – or RCA – served as the parent-precedent to NBC’s television arm from the 1920s through 1950s (Edgerton, 2007). As previously noted,

David Sarnoff served as the president and founder of NBC from the early 1930s through

1970 (Woolley, 2016). Just as CBS had its legendary figures, arguably the first television superstar came from NBC. When the Texaco Star Theater debuted in 1948, its star, Milton Berle, captivated audiences with his vaudevillian-like comedy (Watson,

2008). Berle served as the figurehead for NBC’s lineup, but other legendary television personalities including Sid Caesar, Groucho Marx, and Steve Allen called the network home in the 1950s (Brooks & Marsh, 2007).

For most of television’s early years, CBS and NBC mounted a head-to-head battle for the top demographics – and top advertising dollars from Madison Avenue

(Dann, 2009). Throughout the 1960s, the two networks split the title for the number of programs ranked number one at the end of the broadcast season with five each (Brooks

& Marsh, 2007). The contentious battle coincided with a philosophical shift of audience representation. In other words, to executives – and advertisers – which number was more valuable, the total audience number of viewers for a particular program, or the demographics of such members? (Bedell, 1981). Mike Dann, CBS’s vice president of programming from 1963 to 1970 opted for the traditional model of ratings (Bedell, 1981;

Dann, 2009). Dann both greenlit and maintained popular rural programs, including The

Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres, and Petticoat Junction because they continually ranked in the top five of the yearly Nielsen ratings (Dann, 2009). At this time, he also promoted a promising up-and-coming executive, Fred Silverman, as his primary assistant for programming (Dann, 2009; Pasternack, 2001; Bedell, 1981).

In the entirety of broadcast television, Fred Silverman has been the only individual to be a programming executive at all three broadcast networks. Between

1970 and 1981, he headed up programming and scheduling at CBS, ABC, and NBC

(Bedell, 1981). As Mike Dann’s assistant, he disregarded the antiquated notion of total viewership, and instead spearheaded the notion of demographics to network president

William S. Paley (Bedell, 1981; Pasternack, 2001). Under his direction, the rural purge went into motion, bringing a swift and immediate end to an array of highly rated programs on CBS (Bedell, 1981).

As a result of the rural purge, CBS and NBC looked towards larger, urban metropolitan centers as settings for their programs. Urban areas in the West Coast,

Midwest, and Northeast all had representation – and programs in the top 30 of the

Nielsen Ratings for CBS in the early 1970s. Barnaby Jones and Cannon were set in Los

Angeles, sitcoms like All in the Family and its spinoffs, Maude and The Jeffersons along with dramas such as Kojak focused on the New York metropolitan area, and The Mary

Tyler Moore Show, Good Times, and The Bob Newhart Show were centered in the urban Midwest, namely in Minneapolis and Chicago (Ozersky, 2003).

Five years after the rural purge and subsequent success with urban-based programs, Fred Silverman left CBS to become the president of ABC Entertainment in

1975 (Bedell, 1981). The pinnacle of his time at CBS was arguably the 1973-1974 television season when CBS had nine of the top ten programs on broadcast television, with each one ranked part of Silverman’s new urban programming philosophy at CBS

(Brooks & Marsh, 2007). Silverman’s transition to ABC would eventually result in enormous success – programs such as Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, and Three’s

Company would all reach the top of the Nielsen Ratings and lead Time magazine, in

1977, to name Silverman “The Man with the Golden Gut” (Pasternack, 2001).

After a decade of success with urban-based programs, such as All in the Family,

The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and The Jeffersons, CBS decided to once again include

Southern-based programs in its schedule (Brooks & Marsh, 2007). As Fred Silverman took ABC to new heights, many of the programs he had developed at CBS were wearing thin, with most ending by the end of the decade (Edgerton, 2007). New network president Bud Grant was tasked with removing some of ABC’s stranglehold at the top of the ratings (Unger, 1981). His answer was to remove the strong association with the urbanization of primetime from the earlier part of the decade and return to the network’s

Southern roots of the 1960s.

CBS did so at about the same time the region as a whole was seeing a population surge in the 1970s. As Hunt, Hunt, and Falk (2008) noted, “the South was generally regarded as a place from which, rather than to which, people moved (p. 95).

In the televised South, one key shift Bud Grant would make at CBS, would be to revisit the South, but not just on its rural settings. The urbanized South, particularly cities with an increasing population such as Dallas, Houston, Miami, and Atlanta would become settings for new programs on both CBS and NBC.

As previously noted, when Fred Silverman took over as head of programming at

CBS in 1970, one of his first decisions was to remove programs based in the rural

South from the network in favor of those in the urban Northeast, Midwest, and West

Coast (Bedell, 1981). From a business aspect, such direction proved profitable for the network. Many of the new shows added to the line-up became wildly successful and legendary. Programs like All in the Family, Maude, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and

The Bob Newhart Show showcased metropolitan areas including New York,

Minneapolis, and Chicago, but also marked a ten year period of the South not having a presence in the South. (Brooks & Marsh, 2007; Edgerton, 2007). Between the end of the rural purge in the 1970s and the implementation of new programming on CBS in

1979, no regularly-aired scripted program was set south of the Mason-Dixon Line. As audiences were introduced to the urban Midwest and East Coast, a large portion of the country went from being stereotyped as rural hillbillies (see Eskridge, 2018; Starman,

2014) to having no representation on television at all.

In addition to the cultural setting transformations on television, various aspects of

American sociopolitical history in the late twentieth century had implications on

American culture as a whole (Applebome, 1996). Thus, the opportunity to examine the connections between the growing region combined with a growing medium nationally is not only important to understand, but necessary to attribute how one may have influenced the other.

America: 1960s-1990s

The United States of America between 1960 and 1990 saw various cultural transformations. Four key areas of that transformation are important to discuss: Civil

Rights, Vietnam, Watergate, and the Reagan Revolution. Each impacted not only the spirit of the country but arguably the content audiences watched on television each evening. In various ways, television reacted to the culture it fed on, and potentially transformed. It is therefore important and necessary to discuss the influence of

American television content distributed to mass audiences to have a greater depth of understanding of the era as a whole.

Civil Rights: 1954-1968

Culminating with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the mid-1950s and

1960s saw a paradigm shift in the acceleration of nationwide exposure to the treatment of black Americans, particularly those in the American South. While historians give various starting years for the movement’s inception, Hampton and Fayer (1990) note that the murder of Emmett Till in 1955 served as a pivotal moment. As Myrlie Evers noted (p. 6),

The Emmett Till case was one that shook the foundations of Mississippi, both

black and white. With the white community because the fact that it had become

nationally publicized, with us blacks because it said that even a child was not

safe from racism, bigotry, and death.

While the lynching of blacks in the South did not get its start in the 1950s (see Wood,

2011), the national publicity of the teenage Till’s murder, with his disfigured body being presented to the masses, along with the trial itself being televised introduced the severity of racial injustice in the South to an entirely new audience (Baker, 2006).

Initially, the photographs of Till’s body were in print, distributed in black-oriented media outlets such as Jet magazine, the Chicago Defender, the Pittsburgh Courier, and the

New York Amsterdam News (Harold & DeLuca, 2005). This mass distribution was able to reach black audiences in the northeast and Midwest and crossed racial lines as well as geographic ones. As Watson (2008) reiterated: “it wasn’t information…that convinced the American public that civil rights was a moral issue…images on film and video offered a dimension of understanding not contained in words (p. 236).

It is important to note, that the emphasis of “reality” television served as a necessary source of content in the 1950s and early 1960s. Long before shows such as

Survivor and American Idol entered the primetime lineup and claimed responsibility for the genre, game shows like The $64,000 Question and Twenty One introduced ordinary

Americans to audiences each week. Edgerton (2007) emphasized that live television, be it through a game show broadcast, a weekly football game, or the nightly news, brought to the forefront the connectivity of audience to event. The mass distribution of television content allowed for regions of the United States to have instantaneous access to information through nightly news broadcasts. As shown next, such borders would only increase as the images and stories from the country’s involvement in Vietnam would enter American’s living rooms.

Vietnam: 1959-1975

The prosperity felt by the United States after World War II as global heroes fighting for a just cause would be shattered in less than three decades. The spread of

Communism during the Cold War era brought into popular terminology words like containment and domino theory (McNamara, et al. 1999). In short, national security beliefs were to prevent the spread of communism to non-Soviet held nations, and a constant fear that should one country in a region of the world fall to communism, others around it would quickly follow (McNamara, et al., 1999).

While President John Kennedy escalated United States involvement in the

Vietnam War, his successor, Lyndon Johnson, inherited a war that he both did not want to be in – but more importantly, did not want to lose (Watson, 2008). From 1965 to

1968, the number of troops multiplied from 25,000 to over 500,000 (Watson, 2008). Just as television showed visual imagery of the horrors of segregation and racial injustice in

Mississippi, so too did it reveal the horrors of war to a mass audience. CBS News’

Morley Safer showcased, in 1965, horrific imagery of American soldiers burning local

villages and “challenged the definition of soldiers as heroes, so ingrained in the popular imagination” (Watson, 2008, p. 237). This, in part, resulted in numerous anti-war protests throughout the country, with the largest being held in Central Park in 1967. An estimated 300,000 protestors gathered to express their disdain for the war

(Bodroghkozy, 2001).

The power of television in changing opinions of righteousness of American involvment in the Vietnam War ultimately came to an apex on February 27, 1968, when

CBS’s Walter Cronkite disavowed American involvement in Vietnam, declaring that the

U.S. was “marred in stalemate” and should withdraw (Bailey, 1976; Watson, 2008).

Cronkite’s single statement, televised to a mass audience, had a unweilding ability to change public opinion almost immediately (Watson, 2008; Edgerton, 2007;

Bodroghkozy, 2001).

Watergate: 1972-1974

Johnson’s decision to not seek reelection, coupled with a calamitous 1968

Democratic National Convention, led to an overwhelming victory by former Vice

President Richard Nixon. His 60 percent of the Electoral College would rise to a phenomenal 97 percent he would garner in 1972. As Mason (2004) noted, Nixon opted to separate himself from the Republican Party and formed the Committee for the

Reelection of the President. This decision to focus all national attention on himself than help fellow Republicans running for House or Senate seats was a source of criticism

(Mason, 2004).

Then, on June 17, 1972, NBC News’ Garrick Utley reported that “Five men wearing white gloves and carrying cameras were caught earlier today in the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee…I don’t think that’s the last we will

be hearing of this story” (Edgerton, 2008). Less than two years later, Senate hearings began and in a first for broadcast television, each of the three main networks – ABC,

CBS, and NBC – opted to co-broadcast the hearings. The national reality show presented daily from May to November 1973 introduced not only the American legislative process into living rooms, but prominent leaders from chairman Sam Ervin to

Former Counsel John Dean became prominent ‘actors’ in America’s daily daytime drama (Edgerton, 2008).

In early 1974, impeachment proceedings began in the House of Representatives, and on July 30, the Judiciary Committee passed three articles of impeachment to be considered by the full House. Before such a vote could be heard, Nixon resigned from office on August 8. According to Brown (1974), only the moon landing of 1969 saw a higher televised presentation in American history.

Conservatism: 1980-1993

Nixon’s resignation and the stain of the Watergate crisis, arguably, served as the key markers for Jimmy Carter’s election in 1976. The self-described Washington outsider attempted to reunite the country, but the Iran Hostage Crisis in 1979 and 1980 not only dissipated his chances of reelection but brought former Hollywood actor and California

Governor Ronald Reagan to prominence (Watson, 2008). Denton (1988) noted that

Reagan’s experience on the big screen created an easy shift to the small screen of television. Nicknamed “The Great Communicator,” Reagan recognized the power television had to not only create an intimate experience with Americans in their living rooms but how such power could effectively change popular opinion (King and

Schudson, 1995; Denton, 1988). It is important to note, however, that Reagan’s popularity was not an immediate phenomenon. King and Schudson (1995) observed

that in the first two years of his presidency, Reagan’s poll numbers were lower than

Carter’s and in the midst of a recession, other Republican lawmakers distanced themselves in fear of losing reelection bids.

In conjunction with his communication skills, Reagan was also labeled as “Chief

Salesperson” (Schudson, 1995). He had the ability to reach out to audiences and have them call their representatives and senators on Capitol Hill (King and Schudson, 1995).

Interestingly enough, Reagan’s connection with television was intertwined between informational and entertainment purposes, first serving as host of the General Electric

Theater in 1954 (Bunch, 2009). The interpersonal relationship led to massive budget changes in Congress and a twelve-year revolution of Conservative Politics dominating the nation from 1980 through 1993.

Between 1954 and 1993, the United States of America underwent numerous shifts in various sociopolitical arenas. So, too did the use of media change how audiences were both informed and entertained on a nightly basis (see Edgerton, 2007).

During this time period, six programs, The Andy Griffith Show, The Waltons, The Dukes of Hazzard, Dallas, The Golden Girls, and Designing Women aired on broadcast television. In certain instances, these directly connected to the American South, whereas others had national implications throughout the country. As shown next, the importance of studying television not only had implications in information-based programs for newsworthy issues but also entertainment shows as well.

The Critical-Cultural Trend Of The Mid-Twentieth Century

As Baran and Davis (2015) note, the 1950s saw a new trend in ways to study the media. The use of theory “could focus on changes in culture, on how shared understandings and social norms change” (Baran and Davis, 2015, p. 131). In other

words, what role does the media play in not only informing audiences, but shaping how audiences make sense of themselves? Starting in Europe in the 1960s, with researchers such as Stuart Hall, the prominence of critical-cultural research would make its way to the United States in short time, adding new ways of coming to knowledge to mass communication research.

In 1964, Stuart Hall joined the Center for Contemporary Cultural Studies at

Birmingham University (Hall, 1980). Four years later, during the height of the Vietnam

War, the Center shifted its primary focus from entertainment-based programs to informational-based ones. This shift led to questions concerning the relationship between broadcast mediums and national politics (Hall, 1980). Therefore, broadcast platforms became “apparatuses” (Hall, 1980, p. 119) and the relationship between apparatus and audience became paramount. In specific relations to the audience, the importance of Hall’s Encoding/Decoding model serves as a primary means of research.

While discussed in detail later in this study, the basic notion of this model seeks to understand how mediated audiences create meaning from various communication outlets.

Hall’s Encoding-Decoding model reinstated the Center’s interest in popular entertainment programming (Hall, 1980). It was believed that because entertainment- based shows have a great connection to their audiences, the understanding of messages presented in such programs should be researched. This started, primarily, with the discussion of gender in media, but has since expanded to class and ethnicity

(Hall, 1980). These three pillars of demographic research in the media – gender, race, and class – provide a starting point for future research, but as shown next, can be

expanded to better understand how the presentation of demography in the media goes to create a presentation of a region.

The incorporation of Hall’s (1980) dominant-hegemonic reading of television allows a direct connection between audience member and media content distributor.

Through coded analysis of programs, this study hopes to identify the various meaning in programs set in the American South during the mid-to-late twentieth century and identify regional representation during this time period.

Study’s Purpose

The importance of television in American culture from the 1950s to the present cannot be overstated and the multifaceted tools scholars have used to research the medium are numerous. However, while the demographic categories including gender, race, and class have been readily used to identify how the media represents and portrays individuals of various backgrounds (see Starman, 2014; Dow, 1997; Haralovich

& Rabinovitz, 1999), few studies have identified how those combined demographics can identify the portrayal of a region of the country (see Cooke, 2018; Garitaonandia, 1993).

And, it should be noted, no study has examined American primetime broadcast television’s presentation of region in the late twentieth century. In other words, how does the media’s, particularly television’s, presentation of gender, class, race, disability, and other demographics within a particular region identify the presentation of the region as a whole? Thus, the purpose of this project is to compare the dominant readings of the most enduring and culturally relevant fictional prime-time broadcast television shows set in the American South and evaluate what those dominate readings illuminate about

America’s understanding of itself both then and now.

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

Television’s presence as the primary source of information and entertainment over the past five decades cannot be overstated. According to the United States

Census’s analysis of the twentieth century, the percent of households with a television set exploded from 9 percent in 1950, the first year the service calculated such data, to

85 percent in 1960 and 98 percent in 1980 (census.gov). Yet with such growth during this thirty-year span, three networks – ABC, CBS, and NBC – dominated the airwaves, holding exclusive power to determine what programs could and would be aired to millions of households.

While the power of television as a medium has numerous strengths, the use and implementation of program ratings may be more powerful. The Nielsen Company, which historically has supplied ratings to networks, executives, and the public, has held a stranglehold on the industry since its inception (Buzzard, 2015).

The necessity for ratings and viewership thus created a cyclical model for television executives (see Webster, Phalen, and Lichty, 2014). With no outside competition from cable or streaming channels, the “Big Three” of broadcasting, therefore, competed against one another exclusively for the most sought after demographics, and thus top dollar from Madison Avenue (see Auletta, 1991).

In the early 1960s, Western-themed dramas, including Gunsmoke, Wagon Train, and Have Gun – Will Travel, were the top of the Nielsen Ratings (Brooks & Marsh,

2007). Each of the shows garnered over a 30 rating, meaning that over 30 percent of television sets in households in the United States tuned to that program live as it aired

(see Webster, Phalen, and Lichty, 2014). While the popularity of such programs

equated to higher advertising rates by the networks, it also exposed large audiences to similar messages. As shown next, by the 1960s, television became a permanent appliance in America’s living rooms. This, combined with an increasing number of hours spent by audience members in front of the small screen, would introduce varying ways to study television – including what messages were being transmitted to audiences and how the medium has the ability to cultivate high viewers and shape their reality. While networks celebrated ratings numbers in the 30s and 40s, up to a third of the country was unknowingly being cultivated to understand their world through the small screen.

Studying The Media

Before television infiltrated America’s living rooms in the mid-twentieth century, scholars began to research the newspaper, the primary source of media during the late

1800s and early 1900s. John Gilmer Speed, a former editor of the New York World, in

1893, asked a seemingly straightforward question, but one that had not previously been researched: “Do Newspapers Give the News” (Sumpter, 2001; Krippendorff, 1980). The underlying notion of Speed’s question was to see if newspapers were replacing hard news stories with pieces involving scandals and gossip (Krippendorff, 1980). Twenty years later, in 1912, sociologist Alvan Tenney added a new dimension to Speed’s question. Rather than examining the content itself, Tenney measured the amount of space, in inches, that newspapers gave each type of story to see what was prioritized by the editors and publishers (Peters & Simonson, 2004). This framework of recognizing a connection between media producer and consumer would eventually become applicable for future media technologies.

By the 1960s, Marshall McLuhan noted that “print culture was becoming

‘obsolescent’ in the face of the widespread use of television and other electronic media”

(McLuhan, 1964 as cited in Meyrowitz, 2003, p. 191). McLuhan’s most noteworthy addition to media studies, that “the medium is the message,” reflected a shift in what a new era of communication forms and that the form itself dictated what kind of content could be transmitted (McLuhan, 1964). The influence of television brought about two ways of knowledge creation. One was the quantitative-laden content analysis through a perspective of audience-influenced media. The other was qualitative-based media studies that broke away from the direct-influence model of media consumption (Hall,

1980).

Previous research on the region shows a continual line of inquiry about the relationship between the American South and mediated popular culture. In the early twentieth century, the American South had been widely utilized as a constant source of revenue. Executives from Hollywood to New York recognized the power of the region in popular culture, but simultaneously symbolized it as a place of days of yore, where one could escape to a better, and arguably happier, time. This project hopes to understand how the next medium to hit mainstream America, television, used the historical precedents of the South in media with their new technology. Previous works, most notably Sara Eskridge’s 2018 work, Rube tube: CBS and rural comedy in the sixties and

Victoria Johnson’s Heartland TV: Prime time television and the struggle for U.S. Identity

(2008) culturally examined how setting had an impact on audiences. Similarly, McGee

(1983) identified the televised South as a “simple” region through various programs emphasis on a high dose of ignorance or even, stupidity in humor. Studies including Ien

Ang’s 1985 work Watching Dallas have provided answers about particular programs in

American culture. However, no study, to date, has completed an episodic analysis of

prime-time television programs and attempted to compare the representation and portrayals of a region. This study hopes to fill such void. As noted, next, the popularity of television programs through reruns not only allows this study to connect back to audiences in the mid-to-late twentieth century, but also maintain applicability in the twenty-first century as well.

Theoretical Perspectives

From the 1960s to 1990s, prior to the dominance and saturation of cable television and digital streaming platforms in America’s living rooms of the twenty-first century, broadcast television’s power to not only transmit various programs but also create an invisible schedule for audiences to abide by created immense power for its executives. Through the mid-1980s, audiences reported watching upwards of seven hours of televised content per day (Smith, 1985; Gerbner, Morgan, and Signorielli,

1986). This high level of consumption has, according to Gerbner, Morgan, and

Signorielli (1986) a direct correlation to “how individuals perceive the world around them” (Merskin, 1998). Aspects of programming, ranging from the content of the program, the amount of violence shown, and/or the representation of the characters can, according to Gerbner and Gross (1976) become indistinguishable from reality to such heavy-viewing audience members. Furthermore, as shown next, the inherent decisions media executives, producers, and writers make to include, exclude, or represent people, places, and things in television further create this disconnect.

Symbolic annihilation

Gerbner and Gross (1976) first introduced the notion of Symbolic Annihilation, noting “representation in the fictional world signifies social existence; absence means

Symbolic Annihilation” (p. 182). The media has a large amount of power to determine

which groups or individuals or places are allowed to be broadcast to a national audience. Gerbner (1959) further noted that the synergy between commercialized storytelling equates to a perception of reality to the program’s audiences.

Two years after Gerbner introduced Cultivation Theory, and by association,

Symbolic Annihilation, into the communication landscape, Gaye Tuchman (1978) developed the key concept further. According to Tuchman, Daniels, and Benet (1978),

Symbolic Annihilation not only consisted of absence, but the stereotyping of roles in the media as well. Additionally, such stereotyping could be broken down into secondary categories such as belittling, trivialization, condemnation, or victimization (Caputi, 1999;

Tuchman, 1978).

Although Tuchman (1978) chose women in news media as her source of dissatisfaction with media equality and how marginalized groups are represented, other groups have also been examined to show the reinforcement of such ideas. Klein &

Shiffman (2009) examined how cartoons, particularly those aimed at younger audiences, have the ability to disenfranchise marginalized groups and misconstrue societal beliefs and norms. Merskin (1998) furthered the notion of how individuals connect with their regional heritage and can be annihilated. Through in-depth interviews with Native Americans living in the Northwestern United States, she noted that typical portrayals present “one homogenous Indian image” and do not consider the tribal differences that are varied and scattered throughout the country (p. 335).

In 1950s television, the connection between mediated reality and actual representation was both obvious and over-the-top. One key area that differed was the portrayal of women on screen – in shows ranging from The Donna Reed Show to Leave

it to Beaver, women were viewed as the homemaker/mother (Watson, 2008; Jones,

1992). With few exceptions, namely, Rose Marie’s portrayal of Sally Rogers on The

Dick Van Dyke Show, the archetype for women followed this pattern. In 1964, Betty

Friedan, author of The Feminine Mystique, wrote a two-part article for TV Guide

(Watson, 2008). In it, she noted that American women on television were becoming subjected to supporting roles, without having the ability to be independent, self-reliant people, noting that “television badly needs some heroines…and television decision makers need to take real women more seriously – not for women’s sake but for their own (Freidan, 1963).

With three primary broadcast stations attempting to attract young female viewers to their network, there was an attempt to cater towards housewives who would spend more time in front of the television set. As Spigel (1992) noted, over half of all audience members in daytime television in 1954 alone were female. Thus, there seemed to be an internal debate of broadcasting shows that were more connected to a housewives’ lifestyle. This directly connects back with Gerbner, et al.’s (1980) notion of resonance in cultivating viewers. Put another way, television executives believed that showing programs with housewives in starring roles would connect more with actual housewife viewers. However, such decisions simultaneously removed independent working women from a schedule, rather reinforcing the notion that a woman’s role on television

– and thus in an audience member’s mediated reality, was that of the subordinated wife and mother.

While women have been the most studied marginalized demographic to be annihilated from the television screen, others have seen equally high disproportionate

numbers. African-Americans, particularly in television’s early years, saw little to no representation at all. This point will be discussed in more detail in future chapters, but highly rated programs including The Andy Griffith Show were overtly obvious in their lack of racial inclusivity (Graham, 2001; Watson, 2008). As shown next, though, the mediated representation and portrayals within the American South in popular culture did not remove African-Americans from the region but utilized them and other individuals from the area as caricatures for books, music, and movies. This coupled with a new line of mass communication inquiry, the critical-cultural trend, introduced a way of knowledge creation which connected media content to the audiences’ everyday life.

Critical theory and cultural studies

For the first half of the twentieth century, knowledge creation of mass communication studies and media effects centered mainly around quantitative-based analysis. From counting column widths on a newspaper to how news sets the agenda of public opinion

(see McCombs and Shaw, 1972) to the number of violent acts on television, mass communication was intertwined with aspects of psychology, sociology, and political science.

Yet, at the start of the 1960s, scholarship utilizing qualitative-laden methodologies began to be present. As Baran and Davis (2015) note, the inclusion of qualitative methods “highlight the essential differences [or] distinctive qualities in phenomena” (p. 137). This notion of phenomenon, particularly those through sociopolitical contexts is one of the key assumptions of critical theory. Baran and Davis

(2015) also state that the inclusion of critical theory positions it as a microscopic one. In other words, a microscopic theory is one that more directly connects media content with audiences one-on-one. Contrasted with the hopes to achieve generalizability of

Cultivation Theory, critical theory places the individual audience’s experiences as uniquely important. As noted, next, the Encoding/Decoding model, through the work of

Stuart Hall, serves as a framework for utilizing cultural studies for this project.

Stuart Hall and the encoding/decoding model

As Stuart Hall (1980) observed, the birth of media studies in the 1960s introduced a new way of knowledge creation for mass communication research, one that separated the discipline as solely a place for social science, quantitative-based inquiry (p. 117).

Rather, the rationale for qualitative media studies was to analyze the media’s linguistic and ideological undertones. Early studies connected such concepts as the relationship of popular press and social movements, the representation of femininity in women’s magazines, and analyzing television crime dramas (Hall, 1980). For instance, Heck

(1980) notes, the stress on ideology is a “level of signification which can be present in any type of message” (p. 123). In other words, representation in the media – through actors, plot, or setting – constitutes a notion of significance by the media’s creators. This could be considered antithetical to the Symbolic Annihilation as previously described. In the media, items that are significant may not be considered fully annihilated in the sense of absence yet could still be stereotyped through condemnation or trivialization. For example, Andsager and Roe (1999) noted the difference of gender roles in country music videos, noting that female artists were trivialized more sexually compared to male artists.

In addition to shifting the school of thought of the way scholars could analyze media, Hall’s Encoding/Decoding model presented a notion of discursive analysis. That is, for media consumption to fully occur, there must be some level of meaning absorbed by the audience (Hall, 1973). Further, Hall (1980) notes that “no one moment can fully

guarantee the next moment with which it is articulated” (p. 129). Put another way, the

Encoding/Decoding model of communication is not to be considered a cause-and-effect model. Contrasted with one of the key assumptions of Cultivation Theory – that high viewership has a relationship with the blurring of everyday life and a televised reality –

Encoding/Decoding proposes that each audience viewing experience is unique and varies based on said audience member’s background.

In 1948, Harold Lasswell introduced the linear model of communication. The basic question that encompasses the five stages of the model was: Who says what in which channel to whom with what effect? This linear model of communication started with a message producer and ended with a message consumer. In contrast, the

Encoding/Decoding model presents four stages: production, circulation, symbolic exchange, and reproduction (Hall, 1980). Akin to Cultivation Theory’s Institutional

Process, the stage of production examines the initial encoding of messages. As Hall

(1997) notes, sociopolitical structures are built-in to guide what media products are distributed to a mass audience.

This separation from communication as a linear model to a circuit-driven one was central to the model (Hall, 1980; Pillai, 1992). The notion of encoding was essentially to create a preferred reading, one that is the most “distributed form of social knowledge, social practice, the taken for granted knowledge which society’s members possess of its institutions beliefs, ideas and legitimations” (Hall, 1977, p. 330).

The circulation of a message is the initial reception of such messages (Hall,

1980). In the framework of televised media, this is simply the act of turning on a channel to watch a program. While not explicitly stated, circulation is a two-way experience.

While media producers have the distribution power to place programs on a television network, the audience – through viewership and ratings – equally determines the circulation power of a program and its respective longevity. While circulation is the initial entryway of a media product to an audience, the moment of symbolic exchange recognizes the “encoded messages in the form of meaningful discourse” (Hall, 1980, p.

130). This inherently results in the audience being actively involved with the media, having the ability to absorb the content distributed rather than simply being a passive viewer with no direct connection to the program’s content.

Lastly, the reproduction of the message connects an audience member’s background – their demographics, beliefs, and ideology – to the content of the program being viewed (Hall, 1997). The decoded messages then have the ability to create a behavior or cognitive shift or affect (Hall, 1980). Audience members – particularly those that did not live in the South – had a change in ideology about the value of racial equality throughout the country. Such members not only viewed the televised newscasts which reported on the murder but decoded the messages, one based on a lack of experience, to one with a more direct connection.

Based on the reproduction and decoding of messages, an audience member can, according to Hall (1980), address the message as a viewer in one of three ways.

They can have a dominant-hegemonic reading, a negotiated reading, or an oppositional reading.

The dominant-hegemonic position occurs when a viewer decodes the message the way it was intended. In other words, the cultural and ideological standpoints of the producer align with that of the consumer. A negotiated position occurs when some

messages are received and accepted by a viewer, but others are rejected (Hall, 1980).

As Hall (1980) notes, a negotiated reading “contains a mixture of adaptive and oppositional elements: it acknowledges the legitimacy of the hegemonic definitions to make the grand significations” (p. 137). One of the most notable examples of negotiated readings occurred in David Morley’s and Charlotte Brunsdon’s (1980) Nationwide study.

In the study, he found that based on the background of the audience member, he/she could have a different viewing of the BBC current affairs program, Nationwide. For instance, teacher training students in the study primarily identified as having higher education while also having more conservative political affiliations. Thus, the various demographic characteristics of every respective audience member – reiterating the microscopic nature of critical theory – provides a unique viewing opportunity.

The third and final reading, oppositional, places an audience member in a debate with the dominant meaning (Hall, 1980). The audience member shifts the message to fit an “alternative framework of reference” (Hall, 1980, p. 138). Their own perspective and experiences do not correlate with the messages being transmitted on television and thus causes such audience member to reject such messages.

Symbolic annihilation & cultural studies: comparisons and contrasts

The inclusion of a quantitative-laden theoretical perspective with a qualitative- based one may seem like this study is trying to mix oil and water. However, it can be argued that there are a number of similarities that these two areas of thinking bring to research, and the combination of each line will result in a more fruitful understanding of televised messages to mass audiences. Bailey (2006), in her work “Critical Cultural

Studies and Cultivation Theory: Points of Convergence” does an excellent job in noting such similarities.

Bailey (2006) argues that the most common similarity between cultural studies and Cultivation Theory, the overarching theoretical perspective to which symbolic annihilation falls under, is the power media – in this regard, television – have to present and distribute content that influences the values of a society, that such content is produced and distributed by a dominant group, and the content is absorbed by a mass audience (p. 4). In similar ways, Gerbner (1998) and Lull (2003) emphasized television as having a prominence in American society and in the daily lives of the medium’s users. The comparisons between dominant readings, as Hall (1980) articulated the concept, and resonance, as Gerbner, Gross, Morgan, and Signorielli (1980) introduced, could be arguably interchanged terms. Ultimately, the connection to a medium’s content and the relationship between the content and audience member is at the forefront of each line of research.

Even as the initial questions and modes of inquiry have more commonalities than differences, Bailey (2006) notes that the inherent backbone of each has caused a rift to divide the two. In other words, Cultivation Theory was born from a line of deep social science inquiry, one that needs “rigorous, replicable scientific methods [which] should be harnessed for critical social uses, needs, and theory” (Morgan, 2002). In contrast,

Hall (1980) debunks the need for theory as a guiding light for research and swaps strict scientific methods for sociopolitical-laden discourse (Bailey, 2006; Lewis, 2002).

For the purposes of this study, the tenets of Cultivation Theory: institutional process analysis, message systems analysis, and cultivation analysis can work in tandem with the Encoding/Decoding model. Namely, the connections between message systems analysis of cultivation analysis and dominant readings of cultural studies –

coupled with the assumptions of Symbolic Annihilation and the presence, absence, and/or stereotyping of televised characters – serve as the primary backbone for this study’s purpose. Completing a message analysis about a region, for this study of the

American South, is not something that has previously been examined through either a comparative lens or one that completes an episodic-based analysis of the programs set in the region. As shown next, the South has been the focus of various studies in both history and mass communication studies, but this study allows for a new dimension of inquiry about how audiences receive messages.

The Mediated South

While the focal point of this project examines television’s role in broadcasting, representing, and portraying the South in its programs, there are numerous other examples of how the South has been shown to national audiences in various media outlets. However, many of these earlier representations intertwined the geographic location, the South, with a key term: Dixie. Harkening back to the Civil War era, the

South was consistently misrepresented as a locale that was forever on the wrong side of history, and from D.W. Griffith’s Birth of a Nation to Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the

Wind, the glorification of slavery and oppression simultaneously attempted to rebroadcast history and create the inability to reconcile the past with the present.

Prior to television becoming a mainstream media in the 1950s, other media outlets used the South as a means of profitability. From music to movies to literature to advertising, a plethora of northern companies profited on their respective caricatures of the South (Cox, 2011). In many of the outlets, the South correlated with a feeling of old- times. Amidst the hustle and bustle of the urbanization in the early twentieth century the

longing for a quieter, simpler time became a direct association with the South (Cox,

2011).

While white southerners hung in the balance between comic relief and wishful reconnection, blacks were frequently subjected to consistent disparagement. The use of blackface in movies and on the radio by white actors simultaneously belittled the South by their backward thinking, while also ironically showing how unfortunate commonalities were a nationwide problem, not simply a regional one. Radio programs such as Amos

‘n’ Andy, featuring two black Chicago transients from Atlanta, was on the radio for over thirty years (Cox, 2011). According to Susman (1985), part of the heightened popularity for such stereotype-laden shows can be attributed to the unexpected crash of the Great

Depression in the 1930s. The United States, which through the 1920s experienced heightened promise and prosperity, were rudely awakened and left with an “identity crisis…to define the ‘American Way of Life’” (Cox, p. 60).

Prior to television becoming the mainstream media form, radio’s popularity provided a source of entertainment and information through the Depression and World

War II. While President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Fireside Chats became a direct source of information from the President to the American People, programs that were more entertaining in nature also revealed aspects of Americana. Cox (2011) noted that although there were no visual cues on the radio, a performer’s voice was an equally powerful tool to create situations and regionality:

Hearing the “marked” speech used by individual radio performers, such as accents, dialect, or stereotypical statements helped listeners create opinions about race, class, gender, ethnicity, and even region. Like other forms of popular entertainment, radio served as a vehicle through which class and culture

tensions were expressed. It was such a powerful medium that it helped reshape language, to the extent that people across the country might repeat catchphrases heard on popular shows (p. 61).

It is important to note that although radio did not directly concern itself with demographics as television does, the proportionality of individuals who listened to radio heavily skewed towards the North. In 1930, 39.9 percent of families had a radio; however, those living in the Northeastern, North-Central, and the Western United States had a higher proportion (Craig, 2004). In the Northeast alone, 59.9 percent of families had a radio. These numbers contrast with only 20.2 percent of Southern families having a radio, and even more revealing, only 2.2 percent of African-American families owning a set (Craig, 2004). By 1940, each region would see an increase in ownership, but the

South would still lag behind other regions. While 62.1 percent of families in the South would own a radio, 94.4 percent of Northeastern, 89.7 percent of north central, and 88.9 percent of West Coast families would have one in their home (Craig, 2004).

The popularity of the South as an antiquated region of the country proved successful on film as well. Gone with the Wind’s blockbuster success in 1939 set off a firestorm of producers and directors who clamored to recreate the “cultural mythology of the Old South” (Cox, 2011, p. 81). In the early and mid-twentieth century, the mystique of the Old South overpowered the actual reality of the region in the 1900s. Plantations, chivalry, hillbillies, and even slaves, were not uncommon settings, plotlines, and characters (Cox, 2011; Kirby 1986). As previously noted, amidst hard times in the country, the South provided an easy form of escapism, a transportation to a simpler era when times were good (Kirby, 1986).

As radio transitioned to television, the mystique of the good “Old South” became, according to Kirby (1986), “The Devilish South.” When the United States Supreme Court ruled on Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, declaring segregated public schools unconstitutional, the court ruling served as the fuse for a century of racial injustice in the region. Over the next decade, the Civil Rights age would populate the front pages of the newspaper but would not necessarily change Hollywood’s view of the South. As Kirby

(1986) notes, the Old South continued to dominate the portrayal of the region in the box office. Therefore, Hollywood was skeptical to change its narrative of the region, even as the region itself was in turmoil.

Reruns: Television’s Heartbeat of Enduring And Culturally Relevant Programming

In 1976, New York Times columnist John Leonard wrote that “there are very few moments from the TV past that our children will not witness, over and over again” (p.

27). While the current streaming age, a time when media content online have become giant media depositories easily validates Leonard’s presumption, the 1970s saw the first wave of acceptance of second-run episodes of previously ended programs. Reruns of popular programs like I Love Lucy, The Dick Van Dyke Show, and The Andy Griffith

Show provided the instant gratification of comfort food to millions of audiences. As

Kompare (2005) aptly notes, the American audience in the 1970s gained an accelerated acceptance of programs from the past. This “Television Heritage”, as Kompare (2005) terms it, intertwined a program with one’s identity, “linking past and present through tangible relics and practices” (p. 106). In other words, the connection to one’s past could be directly correlated with what programs were airing at the time, and a rerun of such programs created a direct connection from the present to the past.

In practically every era of television, from the days of three broadcast networks to the online streaming age of Netflix, reruns have provided an immediate source of content and bridge to eventually create new, original content. In the 1960s, it was not uncommon for shows like Father Knows Best, I Love Lucy, or The Danny Thomas Show to be part of a network’s daily daytime broadcast schedule (Castleman & Podrazik,

1984). Before being replaced by talk shows and game shows, reruns of thirty-minute situation comedies allowed networks to have a placeholder in their daytime lineup – and one that would not be as costly (Kompare, 2005).

By the 1980s, reruns disappeared from daytime lineups but were still cost- effective ways for networks to fill time periods. Instead of being wholly owned and aired by the networks, syndicated programs provided a consistent source of low-cost programming for local networks (Kompare, 2009). Historically, the goal for any program to gain immortal status in syndicated reruns was to reach 100 episodes (Harmetz,

1986). Having 100 episodes provided enough content that it was cost feasible for local networks to pay for the rights to air the program, while still making money in advertising revenue. During the 1980s, popular programs from the previous decade including

M*A*S*H, All in the Family, and The Waltons not only served as staples in local syndicated lineups but introduced a new generation of audiences to the program.

The necessity and popularity of reruns have continued long into the post- broadcast era of television. Certain cable networks, most notably TV Land and the

Game Show Network were originally channels solely devoted to second-run syndicated programs (Kompare, 2005). As local broadcast stations would push out older programs in favor of newer ones that were just reaching the 100-episode milestone, such shows

would quickly find a place on the ever-increasing number of cable networks in the 1990s and 2000s – and eventually in the libraries of Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu on streaming platforms online.

The popularity and necessity of reruns as a staple of American television for the past half-century only increases the viability of this study. Even as, in 2020, a show like

The Andy Griffith Show is celebrating a half-century since it went off the air in its initial run, the livelihood of such program has been consistently resuscitated through reruns.

In 2004, Nielsen reported the top three programs in the Roanoke-Lynchburg Market in

Virginia were CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, American Idol, and The Andy Griffith

Show (Adams, 2004). The enduring resonance of this show to generations of audiences not only makes it reputable to continue examining but arguably more necessary to better understand how the representation presented in the twenty-first century showcase the region.

Research Question

Given these combined factors of historical precedent and theoretical perspective, there are several questions to ask to better gain an understanding of the relationship between television’s history and the messages presented through its programs. Using both Cultivation Theory, Symbolic Annihilation, and the Encoding/Decoding model as a three-pronged guide, the following guiding question will help to illuminate the depiction and representation of the region of the country on television:

RQ1: What were the dominant readings of enduring and culturally relevant prime

time broadcast television programs set in the American South between 1960 and

1993?

The evolution of the region between 1960 and 1993 allows for a direct understanding of how broadcast television both represented and portrayed a changing region of the country. This aspect of the project allows for a direct connection to

Tuchman’s (1978) notion of Symbolic Annihilation, adding a new dimension that has not been widely studied in mass communication literature: the Symbolic Annihilation of region. While other demographics, including age, gender, class, and race was disseminated throughout each of the programs analyzed, the overall thematic expression of the region is at the core of this project. In the twenty-five-year period this project will focus on, what did the American South mean to viewers, based on how their mediated reality was shown on television on a weekly basis?

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY

To best understand how the history, creation, and portrayal of these programs shaped how the American South was shown on television, a textual analysis of the programs was conducted. As Smith (2009) notes, “textual analysis requires the dissection of television programs scene-by-scene to expose any underlying meaning”

(p. 51). Larsen (1991) adds that treating television content as text requires “the analyst to bring out the whole range of possible meanings, not least the ‘hidden’ message of the text (p. 122).

Textual Analysis

The ultimate goal of textual analysis, particularly with television content, is to complete a deep reading of programming (Smith, 2009). One of the greatest strengths of completing a textual analysis is ease of access. In the age of DVDs and streaming platforms, the number of programs available to consumer and researchers has arguably never been greater (Stokes, 2003). The notion of a television-based textual analysis is also valuable not only because of its accessibility, but its importance as a medium throughout the country. As Smith (2009) notes, there can be a sense of familiarity of common programs among audiences regardless of location. Programs, particularly on broadcast television are broadcast in all media markets, from the largest – New York

City – to the smallest – Glendive, Montana.

On the other hand, textual analysis necessity for deep readings by an individual can create a more subjective interpretation contrasted to the more quantitative-laden content analysis (McKee, 2001; Stokes, 2003; Smith, 2009). Because “no one universal meaning of a media representation exists” (see Creeber, 2006; McKee, 2001; Smith,

2009), there is the potential for a researcher’s own biases to cloud the actual results gathered during the analysis. There are no statistical elements to account for occurrences of chance or abnormalities.

As previously noted, the use of textual analysis as a methodology can be a highly individualized and arguably subjective process (Smith, 2009; McKee, 2001; Deacon et al., 1999). Yet, there are numerous tools in a researcher’s toolbox that can be utilized to provide a guiding blueprint. For the purposes of this study, a semiotic analysis serves as such a guide.

Semiotics

Semiotics is the study of signs and the connection between meaning and the sign (Smith, 2009; Larsen, 1991; Stokes, 2003; Casey et al., 2008). A sign is the foundational core of meaning (Smith, 2009; Deacon et al., 1999). In other words, how do audiences make sense of reality based on the presentation of signs? As Stokes

(2003) notes, semiotics “addresses ways in which the various elements of a text work together and interact with our cultural knowledge to generate meaning” (p. 72). Fiske

(1985) reinforces the connection between television and meaning-making, noting the device is “a sense-making apparatus” (p. 177).

Ferdinand de Saussure, a Swiss linguist, is credited with the modern interpretation of semiotics into communications. But as Fiske (1985) notes, Saussure’s work lasted until his death in 1913, many decades before television studies became part of academic research. The primary concept Saussere (1959) explored was the relationship between meaning and signs. As Deacon et al. (1999) and van Zoonen

(1994) add, language is a contextual abstraction that only creates meaning when word signs are related (Smith, 2009).

In addition to signs, two other terms: signifiers/sound images and signified/concepts are key parts of semiotic research (Weedon, Tolson, & Mort, 1980).

The signifier “is that part of the sign which consists of the actual material artifact, act, or image which holds the potential of signifying. This potential is fulfilled when it connects with the signified” (Deacon et al., 1999, p. 137). As Smith (2009) notes, a term such as

“football” has different meanings based on audiences – for most American audiences, it refers to a form of recreation involving an oval, pigskin ball being thrown on a field.

Other countries identify football as a game with a circular ball that is supposed to be solely kicked on the field.

Roland Barthes (1957) furthered Saussere’s (1959) connection to better understand how meaning is consumed by audiences (Stokes, 2003). Thus, the inclusion of two additional terms, denotation and connotation, should be explored. As Casey et al.

(2008) notes, denotation is the literal definition of a term. For example, a term such as

“redneck” is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as a white member of the

Southern rural laboring class. Yet, when the connotative, or implied meaning, is associated with a term such as redneck, it typically hyperextends the notion of rural and laboring to include a lack of education, common sense, or out-of-touch with reality

(Stokes, 2003; Casey, et al., 2008; Smith, 2009).

Although Barthes (1957) and Saussere (1959) did not formally connect the concept of semiotics to prime time television programs, there have been numerous studies that have applied semiotics to the small screen. Porter (1983) in Applying semiotics to the study of selected prime time television programs utilized Christian

Metz’s ‘grande syntagmatique’, a system previously used only to study and categorize

the structure of films, to television programs in the 1980s Categories such as autonomous shot – a scene with no break in time –, scene – two or more shots –, and ordinary sequence – compressing a narrative to remove unnecessary moments, were analyzed in various television programs including Magnum, P.I., The Dukes of Hazzard, and Lou Grant. Additionally, Berger (1989) conducted a semiological analysis of

Cheers, the popular 1980s sitcom on NBC. Berger coded various signs of the program including location – Boston, Massachusetts – hair color, and names of the characters in the program. Smith (2009) incorporated semiotics in her study on heteronormative images on shows such as NYPD Blue and Mad About You. Each of these previous studies provide a guideline to constructing a semiological study on prime-time television programs. This study hopes to incorporate a new construct, regionalism, to better understand how the signs of particular primetime television programs create meaning to audiences.

As Smith (2009) notes, “media semiotics can be approached from three unique views – producer, audience and revenue” (p. 56). Similar to the structure of Hall’s

(1980) Encoding/Decoding model, the producer creates a set of signs within the distributed media messages. The audience then, when viewing and deconstructing the message, establishes their own set of signs. As Smith (2009) aptly points out, such deconstruction may be a completely different meaning than the original intended meaning set by the producer – harkening back to Hall’s (1980) dominant versus negotiated versus oppositional readings spectrum. The importance of revenue in media, particularly television, cannot be overstated – the drive for profit is at the center of

entertainment-based programs on television and the overall political economy could provide an additional prong for analysis (Deacon et al., 1999).

As shown next, the incorporation of the codes of television serves as a way to apply the medium to the method. In other words, breaking down signs into codes serves as a means to identify what messages are being broadcast. The incorporation of codes with the relationship of signs to “socially constructed concepts such as race, culture, sexuality, and class,” as Smith (2009) notes, provides a guideline to ensure that all programs that are part of this study are viewed in a similar format (p. 57).

The Codes Of Television

As Berger (1989) notes, “if the relationship between signifier and signified is arbitrary, we must have rules for interpreting things, and these rules are what we call codes” (p. 92). The codes of television, as outlined in Fiske’s (1987) work Television

Culture, therefore was used as a starting point for analysis. As Fiske (1987) notes, “an event to be televised is already encoded by social codes such as those of reality, representation, and ideology” (p. 5). Yet, Berger (1989) argues that “different groups and subgroups have different codes in certain cases and there is, at times, code confusion between a creator or user of a sign and an interpreter or receiver of a sign”

(p. 92). Going back to the example of football in semiotics, those that are unaware with the rules of a football game may not be able to interpret a broadcast clearly. If they were asked to watch a football game, they would not expect to see 300 plus pound players tackling each other for a leather oblong shaped ball.

Fiske’s (1987) coding “level” of representation includes the representations of narrative, conflict, character, action, dialogue, setting, and casting (p. 5). As Fiske

(1987) notes, “characters on television are not just representation of individual people

but are encodings of ideology” (p. 9). The understanding of character serves as the starting point to understand not only the plotline of a television episode, but how the other elements of an episode – including setting, dialogue, and action – establish the overall theme of the broadcast. This study adapted this list of codes into four key groups: character, narrative, and setting.

Character

The code of character lists the basic demographics of each main and supporting character in the episode. As Fiske (1987) notes, “television is centrally concerned with the representation of people” (p. 149). Items, including age, sex, class, race, and disability, when applicable, was listed. Character is coupled with the coding of dialogue

– which includes items such as a character’s accent, dialect, and conversation style.

Narrative

Narrative is essentially the primary plotline for each episode. The use of narrative structure has been widely incorporated to understand the syntagmatic nature of programs (see Fiske, 1987; Porter, 1983). For the purposes of this analysis, this code includes major and secondary storylines and how such stories connect to the characters that are previously coded. Although, as shown later in this chapter, episodes were not necessarily be viewed chronologically, any plotlines or narratives that refer to previous episodes are included.

Setting

Finally, setting lists all major and secondary locations for each episode. These two codes, combined, should assist in not only describing the main locations of each program in the study but how the narratives and plotlines connect and/or contrast with such settings. Unlike the previous two codes, the incorporation of setting creates a

previously unexamined dimension to textual analysis research. Previous research (see

Johnson, 2008; Berger, 1989; Eskridge, 2018) examined the cultural implications of region or population density in prime-time programs. However, there has been little research describing the importance of location in television programs.

In Television Culture, Fiske (1987) additionally notes the importance of the active audience. Stemming from Hall’s (1973) work on the Encoding/Decoding model, the presumption is created that interpretation of any text – in this case, the television program – is unique. In other words, no two individuals may view the same program in the same way (see Creeber, 2006). Yet, as Hall (1973) notes, the understanding a single episode of a television program can create a preferred meaning that can reinforce the dominant ideology of the program’s audience.

The Discourse-Historical Approach

As Schrøder (2012) notes, the discourse-historical approach “consists in recognizing, in an empirically committed diachronic perspective, the interdiscursivity and intertextuality of any instance of discourse (p. 117). Put another way, what similarities or differences in narratives occur during a predetermined period of time? Consider an example of female housewives in primetime programming. Characters including June

Cleaver in Leave it to Beaver, Carol Brady in The Brady Bunch, and Gloria Delgado-

Pritchett in Modern Family could be placed on a continuum to understand how the role of females in primetime have changed in the past half-century. Reisigl (2017), further stated that the approach consists of a variety of areas within discourse studies, such as discrimination, politics, identity, and ecology. The combination of these factors has prioritized the discourse-historical approach along the lines of geopolitical studies, including Boukala’s (2016) analysis of Greek media discourses on Islamist terrorism

and Kotwal & Power’s (2015) study on the debate in India over the 2013 National Food

Security Act. Furthermore, the synchronization between discourse and history allows the researcher to “explain the implications of previous discursive positions on subsequent ones” (Carvalho, 2008, p. 163). The previous studies noted gave examples of how media coverage examined the issue over a period of time. In the Kotwal &

Power study, they examined 29 newspapers over a four-year period between 2011 and

2014. The primary purpose was to compare how various public policy debates differed amongst various political parties. While this project does not necessarily have political overtones, it does plan to understand how different productions of television programs over time create a greater understanding of a region.

For the purposes of this study, the “implications” directly connect to the portrayal of the South over the three-decade period. Put simply, what were the presentations of the South in prime-time broadcast television between 1960 and 1993? The six programs in this study sample, as shown next, each have unique storylines and representations of the American South on prime-time television. However, when placed on a continuum, what similarities and differences are prevalent in this 32-year time period of the original airing, as well as in the twenty-first century?

Study Population and Research Sample

As stated in the study’s purpose: the programs in this analysis are to be the most enduring and culturally relevant ones in the history of television shows set in the

American South between 1960 and 1993. They aired on one of the major broadcast networks – ABC, CBS, or NBC – in the mid-late twentieth century and were situated in southern states. Using this as a guide, the location and date of original broadcasts automatically create a list of programs that encompass the study’s population. The

inclusion of endurance and cultural relevance, though, allows for a narrowing of the population to a set number of programs to sample. The definition of cultural relevance adapts Freeman’s (2007) operationalization of program prominence. He identified three criteria: popularity, critical acclaim, and peer awards. For the purposes of this study, popularity – through the examination of Nielsen Ratings – and peer awards – using the annual Primetime Emmy Awards – were coupled with a new criterion of syndication, checking to see if the program reached a 100 episode plateau to reach a more recognizable distribution since its original airing and multimedia distribution on DVD or online streaming platforms to create the study’s sample. Table 3-1 shows all programs in the population; those which aired on broadcast television between 1960 and 1993 and were set in the American South.

Table 3-1 Population of Programs

Program Original airdate State of Setting Cutter to Houston 1983 Texas Dallas 1978-1991 Texas Designing Women 1986-1993 Georgia Empty Nest 1988-1995 Florida Evening Shade 1990-1994 Arkansas Flipper 1964-1967 Florida Flo 1980-1981 Texas Frank’s Place 1987-1988 Louisiana Hawkins 1973-1974 West Virginia Houston Knights 1987-1988 Texas I Dream of Jeannie 1965-1970 Florida In the Heat of the Night 1988-1995 Mississippi Longstreet 1971-1972 Louisiana Matlock 1986-1995 Georgia Mayberry R.F.D. 1968-1971 North Carolina Miami Vice 1984-1990 Florida Surfside 6 1960-1962 Florida T.J. Hooker 1982-1986 Florida The Andy Griffith Show 1960-1968 North Carolina The Dukes of Hazzard 1979-1985 Georgia

The Golden Girls 1985-1992 Florida The Waltons 1972-1981 Virginia

To determine the popularity of a program, the Nielsen Ratings are utilized. As previously noted, the Nielsen Company has been tracking ratings on television since

1950, and the current system that is still in place, as of 2020, has been used since

1960. The Nielsen Company annually publishes the top thirty rated programs on broadcast television. Table 3-2 narrows the top thirty programs to those ranked in the top ten of the annual ratings (Brooks & Marsh, 2007). The table notes the number of times a program was ranked in the top ten along with the highest rating received during its initial broadcast.

Table 3-2. Programs by Nielsen Rating Program Number of Top Ten Highest Rating Nielsen Rankings Cutter to Houston 0 N/A Dallas 7 1 Designing Women 2 6 Empty Nest 3 7 Evening Shade 0 15 Flipper 0 25 Flo 1 7 Frank’s Place 0 N/A Hawkins 0 N/A Houston Knights 0 N/A I Dream of Jeannie 0 26 In the Heat of the Night 0 18 Longstreet 0 N/A Matlock 0 12 Mayberry R.F.D. 2 4 Miami Vice 1 9 Surfside 6 0 N/A T.J. Hooker 0 28 The Andy Griffith Show 8 1 The Dukes of Hazzard 3 2 The Golden Girls 6 4 The Waltons 2 2

To operationalize peer awards, the annual primetime Emmy awards were analyzed. Since 1948, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences has held an annual event honoring the best in prime-time television. The Academy’s online archive lists every nominated program since the first award ceremony. Table 3-3 lists each program in the population, the number of prime-time Emmy nominations the program received along with the number of Emmy wins.

Table 3-3. Prime-Time Emmy Nominations and Awards by Program Program Emmy Nominations Emmy Wins Cutter to Houston 0 0 Dallas 21 4 Designing Women 18 1 Empty Nest 6 1 Evening Shade 9 2 Flipper 0 0 Flo 1 0 Frank’s Place 9 3 Hawkins 0 0 Houston Knights 0 0 I Dream of Jeannie 1 0 In the Heat of the Night 3 1 Longstreet 1 0 Matlock 4 1 Mayberry R.F.D. 0 0 Miami Vice 20 4 Surfside 6 0 0 T.J. Hooker 0 0 The Andy Griffith Show 9 6 The Dukes of Hazzard 1 0 The Golden Girls 68 11 The Waltons 37 13

The final criterion, syndication and multimedia distribution, is included to narrow the sample to only include programs that reached the syndication barrier of 100 episodes. This ability to reach this number, equating to a longer livelihood in second-run

syndication – coupled with its availability to mass audiences through multimedia formats, including DVD and streaming websites – solidifies the notion that said program has maintained a cultural relevance and enduring legacy many decades after it originally aired on its home broadcast network. As Kompare (2005) notes, the

“acquisitive repetition” of program viewing through DVDs and streaming platforms allows audiences to have control over the number of times they choose to rerun previously-ended programs (p. 208). Table 3-4 lists the mass distribution of the programs in the population, with emphasis on the availability to both purchase the DVD set of the program.

Table 3-4. Programs by Number of Episodes and DVD availability Program Total Number of Episodes Complete Series on DVD (as of 2020) (Y/N) Cutter to Houston 9 N Dallas 357 Y Designing Women 163 Y Empty Nest 170 N Evening Shade 98 N Flipper 88 Y Flo 29 Y Frank’s Place 22 N Hawkins 8 N Houston Knights 31 N I Dream of Jeannie 139 Y In the Heat of the Night 142 Y Longstreet 23 Y Matlock 194 Y Mayberry R.F.D. 78 N Miami Vice 112 Y Surfside 6 74 N T.J. Hooker 91 Y The Andy Griffith Show 249 Y The Dukes of Hazzard 147 Y The Golden Girls 180 Y The Waltons 221 Y

Therefore, as shown in Table 3.5, when delineating these four additional criteria,

Nielsen Rating, Emmy Nominations, Number of Episodes/Syndication, and DVD availability, six programs meet the mark. Dallas, Designing Women, The Andy Griffith

Show, The Dukes of Hazzard, The Golden Girls, and The Waltons, therefore are the primary six programs in this study’s sample.

Table 3-5. Summary of Criteria within Total Population

Program Multiple Top 10 Emmy Nominated 100+ Complete Nielsen Ratings Episodes Series Cutter to Houston Dallas X X X X Designing X X X X Women Empty Nest X X X Evening Shade X Flipper X Flo X X X Frank’s Place X Hawkins Houston Knights I Dream of X X X Jeannie In the Heat of the X X X Night Longstreet X X Matlock X X X Mayberry R.F.D. X Miami Vice X X X X Surfside 6 T.J. Hooker X The Andy Griffith X X X X Show The Dukes of X X X X Hazzard The Golden Girls X X X X The Waltons X X X X

In total, 1,317 episodes of television were aired for these six programs. To narrow the sample of programs included in this study, those that aired during Nielsen’s

Sweeps months are included. Since 1954, the Nielsen Company has indicated

November, February, late-April/May, and July as the four sweeps months (Szcypka,

Emery, Wakefield, and Chaloupka, 2003). During this time period, the television ratings of all 210 designated market areas in the United States are tabulated. During the other months, the largest media markets – including those in New York City, Los Angeles,

Chicago, and Dallas – are used to more quickly identify the popularity of television programs. As the Nielsen Ratings were used as a criterion for program selection, combined with the purpose of the Sweeps Months as a way to measure audience viewership throughout the entire country – those which measure the viewership of a nationwide audience – it seems most applicable to include such programs in this study.

Furthermore, broadcast networks freqeuently save a program’s best episodes of the season to increase rating value, and thus the advertising rates that can be set for the subsequent television season (Steinberg, 2017). For this study, episodes which initially aired in November, February, and after April 15 through May 31 are included. Of the months that had episodes air to a national audience, one episode, per month, were selected. Episodes were selected randomly, with the exception of one episode –

Dallas’s “Who Done It?”. In sum, 124 episodes of the six programs were analyzed in this project. Appendix A lists each respective episode, along with its original airdate.

The project was conducted chronologically, beginning with The Andy Griffith

Show in the 1960-1961 television season and concluding with Designing Women and

The Golden Girls in the 1992-1993 television season. The total population of programs represents both half-hour situation comedies as well as hour-long drama programs.

In coding the programs, two key themes were predetermined: does location play a role in the episode and how are each primary and secondary character represented in the episode? This notion of location and character served as a starting point to identify primary keywords as future episodes are coded. Table 3.6 lists primary keywords to be discovered that served as key aspects to the thematic analysis that occurred following the viewing of each episode.

Following the analysis of narrative and character by episode, the 124 episodes within each respective program that is part of this analysis were combined. Such combination presents an overall exposure of how such program and its characters were presented on television. A brief summary of the programs in the analysis is shown next.

This serves as a skeleton of the program’s backdrop, with detailed character, narrative, and setting analysis to occur within each respective episode listed in Appendix A.

The Andy Griffith Show (1960-1968)

As Kelly (1981) states, “The Andy Griffith Show began with a notion” by producer

Sheldon Leonard (p. 15). That notion was to incorporate a storyline within one of

Leonard’s other programs, The Danny Thomas Show. The essential idea was to have

Danny Thomas’ character, Danny Williams, be arrested in the small town of Mayberry, only to find out that the police officer who arrested him was simultaneously the town

Sheriff, Justice of the Peace, and editor of the town newspaper (Kelly, 1981). The episode, “Danny meets Andy Griffith” not only served as the de-facto pilot for the new series, but brought Griffith, then becoming one of Hollywood’s most sought after actors, to the small screen.

Over the next eight seasons and 249 episodes, The Andy Griffith Show became an immediate success for CBS – never falling lower than seventh in the Nielsen ratings

(Brooks & Marsh, 2007). It created two spinoffs, Gomer Pyle, USMC and Mayberry

RFD, and became one of the only programs in the history of television to conclude its original run finishing in the number one spot in the Nielsen ratings, completing that during the 1967-1968 television season (Brooks & Marsh, 2007).

The Waltons (1972-1981)

Whereas The Andy Griffith Show used a previously known sitcom to serve as a springboard to its spot in the primetime lineup, The Waltons started as a novel. Earl

Hammer Jr. wrote Spencer’s Mountain in 1961 (Howard, 2003). The novel would be optioned for a film to Warner Brothers, and selected by President John F. Kennedy as a book that was representative of American culture. The book eventually became a made- for-tv movie, The Homecoming, broadcast on CBS on December 19, 1971. Hammer Jr. noted he chose the surname Walton because there were some Waltons in his family’s past and it sounded “sturdy and Virginian and American” (Howard, 2003)

The Waltons was originally broadcast on CBS from 1972 to 1981, airing 221 episodes during that time. During the first six seasons of the program, it reached the top

20 of the Nielsen ratings each season (Brooks & Marsh, 2007). In 1973, it was awarded the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series along with numerous actors receiving accolades during the series’ run (Brooks & Marsh, 2007).

The Dukes of Hazzard (1978-1985)

Similar to The Andy Griffith Show and The Waltons, the original concept of The

Dukes of Hazzard began with another medium. The 1975 film Moonrunners, about a family who sells bootlegged liquor served as the platform for the television series.

Originally slated as a mid-season filler by CBS, the series was set in fictional Hazzard

County, Georgia, and its initial popularity by audiences caused Warner Brothers, who was producing the show, to order a full-season pickup. Unlike The Andy Griffith Show being a thirty-minute situation comedy, The Dukes of Hazzard was an hour-long drama that exuded the South. As custom car designer George Barris noted, items such as the

Confederate flag painted on the hood of the General Lee car was mandated by the art directors from the start of the program (Herman, 2004).

The Dukes of Hazzard ran for seven seasons on CBS between 1978 and 1985. Its most successful year in the Nielsen ratings came during the 1980-1981 season when it finished in the number two spot. As shown next, the program that finished number one that season, Dallas, gave CBS a one-two punch of the South in primetime.

Dallas (1978-1991)

As producer Lee Rich noted, Dallas was originally pitched as its successor,

Knots Landing – a daytime drama in the primetime lineup (Glaser, 1999). At the time, according to Rich, the network was uninterested in the program because it wasn’t set in an urban city. When Rich and partner David Jacobs returned with the idea for Dallas,

CBS ordered a five-episode miniseries (Glaser, 1999). The show was originally to focus on the rivalry between the Ewings’ and Barnes’ families, but when Larry Hagman was cast as J.R. Ewing, he became the prominent figure in the program (Glaser, 1999). One key difference for the program, Rich described, was that each episode needed a “hook”; episodes would not have a beginning, middle, and end (Glaser, 1999).

Airing 357 episodes from 1978 to 1991, Dallas became a smashing success for

CBS. From 1980 to 1985, it was either the number one or number two program in primetime (Brooks & Marsh, 2007). It broke the mold for daytime drama programs in

primetime, not only with its own successful spinoff, Knots Landing, but with the notion that an unserialized program with hooks and cliffhangers could work in the evening as much as during the daytime.

The Golden Girls (1985-1992)

Whereas the previous four programs began via another medium, or in the case of

Dallas, a made-for-television miniseries, The Golden Girls was originally conceived during a promotional special for NBC. Network executive Warren Littlefield recognized a previously unrecognized concept: “It doesn’t have to suck to be a fifty-plus woman in

America” (Harrison, 2011). He pitched the program to producer Susan Harris who, according to Littlefield, wrote a sensational script from the start (Harrison, 2011).

Actress Rue McClanahan who played Blanche Devereaux, agreed with Littlefield’s assertions that it was going to be a hit (Colucci, 2006).

Littlefield’s and McClanahan’s initial beliefs about the program would prove correct.

Set in Miami and airing 180 episodes on NBC from 1985 to 1992, the show was in the top ten of the Nielsen ratings in each of its first six seasons (Brooks & Marsh, 2007). It also became only one of three primetime programs in the history of television – along with All in the Family and Will & Grace – to see all four of its principal actors be awarded a Primetime Emmy Award (Colucci, 2016).

Designing Women (1986-1993)

One year after the debut of The Golden Girls, Designing Women first aired on CBS on September 29, 1986. Created by husband and wife Linda Bloodworth-Thomason and Harry Thomason, the program revolved around the lives of four women who worked together in an Atlanta interior design firm. As was noted in a review by John J.

O’Connor, “the fictitious firm of Sugarbaker & Associates is headed by Julia

Sugarbaker, a glamorous widow who is far from ready to become a blue-haired little old lady.” (O’Connor, 1986). With the pilot episode featuring Ray Charles singing his popular song “Georgia on My Mind”, the importance of location was noted from the show’s start.

Airing seven seasons and 163 episodes on CBS, Designing Women did not receive the same accolades as some of the other programs in this study, but did see an increase in viewership as the series continued – an abnormality in television programming. It reached a Ratings high in its sixth season, placing sixth.

Each of these brief synopses serve as a starting point for this study. It gave some brief information on the series’ conceptions and respective legacies including number of total episodes, Nielsen Ratings, and Primetime Emmy Award wins. As shown next, each of the 124 episodes in this study are analyzed through a detailed viewing, noting all characters present in the program, any emphasis on the program’s setting(s), and the overall plotline and narrative presented. Following the completion of viewing, the researcher notes an overall thematic analysis of each of the six programs.

CHAPTER 4 RESULTS

As previously noted, episodes in this study’s sample were coded using two key elements: location/setting and character representation. These elements, in turn, were part of the attempt to answer how the American South has been portrayed in primetime scripted television programs. This chapter will examine how six dominant readings –

Community Trumps Individuality, Progress can Complement but not Supersede

Tradition, Ends-Based Justice, Women as Bearers of Meaning, Stereotypes Obscure

Reality, and Responsibility Guides Philosophy – were shown.

Community Trumps Individuality

A constant reading throughout each of the six programs in the sample was the presence of the ‘other’. In other words, to create situations and narratives, various guest characters become introduced to the community – both in terms of the city and the primary characters who inhabit it. Thus, to highlight the uniqueness of the setting, each of the programs would continuously introduce one-time guest roles of individuals from known locations.

During the eight seasons of The Andy Griffith Show, numerous episodes reinforce this ideology of community in contrast to the ‘other’. In both “Crime-Free

Mayberry” and “If I Had a Quarter Million” there are connections with Mayberry to the

Federal Bureau of Investigation, as agents from the bureau’s regional headquarters in

Raleigh, North Carolina, make guest appearances to help the small town of Mayberry catch an unwanted criminal passing through town. Both episodes create the notion that the rural town with only two members of law enforcement is unable to survive without

the help of established officials. However, the dominant reading shifts the importance of the individual to the notion that a small community is well-equipped to be self- sustainable, regardless of the number of police officers in it.

In “Crime-Free Mayberry”, Mayberry, North Carolina is named as having the lowest crime rate in the country. While the honor is eventually revealed to be a con by two would-be criminals, the entire town essentially shuts down in celebration of the pride to be without major criminal activity. In one scene, deputy Barney Fife takes pride in showing outsiders various parts of town, including the courthouse and jail. While the entire con is a front by two men hoping the rob the Mayberry bank, they are, in a dose of irony, caught by the sheriff, Andy Taylor, giving purpose to their initial fake award for the town’s low crime rate.

Law and order is not the only area that highlights Mayberry’s community pride.

Additionally, in “Ellie Saves a Female”, there is the belief that the town will take care of its own when the cause is right. Rather than place Mayberry on a micro-scale compared to more populated surrounding cities, the community also places itself as the town seat for smaller villages in the area. While the separation between small-town life and big city life was a frequent theme of the program, one area that was equally broadcast was the difference between Mayberry as a small town, but burgeoning metropolis compared to the rural farms that surrounded it. In “Ellie Saves a Female”, for instance, the primary narrative is that Ellie Walker, Mayberry’s pharmacist, and Andy’s then-girlfriend, attempts to befriend Frankie Flint. Frankie is a female farmhand on her father’s farm in a rural subset of Mayberry’s county. Ellie demands to Andy that Frankie – whose birth name is Frances – be treated like a woman, but because she is needed as help on her

family farm, her father has de-feminized her and not allowed her to enjoy products in

Ellie’s store, ranging from make-up to perfume. Ellie becomes determined to allow

Frankie to explore her feminine side and overrules Mr. Flint by giving her beauty products. While he initially objects, Andy and Ellie are able to change Mr. Flint’s mind about Ellie’s purpose on the farm – not as a farmhand, but a ‘motivational’ female to the other male workers.

In The Waltons, episodes such as “The Boy from the CCC”, “The Scholar”, and

“The Family Tree” additionally highlight the importance and value of community over individuality. “The Boy from the C.C.C.” revolves around a storyline where the Walton family takes in a rogue young man, Gino, from New York. Gino portrayed as someone from a big city becomes immediately suspicious and confused why the family would treat him as a family member. Although the Walton family generosity is shown as genuine, Gino eventually attempts tries to steal from them, but is caught in the act by

Mr. Walton. While Gino expects the family to turn on him – as he is shown a history of being unable to make close interpersonal connections, the family’s kindness only increases. This causes Gino to ask, “why should my life matter one way or another to a bunch of dirt-poor hicks?” Yet, by the end of the episode, he gets comfort in being cared for by his newfound community.

Other episodes of The Waltons, including “The Scholar” and “The Family Tree”, show various members of the Walton family take members of the community under their wing. While marginalized groups were not regularly shown on The Andy Griffith Show,

The Waltons introduced audiences to an African-American guest character, Verdie

Grant. In “The Scholar”, Verdie is introduced as a local seamstress who does not know

how to read or write. More than anything, she wants to attend her daughter’s college graduation in New York but frets she will look foolish because she can’t order anything from the menu. As John Boy is viewed as the intellectual of the community, she enlists his support. In exchange for his instruction to read and write, she tends to Erin, the middle daughter of the Walton family, when she has her tonsils removed. In a later episode, “The Family Tree” Verdie decides to better understand her ancestry. Although her husband forbids it at the time, Verdie pleads to understand her past. The culmination of the episode occurs when Verdie and Jason meet with Mrs. Unwick – an older White woman who continues to live the myth of the Civil War and is “heartbroke” due to the loss of the Confederacy – who eventually allows Verdie into her home to view her family’s record of owning slaves.

In addition to having an African-American guest role, “The Medal” introduced audiences to Sergeant Ramirez, a soldier and Mary Ellen’s love interest. Although he is an American from California, his last name makes him a target of ridicule from others in his company with one noting “[I] bet his mother still flips frijoles.” When the Walton family takes Ramirez in, they are scorned as “Mexican-lovers…for standing up for the greaser instead of one of your own kind”. The discrimination from his own same-sided

American troop, combined with the empathy from the Walton family, highlights an important discussion regarding race in the rural South both from the 1940s when it was set as well as the 1970s when it aired.

The Dukes of Hazzard presents numerous examples of how the community of

Hazzard County, Georgia also rises above individuality. One unique aspect of The

Dukes of Hazzard was the number of guest stars that had ties to other aspects of

Southern and rural life. Two, in particular, Cale Yarborough and Loretta Lynn, respectively get caught in the tangled web of Hazzard County. In the appropriately titled episode “Dukes Meet Cale Yarborough”, the family becomes connected to the popular

NASCAR racing driver as he is testing out his new turbo engine on a racetrack on the outskirts of town. Unsurprisingly, the Dukes are not the only interested parties in Mr.

Yarborough’s new engine. Competing drivers, The Jethro Brothers, also become involved. They plot with Boss Hogg to make some money regarding the engine’s success. As the narrator of the program – country music singer Waylon Jennings stated

– Boss Hogg could smell “ink on a dollar like a bird dog huntin’ quail.”

In addition to having a NASCAR driver featured in guest spots, the program also included prominent country music artists of the era. As previously noted, Waylon

Jennings doubled as both the show’s theme song performer and narrator. However, he would not make any guest appearances. Rather, in “Find Loretta Lynn”, the singer is kidnapped after word gets out that her RV might be passing through town. During her rescue by the Dukes, it is noted that “you start tanglin’ with a country girl, you better have all of your smarts working.” Unsurprisingly, Lynn is rescued by the family, and the episode concludes with a rendition of Lynn’s song “Y’all Come” with the Dukes and other townspeople in Hazzard County. Having known guests doing special roles marked a new level of combined cultures. Rather than viewed as outsiders, celebrities such as

Yarborough and Lynn were welcomed into the Hazzard community with open arms.

In urban-set Southern programs, the definition of community is somewhat altered to primarily revolve around business colleagues and friends. For example, in Designing

Women, episodes such as “Bernice’s Sanity Hearing”, prominently place the value of

comradery in a community. When Bernice Clifton, a family friend of Julia and Suzanne

Sugarbaker is questioned for whether she should be placed in a mental institution, Julia insists:

Even if Bernice is crazy, that doesn’t mean she should be put away…this is the South and we’re proud of our crazy people. We don’t hide them up in the attic. We bring them right down into the living room and show ‘em off. No one in the South ever asks if you have crazy people in your family, they just ask which side they’re on.

Thus, the importance of taking care of one’s own is prominently valued. In The

Golden Girls episode “To Catch a Neighbor”, local police officers from Miami request to stay at the home to stake out an eventual planned robbery from the next door neighbors. In addition to being hospitable and welcoming the strangers for their assignment, Blanche notes that they are welcome back anytime for some home cooking. After one of the officers it shot, Sophia takes on the role of nurse and notes

“it’s nice not to be a passenger for a change.” Although the large urban areas of Atlanta and Miami are not consistently portrayed as “hicktowns” like rural-set shows, they equally present a cast of characters who create their own internal community to help others in need.

Progress Can Complement But Not Supersede Tradition

The second dominant reading shown through these programs is progress clashing with history and tradition. Each of the six programs portrayed six different regions of the American South: Mayberry, North Carolina; Walton’s Mountain, Virginia;

Hazzard County, Georgia; Dallas, Texas; Atlanta, Georgia; and Miami, Florida. For each setting, various symbols and ideals – many with references to the Old South – showcased prominent aspects of the antebellum and Civil War eras. In both The

Waltons and The Dukes of Hazzard, there were symbols such as the Confederate Flag prominently featured. Furthermore, references to General Robert E. Lee was not only the car in The Dukes of Hazzard but a rural road and bridge outside of Mayberry.

As previously noted, a common plotline of The Andy Griffith Show dealt with the disconnection between rural and urban life and small-town and country life. This was an essential part of the program from the start as shown in the program’s pilot episode in

The Danny Thomas Show. In the episode “Danny Meets Andy Griffith”, the storyline revolves around the notion that a small-town police officer would be so methodical in ensuring an out-of-town passerby would be brought to justice – even if it was simply for running a stop sign. With the primary character, Andy Taylor, being the sheriff of

Mayberry and town’s Justice of the Peace, almost every episode revolves around a situation dealing with law enforcement and the influx of criminal activity in an otherwise remote, small area. From that pilot episode, it created the notion that Mayberry was in its own reality, not fully understanding the legal or social norms of the day.

In addition to FBI agents from Raleigh being part of the program, other characters from out-of-town or out-of-state are frequent parts of the program’s narrative.

These characters reiterate Mayberry’s debate between it’s past, present, and future. In

“Crime Free Mayberry”, Barney Fife, Andy’s chief – and only – deputy, clamors “this is a hick town and I am a hick deputy”, discontent with not only his position, but Mayberry’s place in the overall landscape. In “Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.”, Gomer Pyle portrays a kind- hearted but otherwise buffoonish and naïve man who has no real concept of how a

Marine is supposed to act. It is important to note that while it was not included in this sample, the success of that episode led to a spinoff of The Andy Griffith Show, which

lasted for five seasons on CBS from 1964 to 1969 (Kelly, 1981). Given the state of the country during this period – in the prime of the Vietnam War – the premise of having a rural Southerner be aloof to the regimented expectations of the military was distinctive

(archives.gov). However, the format showcased a Southerner as the primary character who was portrayed as comically unaware of his purpose.

In addition to “Ellie Saves a Female” highlighting the divide between progress and history, “Mountain Wedding” further amplifies such division. Audiences are introduced to Briscoe Darling, played by Denver Pyle, and his family. The key plotline revolves around Briscoe’s daughter, Charlene, being unable to marry her fiancée, Dud, due to an instigator in their area, Ernest T. Bass. In short, Bass believes he should marry Charlene, and the Darling family look to Andy and Barney’s assistance to steer him away from the area. They leave in the morning, crossing the “Robert E. Lee Natural

Bridge” and stay the night in the Darling’s one-room house, playing bluegrass music with Briscoe and his three sons. This representation of the outsider showcased a family and area who were seemingly self-sufficient while simultaneously socially inept of the expectations of the modern day.

Most notably, Ernest T. Bass becomes a source of comic relief because his primary way to gain attention is to break windows by throwing rocks through them. In

“My Fair Ernest T. Bass”, Andy and Barney attempt to teach Bass to act cordial in social situations – with the ultimate goal to “get a girl.” While it initially seems that Bass is learning his new ways, at a party he retreats to his old ways, acting almost monkey-like and practically unfit in typical settings. While these moments provide comic entertainment, they also showcase a questionable method of character development.

To highlight the varying degrees of progress, The Andy Griffith Show does not simply have Barney be discontent with his situation, but rather they introduce a character in

Bass who seems so out-of-times he is almost unhuman or childlike.

While The Waltons originally aired from 1972-1981, it was set during the Great

Depression and start of World War II in the late 1930s and early 1940s. The time period is frequently mentioned, but there are some additional symbolic representations, with some particular emphasis to earlier time periods of the late 1800s. In particular, various

Civil War and late nineteenth century remnants are shown such as a framed

Confederate flag in the classroom, Jason singing about “joining under ranks of Robert

E. Lee” or playing with Grandma Walton the song “Carry Me Back to Ole Virginny,” which in later years became controversial for the lyrics' racial content.

While the Walton family is a large group, most of the episodes revolve in one way or another around John Boy Walton, the eldest child of seven, his parents John and

Olivia, and his grandparents Zeb and Esther. John Boy’s education receives many storylines as his intellect, presumably, will allow him to leave the Mountain for higher education and a brighter future. Many early narratives center on the conclusion of his high school education and the beginning of his college at fictional Boatwright College nearby. When he is shown in “The Book” attending classes at Boatwright, there seems to be an undercurrent of animosity between himself and his other classmates. Put another way, John Boy’s rural upbringing immediately distinguishes himself from others.

The dominant reading here is that in order to be viewed as equal, he must work harder than others and be able to present stronger writing samples to his professor. While he

had previously been the star student of his family and local schoolhouse, he is shown telling his mother “It’s not as easy to impress them as it is to impress you.”

In The Dukes of Hazzard episode, “The Dukes Meet Cale Yarborough”, the family creates a ploy to have a chase throughout the county with the NASCAR drivers supped up car camouflaged to look like the Dukes’ General Lee. Daisy even notes: “I’ll paint the [Confederate] flag, I just love that flag”, referring to the large flag painted on the roof of Bo and Duke’s vehicle. This blatant display of Confederate artifact – both with the car being named after a general and the flag being painted on the roof – created a sense of coolness that intertwined racing with the Civil War. Unlike in The

Waltons, where the reflections of the Civil War were more static, these representations were much more blatant and purposeful.

In the Designing Women episode, “The Strange Case of Clarence of Anita”, based on the actual news regarding Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas and

Anita Hill, Julia becomes incensed that not only Thomas will be confirmed, but Hill is being disregarded. “First she’s a woman scorned, and then after passing a lie detector test, she’s a nutcase.” Julia’s pro-feminist viewpoints also blur the line of equality for all minorities, and forces her, at times, to debate cultural and religious heritage in an evolving world. In “How Great Thou Art”, she meets with a pastor who has various reservations about women and other minorities. She notes that while she is religious and belongs to a welcoming church, other “people are always supporting the Bible in a way that will support their own personal prejudices.”

It is important, to note that the pride Julia has for her region tends to sway on the side of urban regionalism rather than rural. Put another way, there are instances, such as when Charlene asks the other woman to go to Graceland for a weekend in “E.P.

Phone Home” and Julia replies she would rather “be tied buck naked to the town clock.”

Julia’s younger sister Suzanne, played by Delta Burke, was represented as an

Atlanta socialite who had a history of beauty pageants and sorority parties. In “Design

House”, it is noted that Suzanne does not have the business acumen compared to the other three women and wants more responsibility. When the Sugarbaker Design Firm is selected to help with the Atlanta Design House – a public relations opportunity to have different firms around the area showcase their talents – Suzanne demands to participate, only to eventually be questioned for burning the entire house down.

Suzanne, like her sister Julia, additionally notes her political leanings, a trait not previously expressed by the women from earlier programs. In “Monette”, she says that at one point, she tried to have hair like Anita Bryant but got turned off when “she went on that homosexual thing.” Furthermore, in “Julia Drives Over the First Amendment” when Julia gets into trouble with a pornographic magazine publisher, Suzanne comes to her defense. When Suzanne finds out the publisher is a woman and has no disregard for publishing pictures of naked women, it makes her “madder than ever.” On the other hand, Suzanne, a graduate of the University of Mississippi where she spent “the six and a half best years of [her] life”, has a distinct disregard to other aspects of Southern culture and geography. In “E.P. Phone Home”, she has no idea where Graceland is located after Charlene wins a trip for four to Elvis Presley’s former home in Memphis,

Tennessee. Furthermore, her affection for Anthony, the firm’s deliveryman, is constantly

questioned because he is black. When Anthony offers to drive the foursome to

Memphis, she notes “we can’t just rush off into the night driving through the dark

Georgia woods with Anthony….frankly I don’t know why I’m the only one who has to bring these things up.” While Suzanne has her reservations, the other three women, most prominently Julia, are more concerned with Suzanne’s well-being than their own.

In Designing Women and The Golden Girls, references to being Southern were both a sense of familial pride and character heritage. For example, when Julia references her friend Bernice’s craziness, she specifically notes that in the South having crazy relatives is not an uncommon situation. However, in The Golden Girls, when

Sophia mocks Blanche’s and Lucas’s upbringing in Georgia, she dresses as a maid as a way to stereotype her perception of the role. On the other hand, Dallas referenced numerous Texas-specific concepts, such as oil, ten-gallon hats, and rodeos. This constant reinforcement inherently symbolizes a growing urban area as a place that still employs cowboy balls and galas. Thus, the debate between the traditions of the past and the present – particularly in urban areas that exhibit growth and change – are prominent in these series.

Ends-Based Justice

In three programs – The Andy Griffith Show, The Dukes of Hazzard, and Dallas – there are frequent connections to the primary characters and the legal and political systems of the location. The Andy Griffith Show takes audiences to rural Mayberry,

North Carolina. Aside from the Taylor home, the combined sheriff’s office/courthouse/jail is the primary setting. Secondary locations include Floyd Barbershop, which is next door to the Sheriff’s Office on Main Street. Combined with a prominence of small-town

comfort, Andy Taylor’s role as sheriff and justice of the peace is one that seemingly has complete authority over the town. Yet, unlike future programs that present powerful individuals doubling as corrupt conmen, Andy presents a more soothing representation.

He, instead, is presented as the voice of moral authority, someone who corrects others from doing wrong. Put another way, he seemingly views most people as well-meaning and judges them on their hearts. He sets an example of toleration and to promote the less fortunate. In “Andy Forecloses”, a local businessman, Sam Weaver, insists that

Andy serve eviction papers to a family. Believing that Mr. Weaver’s intentions are ill- informed, Andy instead circumvents serving the eviction notice until Mr. Weaver relents.

Barney Fife is Andy’s right-hand man, best friend, and complete buffoon who is always overstepping his role and relying on Andy’s aid. In “Mayberry on Record”, he is portrayed as too naïve to believe any conman in search of a quick dollar. One of the consistent themes of the program is Barney’s lack of marksmanship – he only has a single bullet, not in his gun, but rather in his shirt pocket. This indirectly promotes a lack of gun violence being used as a source of force by local law enforcement officials. In other words, Andy’s mere presence should be enough to dissuade others from criminal acts. Barney, on the other hand, tries to be Andy’s second-in-command, but frequently finds himself as the accessory to the various criminals passing through town. In “Crime-

Free Mayberry”, he takes pride in showing others various parts of town, including the courthouse and jail, while not realizing that the entire award is a front used by robbers who attempt to break into the bank’s safe.

Whereas The Andy Griffith Show presented lawmen as individuals who took down powerful, corrupt characters, other programs created a much blurrier picture

between the two. During the earlier episodes of Dallas, the tensions between the

Ewing’s and Barnes’, including Pamela Barnes Ewing’s brother Clifford, were at the center of each storyline. The battle for power over the oil industry and political stature created an interwoven web of deception, manipulation, and constant drama. In

“Election”, where Cliff is trying to run for a seat in the Texas state Senate, the Ewings do everything in their power – including being in cahoots with local law enforcement – to ensure his defeat in the race. J.R. goes as far to insinuate that Cliff may be gay because he “is over 30 and [has] never been married.” Eventually, when it is revealed that Cliff helped a former fiancée have an abortion, it tips the scales in his opponent’s favor. One of the interesting aspects of this episode is that there are never any true political allegiances that are revealed; rather the broadcast revolves around the rivalry among the families. However, it is important to note that certain sociopolitical areas, including homosexuality and abortion, were prominently used to inaccurately portray

Cliff as an individual who is supportive of both. Although previous programs such as

The Andy Griffith Show and The Dukes of Hazzard introduced legal issues, Dallas was one of the first to make controversial political issues part of an episode’s storyline. In an age that saw a transformation of nationwide politics during the presidency of Ronald

Reagan, to associate characters from a major city with deeply sociopolitical issues such as abortion was unheard of in Southern-set programs. While other shows from the

1970s, most notably Norman Lear’s situation comedy, Maude, dealt with the subject, that program was set in New York. While programs such as The Waltons introduced areas of racial tension, they never presented other controversial topics.

Dallas’s debate of justice and morality versus greed and power is the essence of the program. With J.R. Ewing as the primary character throughout the entire series, his role as an executive in the oil industry is shown as someone who is ruthless, cunning, and immoral. Unlike Andy Taylor, John Boy Walton, or the Dukes, t These characteristics are shown both in the boardroom and the bedroom as he and other family members are constantly entangled in various relationships, questioning the sanctity of marriage. There is an interconnectivity of money and politics as well – those who are wealthy can essentially buy their way into the political arena or be able to swindle like-minded candidates to their side.

Furthermore, in The Dukes of Hazzard the sense of hierarchy and order also seems to be much more fluid. While Andy Taylor was given respect among the residents of Mayberry, and Barney Fife, as deputy, was viewed with respect but an equal sense of dopiness, the two law enforcement individuals for Hazzard County,

Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane, and Deputy Enos both exhibit various degrees of buffoonery and a lack of common sense. Coltrane, in particular as sheriff, is unabashedly tied down to the orders of Boss Hogg, his brother-in-law who also seems to be able to pay off

Roscoe to get his way or bend the law to his favor. Hogg, whose full name is Jefferson

Davis Hogg – again a reference to a Civil War era figure – is able to easily manipulate

Roscoe into getting his way.

Throughout the series, the dominant reading of ends-based justice is recognized from the notion that both Bo and Luke were previously charged with criminal activities regarding moonshining and are placed on probation, seemingly for eternity. The duo is constantly on thin ice for breaking any laws and any additional crimes would revoke

their probation and they could be instantly arrested and thrown in jail. However, it is never made clear exactly how long their sentence is for, but rather the program creates the presumption of guilt and ability for the two to quickly be incarcerated.

The dominant reading of The Dukes of Hazzard is noted in each episode’s theme song and opening titles. The Dukes are portrayed as two “good ole boys” who mean well even if they bend the law. Both Bo and Luke are wanting, and able, to assist the town in tracking down criminals and bringing them to justice, even if it risks putting them in precarious situations where they themselves could be accused of wrongdoing.

Furthermore, it questions the notion of good versus evil, with particular emphasis on the morality of the legal system. In other words, unlike The Andy Griffith Show, the police sheriff in Hazzard County does not perform justice based on right versus wrong. He, rather, is shown as being more devilishly twisted by the influence of money. Justice, therefore, is not a moral code, but rather a transaction that is able to be bartered with those who have influence.

The inclusion of the judicial system in three different situations showcases not only the importance of it in the region, but additionally the myriad of characters that are placed within it. In other words, the morality spectrum from Andy Taylor in Mayberry,

North Carolina to Roscoe P. Coltrane in Hazzard County, Georgia differs based on the additional influences within the area. Power, money, and corruption tilt the scales of justice in Dallas and Hazzard County, whereas the law is more straightforward and fairer in Mayberry.

As previously noted, it is worth repeating that in each of these criminal justice scenarios, the crimes presented are heavily dominated by a white male cast. The

contrast of the televised south through justice, at times, could not present a more inaccurate depiction of the reality, specifically with regards to race. Having criminal activity depicted as comical does not represent an accurate racial divisiveness that was showcased on news and other informative programming. The only minimal commonality was through the use of power as shown in Boss Hogg’s character in The Dukes of

Hazzard, but was not targeted to African-Americans in the region.

Women as Bearers Of Meaning

In each program, the presentation of women showcase two key questions about male-female relationships in the South. First, how do women fit in a man’s world? And, subsequently, what qualities portray women as being able to be as tough as their male counterparts?

In The Andy Griffith Show, the function of the nuclear family is a prominent theme throughout the series. With such, there is a stereotypical role placed on each character practically from the start of the series. In the pilot episode, The New Housekeeper,

Andy’s son Opie becomes frustrated that Andy’s Aunt Bee is inept to do anything such as fish or play baseball. He clamors to Andy that “she needs me!” This becomes the primary stereotype for Aunt Bee for most of the series – the female domestic housekeeper who aside from cooking or cleaning has no practical life skills or character development.

Furthermore, Aunt Bee’s role on the program is to be the older, wiser matriarch to listen to Andy and Opie and give necessary advice. Numerous episodes depicted the trio sitting on the front porch of the home, Andy playing his guitar and Aunt Bee knitting while discussing various events that were part of the episode’s storyline. As Andy dated various females, notably schoolteacher Helen Crump, throughout the series, some of

this communication became transferred to them. Thus, while Andy was undoubtably the protagonist for each episode and the situations presented, there seemed to be a need to allow for wisdom and clarity by the female supporting characters.

By the latter part of the series, Aunt Bee’s character evolves somewhat as she is featured in two episodes, “Aunt Bee on TV” and “Aunt Bee Learns to Drive.” In the first episode, Bee is a contestant on a game show during the family trip to Hollywood, winning numerous home furnishings, including a new ice crusher, refrigerator and garbage disposal. While she feels luxurious being able to have so many nice things, it becomes apparent that she did not realize that the prizes were taxable, and she eventually sells back most of the items to help pay the taxes. In “Aunt Bee Learns to

Drive”, it is revealed that Aunt Bee has never had her own car and does not know how to operate one. When she concludes that she should be independent, Andy rebuffs that idea, saying: “Aunt Bee is not the type of woman to drive a car.” Although she would eventually get a license, the notion of her being able to operate her own vehicle is portrayed as comical and almost sarcastic rather than a normal means of necessary transportation. While this character evolution presents Bee in a more leading role, it simultaneously questions her common sense so strongly supported in earlier seasons.

Lacking basic life skills – or relying on a man to complete them – limited the overall scope of meaning and connections to reality. There is, thus, an end point of value where elders are meaningful.

This timeline of reality is even more present in The Waltons, a program that is depicted in the Great Depression of the 1930s. However, the generational differences of female characters are showcased throughout the program’s nine-year run. Not only are

two matriarchs, mother Olivia Walton and grandmother Esther Walton, given roles of housekeepers full of wisdom, but the evolution of daughters Mary Ellen, Elizabeth, and

Erin, showcase a new definition of female meaning that differed from past generations.

While Olivia and Esther Walton presented characters that were strong partners to their husbands, the role and place in the show did not differ too much from Aunt Bee.

Most of their responsibilities were to tend to the various household needs, from cleaning to ironing to cooking. Their place in the home was revered, but not given the opportunity for advancement. They are able to share skills and talents from art to music to their children, and Olivia especially is viewed as a support system for John-Boy Walton’s success in writing.

As previously noted, one of the strongest examples for new meaning occurred in

“The Medal”, where Mary Ellen accepts a Mexican-American soldier, much to the dismay of the locals. Even in a male-dominated society, Mary Ellen was not ashamed or intimidated by such threats and mockeries. Although such a character was deemed different or abnormal to the homogeneous Walton’s Mountain, she did not feel the need to discriminate against a newcomer.

In addition to Mary Ellen’s acceptance, she and her sisters also define meaning through their future lifestyles. Rather than following in the footsteps of their mother and grandmother, Mary Ellen, Erin, and Elizabeth all pursue opportunities outside of the household as a nurse, manager, and world traveler, respectively. This portrayal of independence provided an opportunity to showcase women as equal to their male counterparts, a notion of meaning that would be showcased in future programs.

Like The Waltons, Dallas portrays a complete nuclear family, with Jock and Miss

Ellie playing the family patriarch and matriarch, respectively. As CEO of Ewing Oil,

Jock’s authority is absolute, although he does rely on his sons for counsel. On the other hand, Miss Ellie portrays a Dallas socialite, constantly attending lunches or events for the Daughters of the Alamo or DOA. Yet, unlike previous matriarchs shown, Miss Ellie is both a party-goer and a political force. In “The New Mrs. Ewing”, she and Jock get into a dispute about the Takapa development, and whether it should be saved or used for oil drilling purposes. In an argument one evening, Ellie scolds J.R. and Jock for their anti- feminist beliefs, noting “you believe the woman’s place is two steps behind the man, except when walking through a minefield…You both sicken me.” This ability for a female to not only have a strong opinion about pro-woman issues but articulate such opinions to her male counterparts represented a new dimension in Southern female authority and independence. This clearly marked a dominant reading in the portrayal of a family matriarch who no longer acted subservient to her male counterparts. While Sue Ellen had previously been portrayed as a female who would go against her husband’s wishes,

J.R. was not shown as having the level of respect to her as he did towards his mother.

The degree of independence shown through Miss Ellie represented a definite shift in the role of Southern women that will be explored in more detail in future programs.

The instability of the male-female relationships was not limited to J.R. and Miss

Ellie. There was constant tension between J.R. and his wife, Sue Ellen. This spat between Sue Ellen and J.R. – along with J.R. being in extramarital affairs while pretending to be in a loving relationship – becomes an overarching theme for the next few seasons. In “Divorce – Ewing Style”, the two are surprised by the family with an

anniversary party. While they create the façade of a loving couple, when they return to the bedroom, Sue Ellen tells J.R., “we are not going to make love…not tonight, not tomorrow.” Sue Ellen becomes concerned that J.R. is two-timing her and even hires a private investigator to follow his vehicle. J.R.’s outside relationship with Kristin becomes a lightning rod for him and Sue Ellen, as Kristin wants to have J.R. all to herself. As sisters, the two did not have a loving relationship, and it is portrayed that Kristin, as the younger sister, always exhibited a degree of jealousy towards Sue Ellen. In her view, the ultimate sign of payback would be for J.R. to choose her over her sister. For Kristin, she views justice much differently than others. There is a purposeful rationale for her future actions, which will culminate in the show’s most recognizable catchphrase: “Who

Shot J.R.?”

Sue Ellen and J.R.’s marriage is a fascinating insight into the friction between marriage, money, comfort, and family. While Sue Ellen, who is portrayed as not working and having much financial stability, is not only in need of J.R. for her livelihood, but places their young son, John Ross, as the glue holding a fractured marriage together.

Sue Ellen notes time and time again that she would leave Southfork and J.R., but knows with J.R.’s power and influence, she would lose the ability to see her young son.

She tells her psychiatrist, “I’m afraid to stay with J.R. but more afraid to leave him”. The climax of J.R. and Sue Ellen’s marriage occurs in “Who Done It?” Airing on November

21, 1980, the episode became one of the most watched in the history of prime-time television, with over sixty million viewers in one evening (Gelman, 1980). The episode concludes a multi-arc storyline over which member of the Ewing or Barnes family attempted to kill J.R., badly wounding him in the leg instead and confining him to a

wheelchair. Based on the narrative leading up to the episode, the presumption is made that Sue Ellen shot J.R.. Most of the episode’s narrative revolves around Sue Ellen having to spend time in jail and being expelled from Southfork because of her actions.

However, after being placed under hypnosis by her psychiatrist, it is revealed that she did not shoot her husband, but rather her sister, Kristin, did. When this revelation is announced to the family, J.R. attempts to call the police to arrest Kristin. However, before he is able to make the call, Kristin tells him that she is pregnant with his child and he wouldn’t want “Jock Ewing’s grandchild [to be a] jail baby”.

The importance of this episode goes beyond the Nielsen rating or viewership. It rather cemented the importance of responsibility for characters such as J.R. who were portrayed as immoral. The fact that a female would not only have shot him but then had the backbone to blackmail him based on his actions – her pregnancy – displayed an agency for females that was not previously shown in other programs. The female empowerment shown from Kristin to not back down from the wealthier and more powerful J.R., represented a shift in the female in this situation was not treated as a victim, but rather as an individual who got even with her male counterpart.

In addition to John Ross being a grandchild of Southfork, Pamela and Bobby eventually adopt a son, Christopher. Having two grandchildren, however, creates a dispute between the family as to which line would be the rightful one of succession for

Ewing Oil. In “Aftermath”, Jock suddenly passes away, but notes in his will that Bobby and J.R. will have to go head-to-head for control of the company. Although Ellie implores her sons not to come to blows with one another, she is portrayed as knowing

this day would eventually come and, in a King Lear-esque narrative, would be forced with siding with the victorious son.

As J.R. is seen as the primary male character, his wife Sue Ellen represents a dominant reading of female representation who debate the morality of marriage versus independence. In other words, even as J.R. is two-timing Sue Ellen with multiple mistresses, she maintains a degree of loyalty – primarily because she feels she has no other options. By being a Dallas socialite without any portrayed skills, she is dependent for J.R. for a livelihood in the Southfork mansion. This struggle questions her agency and ability to separate her independence from her husband.

In essence, the program presented a dominant reading about responsibility. The primary story arc for “Who Shot J.R.?” revolved around Kristin ensuring J.R. felt responsible for getting her pregnant, even as he was still married to Sue Ellen.

Furthermore, the differing portrayal between Sue Ellen and Pamela presents two females grappling with independence. Throughout the series, both find themselves in and out of relationships with the Ewings, but Pamela presents a higher degree of agency. As a business owner in Dallas, she is shown as skillful and able to separate herself from the Ewing money. On the other hand, Sue Ellen’s connection to J.R. is in part due to her inability to survive on her own. Pamela’s acumen as an independent business owner, thus, places her in similar company of the quartet presented in

Designing Women.

In Designing Women, the four characters presented not only showcased a female-dominated workplace, but each respective member brought their own unique projection of meaning. Each character presents a unique form of meaning: Julia

Sugarbaker as the strong-willed business owner who stands up for her beliefs and morals; her sister Suzanne Sugarbaker, a former beauty pageant queen who wavers on the spectrum of independent present and an antiquated, old-south past; Mary Jo

Shively, a divorced working mother of two who is quieter than the Sugarbaker sisters but driven through a strong work ethic; and Charlene Frazier, a simple-minded office manager who provides a more rural and country flair to various situations.

The evolution of the independent woman presented in previous programs, arguably, culminates in Julia Sugarbaker. A recent widow, she sets out to provide for herself through the creation of her own interior design firm. Furthermore, while the firm is female-dominated, she hires a recently released African-American prisoner as her delivery driver. For the first time, a man was not only employed by a woman, but turned to her for advice in both life and work. There was both a shift of power and respect, as

Anthony valued Julia’s unwavering commitment to him as a colleague and friend.

Julia Sugarbaker additionally was portrayed as an independent woman who was not afraid to speak her mind. In “The Candidate”, she challenges a local council member in an election. In “Julia Runs Over the First Amendment”, she destroys pornographic posters of women at a newsstand. There is a sense of action rather than simply being a secondary character who merely prescribes advice for their male counterparts. Julia’s actions reveal a dominant reading of a female who not only is a proud and independent business owner but one who is unafraid to speak her mind. Her pro-feminist viewpoints further define the characteristics of a Southern woman.

Whereas Dallas began the conversation of certain sociopolitical issues such as homosexuality and abortion, Designing Women put them front and center, with Julia

playing the most outspoken role in many instances. What is different in this situation though, contrasted with prior programs, is the desire to cause change at the greater societal level, not simply the household one. In other words, when Miss Ellie spoke back to her family, it was in part to establish her authority over her husband and son.

However, with Julia, as a widower, she seems to be more concerned about encouraging progressive ideals within public situations – such as knocking down a pornographic poster at a newsstand.

Whereas Julia Sugarbaker is viewed as the modern, independent woman, her sister Suzanne counters that representation. Suzanne is also a widow, and by marrying an older man and receiving his wealth, she is not concerned with a working lifestyle, but rather relishes the … that comes from her inheritance. Her intelligence is dismissed for her need for beauty and material objects, stemming from her background as a beauty pageant queen. While, she also values Anthony as a colleague, she frequently questions how others may see her socializing with an African-American male. In “E. P.

Phone Home, she notes “we just can’t go rushing into the night, driving through the dark

Georgia woods with Anthony…because it just would not look right, and frankly I don’t know why I’m the one who always has to bring these things up. Yet, Julia’s support of

Anthony is unquestioned. When he is named partner in “A Class Act”, Suzanne debates why Anthony was named equal partner, thinking she was originally signing “that Ed

McMahon sweepstakes thing” for his partnership contract. Julia replies “you’re going to go out of your way to be supportive of him, or I’ll hurt you.”

Mary Jo Shively’s position at Sugarbaker’s is that of a colleague who balances work and home life – trying to be a career woman while raising two young children.

While not as direct as Julia or Suzanne, Mary Jo exhibits a quiet strength that is almost like a dormant volcano – easily eruptible by her colleagues and friends. In “The Pride of the Sugarbakers”, she is the coach of her son’s little league team, and – along with Julia

– is not above yelling at the other coaches or umpires to help her son or his team. She is incredibly quick-witted and frequently targets Suzanne as the brunt of her jokes. In

“Bernice’s Sanity Hearing”, it is revealed that Suzanne is on a vacation to Greece, or as

Mary Jo puts it, the “rich bitch alimony tour.” In “Gone with a Whim”, a local millionaire and his new young bride request the firm’s assistance in redecorating a historic property, to which Mary Jo quips “we now have to turn this antebellum treasure into

Barbie’s Malibu Dreamhouse.”

The final partner of Sugarbaker’s, Charlene Frazier-Stillfield, is portrayed as the office manager but is also viewed as an equal decorating partner to the other three women. However, although her work responsibilities are that of an equal partner, she is frequently alienated from her rural upbringings. On numerous occasions, Julia, Suzanne or Mary Jo make jokes at her expense due to her literal interpretations of things or identify her country-leaning background as different from their own. In “Monette”, when

Charlene receives a letter from her mother that she may be related to Loretta Lynn, she asks, “You know what this means?” to which Julia replies “You might have to start cookin’ with Crisco?” and Suzanne comments “I was just rudely interrupted by a hillbilly bulletin.” In that same episode, Monette is revealed as Charlene’s childhood friend who is also running a brothel in Atlanta. Mary Jo, Julia, and Suzanne try to drop hints to

Charlene, telling her that Monette is “practicing the world’s oldest profession”, to which

Charlene replies “she’s a carpenter?”

Charlene’s naivete and desire to find the best in others is arguably the most prominent representation of her character arc. In “The Junies”, she becomes a door-to- door saleswoman for Lady June makeup and beauty products, only to feel encapsulated by the company’s cult-like atmosphere of friendship and competition. Furthermore, in “A

Class Act”, Charlene decides to take a psychology and human behavior course at nearby Clarton University. However, she does not realize that her professor was coming on to her on multiple occasions. Eventually, he makes a pass at her, only to have her back away in disgust. However, because, according to Charlene the professor “meant well”, he is still invited to dinner that evening.

The four character arcs of female meaning in Designing Women are eerily similar to those in The Golden Girls. Between Dorothy, Blanche, Rose, and Sophia, each of the four housemates present a view of the region and their place within it. Unlike Designing

Women, the quartet does not share a business, but rather living arrangements under the same roof.

Dorothy Zbornak is as equally independent as Julia Sugarbaker. Unlike Julia, she does not have the same degree of business and financial freedom, constantly juggling work as a substitute teacher and seemingly living paycheck to paycheck. However, she presents a fierce notion of female empowerment and desire for equality. Some of this drive, arguable, is placed on her previous mishandlings as a young adult. By being pregnant and married before she graduated high school, Dorothy represented a woman whose life seemed fairly predetermined. Yet, such mistakes did not define her; her later divorce and independence portrayed a woman who demanded equality from those

around her. She seemed perfectly comfortable ending romantic relationships with men if they dismissed her or treated her unfairly.

Like Suzanne Sugarbaker, Blanche Deveraux relished the superficial aspects of life, namely her beauty and good looks. A widow, she provided some advice, like

Dorothy, but was frequently divided between her deep Southern roots from Georgia and her recent independence as a single woman. Her man-crazy ways portrays a woman who believes sexuality is the key to life and although she never has a long-term relationship, her promiscuity seems to belittle her value. Although she worked in a museum, and completed various activities in the community, her reliance on male companionship – and constant stories about them – represented a one-dimensional approach to life and purpose in it.

Blanche’s Southern roots are one of two key parts of her character portrayal. As previously mentioned, Blanche has a similar character arc to Suzanne Sugarbaker, she is also interested in her looks and ability to easily woo men into various sexual encounters. Her flirtatious nature is consistently revealed to anyone who passes through the home, from local doctors to police officers. In “To Catch a Neighbor”, two officers use the home as a stakeout location to catch criminals, the McDowell’s, in the next house. When entering the house asking about the relationship between the women and the McDowell’s, Blanche replies, “they’re innocent, I’m not.” Furthermore, in “Henny

Penny – Straight, No Chaser”, a previous beau gets revenge on Blanche by posting her fake obituary. Blanche becomes incensed, but her anger is not because people will think she died, but rather that he posted she was 68 years old.

Rose Nylund’s stories from her hometown of St. Olaf, Minnesota mirror Charlene

Frazier’s anecdotes from rural Missouri. Rose’s naivete is prominent throughout the series in that her inability to detect sarcasm or humor at her expense is a weakness.

While never directly mentioned, this reflects a previously explored notion of rural backgrounds and educational levels. Similar to Aunt Bee in The Andy Griffith Show,

Rose is often dismissed even by her female housemates of her lack of sophistication.

Her simple-mindedness presents a caring figure, but one who seems out of touch with modern reality. Her way of living in the present is to present stories, often long-winded in nature, that connect to her past. In “Mother’s Day”, her realization that it would be cheaper to fly to St. Olaf to visit her five children rather than having all of them fly to

Miami showed someone who had a strong heart but severely lacked common sense.

Like Rose, Sophia Petrillo also uses stories from her hometown of Sicily, Italy to provide wisdom in various situations. Unlike, Rose, however, Sophia’s wisdom as the matriarch of the home and connoisseur of Italian pasta dishes is not limited compared to

Esther Walton. While both Sophia and Esther represent grandmotherly characters,

Sophia is shown both active outside of the home, but with various romantic partners as well. There is rarely the presentation of an elderly woman who is unable to complete daily chores – Sophia frequently laps her three younger housemates in the amount of stamina she possesses. As Warren Littlefield noted, the show’s moniker of “it doesn’t have to suck to get old” is prominently featured in Sophia. While she is a bearer of meaning through her stories, her greatest asset is arguably her ability to live her life to the fullest in each episode.

Throughout each of the programs, the role of women evolved. The notion of each being of bearer of meaning shifted from that of a giver of wisdom and advice to being meaningful through action. The barriers presented to Aunt Bee Taylor, Esther Walton, and even Miss Ellie Ewing contrasted greatly with the independence showcased through Pamela Barnes, Julia Sugarbaker, and Dorothy Zbornak. Over this period, the gender roles of a male-dominated world flipped to show females who relied on themselves for success in life and men were considered the new supporting characters.

Stereotypes Combat Regional Pride

For many of the programs in this study, the use of comedy was a frequent tool to define the area and characters. However, the laughter provided also seemed to serve as an attempt to caricaturize the South rather than understand it. In other words, various characters and situations became the brunt of jokes deemed to make fun of the areas lake of understanding to the more sophisticated world outside of its borders.

In The Andy Griffith Show, Barney Fife’s comedic foil to Andy’s straight man as the sheriff of Mayberry provides humor to various situations, it highlights the laid-back lifestyle of a rural community. In other words, all Mayberry citizens know Andy and

Barney by name, and although a higher-than-typical number of criminals seem to pass through town on a weekly basis, the laid-back lifestyle is a prominent theme for the program. However, as Barney clamors in “Andy the Matchmaker” that Mayberry is a place that “ain’t got no airport, and [we] ain’t got no water.” Furthermore, in “Crime-Free

Mayberry”, he becomes disgusted when Andy is playing country music, that it is a “hick song, and this is a hick town, and he is a hick deputy.” This imbalance is a unique

perspective in that Barney is often unhappy with his current state, yet arguably would not be given the ability to be as klutzy or inconsistent in larger communities.

However, as this lifestyle was represented as desirable, it created opportunities for certain characters, namely Fife, to yearn for life outside the Mayberry town limits.

The constant revolving door of outsiders that came through the city, both from larger and smaller communities, essentially placed Mayberry on a continuum. Those who touted big-name jobs such as being in the entertainment business or in the FBI caused

Barney to often question what life could have been. Yet, at the same time, in episodes such as “Ellie Saves a Female” and “Mountain Wedding”, Mayberry is portrayed as more urbanized than some smaller enclaves in the surrounding area. Just as Barney wants to idealize life in a bigger job in a bigger city, he, Andy, and other Mayberry-ites take it upon themselves to modernize those that are viewed as living in old-fashioned times.

Yet, with this Utopian-centric mindset of an idealistic small town, the program presents a dominated reading of a white-male dominated town. Most of the primary female characters are secondary to the leading trio of Andy, Barney, and Opie. Thus, it promotes the belief that women cannot hold equal status to men as they are not given equal screen time. Furthermore, there is a complete absence of any additional marginalized groups. Black characters are all but ignored throughout the program’s run.

The portrait of the white rural South, while portrayed as idealistic, mutes the voices of those that may not have felt as welcomed during this time period.

Whereas the leading character in The Andy Griffith Show, was the town sheriff, the primary role in The Waltons for most of the series’ run was John Boy Walton, the

eldest child of the family. This provides a key distinction between the two programs.

Andy, a Mayberry native, is presented as one who is not only born-and-bred from the town but is subsequently portrayed as being content with the status quo. Like Barney was shown in Mayberry to be a disgruntled deputy who is discontent with living in a hick town, John Boy Walton is portrayed as one who also wants to outgrow his rural roots.

His intellect being the primary part of his character greatly differs from his father or grandfather, two men who pride themselves on hard work using their hands.

As John Boy is placed as the family intellect, he is portrayed as someone who yearns to outgrow his family tree. This contrasts to his own father and grandfather, two generations of individuals who continue to live on their namesake mountain. There are numerous instances where family members set aside spare change to ensure John Boy can pay for school, buy clothes, books, or other items. It is important to note that none of the other Walton children received this level of support – and as such, all remained in the area throughout the series’ nine seasons. John Boy as a primary character would not be prominently seen in the program after the fifth season.

Both The Waltons and The Andy Griffith Show create narratives revolving around how primary characters interacted with others from outside of their community. With such, as previously noted, many of the programs created a continuum of how their world compared to other more urban and more rural surroundings. In The Andy Griffith

Show, a small town such as Mayberry is reflected as a larger community when compared to the rural village where the Darling family and Ernest T. Bass reside. On the other hand, The Waltons is seen as a smaller surrounding when John Boy attends

college. Even though he is an hour away from Walton’s Mountain, he is portrayed as being quickly identified as a rural Southerner when contrasted with his classmates.

Unlike The Andy Griffith Show, The Waltons included numerous references to the region’s historical role in the Civil War. In particular, the placement of the

Confederate flag in public places has been a source of controversy throughout the region (see Galuska, 2015; Fausset & Blinder, 2015). Furthermore, although marginalized groups are presented in a slightly better light than in The Andy Griffith

Show, there are a number of areas, such as in “The Book” where John Boy attends courses composed primarily of white men. And in “The Scholar” and “The Family Tree,” the primary supporting black character, Verdie Grant, is portrayed as dependent on the

Walton family to read, write, and learn about her own family’s past.

One of the most prominent features of The Dukes of Hazzard is the car consistently used by the Dukes, the General Lee. As noted in “Daisy’s Song”, “when the boys expected trouble, they drove the General Lee car.” The 1969 Dodge Charger was bright orange with no doors because, as the program noted, “race cars don’t have doors.” The number 01 was painted on each side, and a large Confederate flag adorned the roof. The use of the Confederate flag was previously shown in The Waltons.

However, unlike the Great Depression era setting of Walton’s Mountain, The Dukes of

Hazzard was set in the early 1980s.

Yet, these assumptions also question the notion of stereotyping. The basic plot of

The Dukes of Hazzard is the notion that Bo and Luke Duke were moonshiners – fast car drivers who transported bootlegged alcohol and could escape being caught by law enforcement. With this as the undercurrent, other items such as NASCAR – which had

its origins in drivers transporting illegal moonshine – and country music all have

Southern roots, but there seems to be an assumption created that a typical Southerner relishes the Confederate Flag, listens to Loretta Lynn, and races in a fast car all day.

While the male Duke cousins are shown in their car chases, the third cousin,

Daisy, provides a continuing source of emotional support and sexual ambiguity not seen on the previous two programs. As previously stated, the notion of three cousins in their mid-twenties living together with their uncle in rural Georgia is somewhat unique, but the degree of sexuality that Daisy constantly shows is suspect at best. In numerous episodes, such as “Route 7-11” and “Dear Diary”, Daisy is portrayed as part-niece, part- matriarch to her uncle. In “Dear Diary”, specifically, when Uncle Jesse breaks his ankle, the narrator reveals he would head home to “Daisy’s tender loving care.” In many ways, this is a complete 180-degree shift from the roles portrayed in The Andy Griffith Show, with an Aunt Bee playing the role of the housekeeper to younger Andy and Opie.

However, while the ages may have changed, the overall gender roles still seem to remain intact. Daisy has numerous instances such as in “Opening Night at the Boar’s

Nest” and “The Great Insurance Fraud” where she is seen making or delivering pies and feeding both her family and guests to the farm. Her role as a housekeeper is often intertwined with her looks and ability to play an equal role to Bo and Luke when they are trying to chase down criminals. However, there is frequent mention of Daisy’s appearance in many of these instances that are not equally given to Bo and Luke. For instance, in “The Late J.D. Hogg”, when Daisy comes to Jesse, Bo, and Luke’s rescue after they were mistakenly jailed, the narrator notes “she’s even prettier when she’s mad, ain’t she?”

Additionally, family meals are a common thread for multiple episodes on Dallas.

The family dining room table is a mandatory place where all residents of Southfork are expected to be on time for breakfast and/or dinner. Yet, it is interesting to note, that unlike The Andy Griffith Show or The Waltons, where female characters were consistently shown bringing out large platters of fried chicken, pork chops, or greens to the family, the women of Dallas rarely are seen in the kitchen – in fact, the kitchen as a place in the home is not a frequent place of conversation. Other than in “Adoption” where J.R. asks John Ross if his “grandma make[s] the best dressin’ ever?”, there is no other direct mention of Ellie’s cooking ability.

This symbolism presents the debate between Southern culture and the caricature of such culture. There implicitly, then, an undercurrent of how modern a Southerner is.

For instance, when one sees the Confederate flag in a rural-set program like The Dukes of Hazzard or The Waltons, they may come to believe that all rural Southerners drive around with the flag painted on their car or placed in their classroom, still believing in the myth of the Old South.

On other hand, when, in The Golden Girls, Sophia mocks cooking southern foods such as corn pone or collard greens, such stereotypes create a belief that consuming these foods correlate with being less intelligent or up to date. Yet, the notion of eating such foods, as shown in The Waltons, Dallas, or The Andy Griffith Show, represented an opportunity for the family to gather each evening. As an Italian American, there was never any instance for Sophia to be mocked for making pasta, but cooking Southern cuisine was portrayed as less-than-admirable.

When examining Blanche Deveraux, it is important to contrast her representation of an older Southern woman to that of Julia Sugarbaker. While both are widowed and come from Georgia, Blanche represents a much stronger conservative and antiquated portrayal of a Southern female, which contrasts sharply with the non-Southern women on the show. In addition to her dependency on male companionship, she prides herself for her “heritage,” a word not explicitly stated by Julia or arguably any other character from previous programs.

Unlike previous programs, Blanche’s Southern roots are not as explored, but arguably more easily identified due to the regionalism of her roommates. Rose is from a small rural town in Minnesota and Dorothy was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York.

Sophia, Dorothy’s mother, was born and raised in Sicily, and frequently uses stories from her old country as metaphors for the current day. The combination of East Coast and Southern lifestyles comes to a point at the conclusion of the series. In “One Flew

Out of the Cuckoo’s Nest”, Dorothy becomes engaged to – and eventually married to –

Blanche’s Uncle Lucas from Georgia.

The program is initially laid out as a farce. To pay back Blanche for setting the two up on a blind date, Dorothy and Lucas pretend to get engaged and decide to remodel Blanche’s childhood home, Hollingsworth Manor, changing it from a plantation- style home with large columns to one that is red brick and Cape Cod style. Blanche notes that Lucas has been “too busy Yankee Doodlin’”, to which Dorothy replies “you’ll feel differently when you come to the hoe-down we’re throwing on the anniversary of

Lee’s Surrender”, referring to the end of the Civil War. Even Sophia gets in on the act, portraying a Southern maid with a thick accent and change of cuisine. Instead of

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typically making authentic Italian dishes she notes, “Well, if it ain’t the kinfolk…I know you’re gonna be pleased with dinner. Corn Pone, Succotash, Collard Greens, and them’s just the appetizers…I’ll scare us up a mess of something.” However, the two fall in love and the show concludes with the wedding of Dorothy and Lucas.

It is important to note that the key addition to the final episode was Blanche’s cousin Lucas. His portrayal as someone from Georgia was arguably deemed more

Southern than Blanche. Although Blanche was born and raised in Georgia, there had seemingly been a disconnect from her current state living in Miami. This directly contrasted with Lucas’ lifestyle – he still lived in Hollingsworth Manor; a plantation-style home. In order to be more accepted to Lucas, Sophia felt she had to act like a Southern maid, a role she never pretended to act upon before with Blanche. Whereas previous programs such as The Andy Griffith Show and Designing Women introduced a continuum of Southern-ism by population, The Golden Girls seemed to further define it by population and stereotyping. In other words, Sophia, a Sicilian-born New Yorker had probably little connection to the South other than her years spent living in Miami. Thus, she attempts to create her impression of the area.

Responsibility Guides Philosophy

For each program, multiple storylines revolved around the notion of responsibility, and thus the dominant reading of responsibility as a guiding philosophy is important to recognize. In both comedic and dramatic situations, there is an overarching expectation for individuals to be responsible in their actions. While some of this reading overlaps with ends-based justice, it goes beyond the legal ramifications of wrongdoing.

Rather, being responsibility means being a good steward to yourself and those around you to make your community a welcoming place.

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One of the most prominent examples of responsibility occurred in The Andy

Griffith Show’s fourth season. In “Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.”, Mayberry’s resident mechanic finds himself compelled to serve his country in the Marine Corps. Although his actions in basic training are deemed goofy and extremely uncharacteristic of a typical soldier, his deep-hearted compassion to serve allows him to enlist.

Throughout the series’ nine season, The Waltons younger children, including

Jason, Jim Bob, Erin, and Elizabeth, would each see an increase in their respective character development and storylines. In “The Silver Wings” Jim Bob begins to develop feelings for an older woman, Betsy, whose husband is serving in the Air Force. He starts dressing nicer and notes “I don’t want her to think I’m a hick; Mrs. Randolph’s a nice lady”. While his father John warns him that he is “playing with fire”, Betsy stops his advances and apologizes for misleading him. The episode concludes, noting that “No one would ever think of [Jim Bob] as a boy again. He had become a man.” The multifaceted approach to responsibility, Jim Bob as a caretaker and John as a father, trying to share wisdom with his son.

The notion of responsibility was paramount in each of the program’s defined relationships between older and younger generations. For each program in the sample, there was a prominent older character of wisdom who used his or her past to help make sense of the present. Whether it was Andy Taylor giving advice about responsibility to his young son Opie, such as in “Opie the Birdman” where Opie takes care of young birds after killing their mother with a slingshot or Sophia Petrillo sharing knowledge with her adult daughter Dorothy, there is a constant lineage of sharing stories to make sense of current situations.

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In Dallas, Jock and Miss Ellie resided at Southfork Ranch with their two adult sons, J.R. and Bobby. Both sons frequently are portrayed as being on opposite sides of the spectrum when it comes to morality and responsibility; Bobby on the more good- natured end, and J.R. on the no-holds-barred, win at all costs end. This different of philosophies is part of the characters professional and personal lives. In “Rodeo”, when

Southfork hosts an annual cowboy exhibition, J.R. begins to flirt with Sue Ellen’s younger sister, Kristin. At the same time, Sue Ellen’s loyalty is not absolute either, as she spends the afternoon flirting with a cowboy, Dusty. Near the conclusion of the episode, when J.R. and Dusty are introduced, J.R. can sense a spark between the two, but notes to Dusty that “Texans are very protective, even possessive of our women.” At the end of the episode, J.R. drags Sue Ellen into the house and demands she be as loving to him as she was with Dusty. When she refuses, he notes “I’ve wasted enough time on you anyway.”

Unlike other programs, Dallas represents a morality debate about how greed and responsibility do not mix. In the business of Big Oil, J.R. Ewing frequently is shown using whatever he needs to get farther in life. Most notably in “A House Divided”, J.R. convinces other businessmen to buy into a worthless deal that results in others losing fortunes. Ironically, the same episode concludes with J.R. being shot, leading to the

“Who Shot J.R.?” cliffhanger – showcasing that going too extreme against ones responsible actions can have unintended consequences.

Additionally, Designing Women featured many episodes on responsibility. Like noted with Julia Sugarbaker’s character being a prominent source of meaning, Mary

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Jo’s political and pro-feminist viewpoints are consistently portrayed. In “Have Faith”, she tells the other women her shock of what she learned on television the night before

[I was watching] the Larry King Live show last night [and a woman started] talking about Donald Trump. I just wanted to punch her lights out. She said “so what if Donald wants to fool around. Ivana should just do what all smart women do and look the other way.”

Furthermore, in “The Strange Case of Clarence and Anita”, Mary Jo is shown wearing a

“he did it” t-shirt, referring to the allegations that Clarence Thomas sexually harassed allegations Anita Hill.

The final primary character for the series, Anthony Bouvier, marked a turning point in the portrayal of the South on prime time. While previous programs had black actors in extra roles, with most being minimal, Anthony was presented as an equal part of the Sugarbaker firm. Although the program starts with him being a recently released convict – who was unjustly found guilty – it concludes with finding him as a junior college graduate and equal partner to the other women. Julia, in particular, constantly takes him under her wing for advice and support.

Although Anthony’s initial jail sentence was unjustly served, there are numerous occasions when white southerners are portrayed as racist towards him. In “Heart

Attacks” a police officer attempts to apprehend Anthony when he comes to the office after hours, to which Anthony responds, “racist swine”. Furthermore, in “A Scene from a

Mall”, he is detained at the local shopping center because a recent jewelry thief was described as “tall, handsome, and dark”. Julia’s compassion towards Anthony combined with a retaliatory stance towards racism frequently causes her to come to his defense, whether he asks or not. He tells the other women “for all your sympathy and indignation, you just do not know what it’s like to be a Black man.”

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Episodes such as “How Great Thou Art”, where Charlene’s disgust that her preacher does not believe that women should be church leaders and “Julia Drives Over the First Amendment”, where Charlene, Suzanne, and Julia each meet with a pornographic magazine editor to reprimand her for her publications show strength in women who can have strong opinions. Additionally, such opinions can transpose into the national arena, as shown in “The Strange Case of Clarence and Anita”. Yet, having a voice is not primarily limited to a feminist voice, showcasing the differing views of responsibility to Southern women. The characters of Suzanne Sugarbaker and Allison

Sugarbaker provided a conservative role contrasted to Julia Sugarbaker and Mary Jo

Shively’s pro-feminist viewpoints. Thus, audiences can be exposed to multiple viewpoints and based on their own beliefs, may feel a stronger connection with like- minded characters based on their own codes of responsibility.

The Andy Griffith Show, The Waltons, The Dukes of Hazzard, Dallas, Designing

Women, and The Golden Girls represented six programs set in the American South between 1960 and 1993. While certain differences were shown in the 33-year period, there were also numerous similarities that identified each program as a respective part of the region as a whole. Six dominant readings were identified and, when combined, help define the way television as a mass medium has represented and portrayed the region. Thus, the discussion will analyze them as a whole and how, even as some of these programs have not originally aired for over a half-century, still have relevance to the American audience in the twenty-first century. Each of these programs continue to be aired in syndicated reruns on broadcast, cable, and streaming platforms, introducing them again to households while simultaneously reinforcing the dominant readings to a

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new generation. As shown next, there have been other programs that have been set in the region since Designing Women ended its original broadcast run in 1993, but few have had the continued cultural impact to be recognized for over 25 years.

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CHAPTER 5 DISCUSSION

Throughout this study’s sample of broadcast television series set in the American

South between 1960 and 1993, the following six dominant readings were identified: community trumps individuality, progress can complement but not supersede tradition, ends-based justice, women as bearers of meaning, stereotypes obscure reality, and responsibility is a guiding philosophy. Combined, the readings describe common ideals that were prominently featured on multiple episodes and thus help define both the essence of each series that was part of this study and the overall presentation of the region.

The distinctive perspective of the American South created a common thread throughout many of these programs. While the region portrayed different situations of

Southern culture and representation, there is an overarching message presented: that of a region that represents a mythologized nostalgia. It should be noted, though, that these identified readings are not wholly limited to Southern culture, but reflect meaning in American culture as well. These programs were broadcast to a national audience, and television producers and network executives used the readings encoded into the programs a dominant reading of the South as representing a mythologized nostalgia to connect to audiences across the nation. Yet, these readings are essential to understand how the producers created their perception of the American South through these series.

This myth serves as a way to encode perceptions by network executives, which have been consistently decoded by generations of audiences for the last sixty-plus years. In Longing for the Past: A Semiotic Reading of the Role of Nostalgia in Present-

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day Consumption Trends, Leone (2015) notes that retro television is a state of mind; a way to allow content producers to engage new audiences while pleasing former audiences on rehashed content; the televised South is used as a vehicle by television producers to embed or impose meaning as shown through the dominant readings previously identified.

The first dominant reading, community trumps individuality, is special in the matter that it seemingly goes against the perceived placement of the two in the

American landscape. The United States scores high on Hofstede’s individualist- collectivist dimension (Hofstede, 1983) because it has long seen itself as a libertarian outpost where individual choice is inherently virtuous (Hoover, 1923). Yet, the notion of community in Mayberry, North Carolina or Hazzard County, Georgia is created not due to the identity of the group, but rather the consistent placement of outsiders within it.

The use of “the other” as an antagonist who enters these communities places a group of individuals in a united front. The pride of the communities’ respective identities is seemingly only able to be described and identified when those from outside its borders are placed within it. Because audiences have previously connected to the main and supporting characters of the programs (see Cohen, 2006), they are less likely to view such pride as being in vain, but rather the support for the whole of the group by its collective members.

The foundational reading of community and protection from outsiders complements the second dominant reading identified that progress can complement but not supersede tradition. This reading may seem contradictory to the belief of America as an entrepreneurial state of growth (Acs & Phillips, 2002). Yet, the constant tug-of-war

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that provided opportunities to some were limited to the belief that one’s roots and upbringing was of utmost importance. Be it women getting jobs outside the home, characters like John Boy Walton going away to college, or Suzanne Sugarbaker befriending but keeping distance from her Black college, Anthony Bouvier, there was always a reflection of the past and how such current events placed themselves in that timeline. Essentially, it revealed characters longing for the past while being placed in the present. Many were willing to accept changes, so long they did not challenge the norms of their respective societies. Most notably, this was the centerpiece of The Golden Girls, a program that constantly reinforced the notion that women are bearers of meaning.

The heart of the program took place around the kitchen table where the four female roommates would share stories from long ago. These narratives typically included life lessons that related to dilemmas of the day; a means to connect the past to the present.

With many of the programs centered around morality, end-based justice created the belief that individuals, when needed, can take the law into their own hands. While this might seem contradictory to a nation governed by strict legal codes and against taking the law into one’s own hands (see Meyer, 1980), one of the cornerstones of

American history, the Boston Tea Party, showcased the power of people to exude change when it is needed. The notion that the Duke cousins are simply “good ole boys” enforces the notion that a just society is not always governed by legal code but rather moral code. This debate between universalism and utilitarianism provided narratives that showcased a televised America constantly in debate, but on that arguably reflects the actual debates that have occurred in the country since its inception.

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Similarly, women as bearers of meaning showcases a demographic that has been constantly debated for its purpose. In other words, earlier programs presented women matriarchs as the most noble profession. While not always equal to their male counterparts, women were respected and deemed essential for holding their families and communities together. Unlike earlier stereotypes of suburban women who were comic foils to their husbands, Aunt Bee Taylor or Grandma Walton were not put down by the men in their community (McGhee & Frueh, 1980). They could easily hold their weight with anyone, but were never perceived to be equal than or better than the male protagonists of each municipality. In Designing Women or The Golden Girls, women seemed as more independent, but had to constantly show their ability to run their own lives without men in their day-to-day lives.

While women may not have been as acutely stereotypes, the dominant reading of stereotypes obscure reality placed the South under a microscope for portraying the region as being behind the times of modern society. Fried chicken, moonshine, the

Confederate Flag are not simply objective stereotypes that describe the region, rather they define it. Essentially, to be Southern, means that one has to subscribe to all of these notions and, therefore, it is impossible to be from the region without the connection to other walks of life. As Armbruster (2016) states, television and the media are “entwined with our personal life stories” (p. 49). Yet, these stories are not meant to reflect the region, but rather reflect the perception of the region.

Lastly, the reading of responsibility as a guidepost to one’s philosophy serves as a way to unite the other five readings. There is a constant notion in America that we must strive to be better and rely upon our own morals to achieve such future successes.

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While it has been frequently misattributed to Alexis de Tocqueville, the belief that,

America is great because she is good is a constant reaffirmation by modern politicians to showcase the countries yearning for moral supremacy. Yet, in reality, such ideals and goals are seemingly always out of reach. The programs in the South, therefore, are used as a way to reinforce this iron-clad mantra of American morality and the country’s place as the “city upon the hill” to be affixed to each of its citizens. (Hodgson, 2009).

Thus, these six dominant readings reflect an encoding of a mythologized nostalgia into the South. The constant resource to recycle these shows over the past half-century reveals the comfort of nostalgia not only for the producers of the shows during their initial airings, but by syndicators and executives today. The encoding of messages presented in these programs is the works of executives at networks in New

York and California. The ultimate goal for broadcast television is simple: create programming that attracts viewers so advertisers and purchase airtime to promote their product (Ohlmeyer, 2004). The warmth and comfort of nostalgia presented in the dominant readings are not necessarily the actual presentation of the South, but the presumptive state that will attract viewers from across the country. This coast-to-coast audience experience, therefore, embeds a cultural memory as to not what the South is, but what the televised South presents. As Anderson (2001) states, “American television has sustained an extremely active and nuanced engagement with the construction of history and has played a crucial role in the shaping of cultural memory” (p. 20). Thus, the fictionalized South on prime-time of the 1950s through 1990s showcased a region that omitted various aspects of social unrest such as the Civil Rights movement,

Vietnam War, Watergate, or the Iran Contra affair to name a few. The programs,

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instead, served as a vehicle to create a cultural memory quilt that would promote audience viewership and increase advertising revenue for the networks.

This shaping of cultural memory through the lens of nostalgia, therefore, has become a multi-generational experience in which to revisit this region for the past half- century. Although each of these programs has not been on the broadcast television schedule for at least 30 years, their legacies have continued long since they initially ended. Through syndication, DVDs, and streaming services, there has been a consistent revival of the program to both original and new audiences. Therefore, the dominant readings of community, justice, and responsibility have continued into the mid- twenty-first century. These, along with a continued juxtaposition of the South as an evolving region versus one that sees progress as a means to complement but not supersede tradition places it in an unending stagnant state. While the nostalgia presented provides an area of comfort for some, it also serves the purpose to continue an imperfect and incorrect image that other regions have not experienced. In other words, as the nostalgic prime-time South have reinforced these dominant readings for over a half-century, the readings become synonymous with the region as a whole.

The symbiosis of television and nostalgia presents the opportunity for comfort.

New television technologies from cable to streaming, over-the-top platforms have relied on reruns as a pool of content to create schedules and gain new audiences (Kompare,

2004). While the South has not been the sole geographic placement of programs on these platforms, it provides a higher level of nostalgia than others. The Midwest,

Northeast, and West Coast all have had programs of their own, however, these while these regions may hold a distinctive place in the American cultural landscape, it does

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not have the same weight in the mediated nostalgia that the South presents. Places like

Mayberry, Walton’s Mountain, or Hazzard County are exclusively identified in the location they are presented and would seem out of touch if placed in other locales. As

McPherson (2003) noted, the South is not simply a geographic region in the country, but rather a fictionalized image of America. This image was one that provided a perception of the country that would be profitable to the networks. Rather than emphasize pertinent sociopolitical issues, many of the programs opted to remove them from the respective narratives altogether. By the mid 1990s, new network executives would be replacing some of these shows and removing producers from the airwaves if they did not reinforce this belief (see Bloodworth Thomason, 2018).

Thus, there was a safety to presenting the south as constantly being behind-the- times. The goal to reach out to a predominately White, rural, conservative America was apparent by the omission of any radical issues that might alienate such an audience.

Such programs were simply meant to be profitable without the oppression to a region they might cause. The connection to The Andy Griffith Show, for instance, also serves as a signal post to the past. As Efrid & Lightfoot (2020) revealed, participants in rural

North Carolina revealed a longing for the past and that life was “a whole lot healthier” when the show was originally on-the-air. Ultimately, the use of The Andy Griffith Show creates a way to reveal a structural racism background, one that is ultimately to the detriment of rural White America. This image shift ultimately creates an absence to the present day and places Audiences in an idyllic white-dominated America that Mayberry showcased (p. 253).

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The notion of absence, as Tuchman (1978) states is not only applicable to executive decisions, but was frequently shown in the presentation of “the other” in various situations. The inclusion of this character(s), mostly, seemed to help differentiate the show’s primary setting from another of a larger or smaller population. In

The Andy Griffith Show, this can be seen when contrasting Mayberry, North Carolina with the homeplace of the Darling family. While guest characters from larger cities see

Mayberry as a rural village, it is simultaneously presented as a more sophisticated area than those communities just outside its borders. Furthermore, in The Waltons, the primary setting of Walton’s Mountain is recognized as a small enclave when John Boy attends college in a more populated area and is identified as different by his classmates. The undercurrent of debate of acceptance into the community by the primary characters is central to many readings.

Additionally, the use of “the other” in these programs increased over time.

Whereas many of these outsiders were used in guest spots in shows such as The Andy

Griffith Show and The Waltons to create situations for the primary characters, in The

Golden Girls and Designing Women, such characters took on everyday roles. Such inclusion additionally serves as an identifier to not only which characters are Southern, but such identification can be frequently stereotyped or mocked. In Designing Women, this occurs in the sixth season when Julia Sugarbaker’s cousin Allison moves to Atlanta and becomes a partner in the interior design firm. Contrasted to her predecessor,

Suzanne Sugarbaker, Allison is completely antagonistic to most of the other females in the firm. This divide is most notable in “The Strange Case of Clarence and Anita” when

Allison is the only member of the firm to agree with Clarence Thomas’s testimony while

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simultaneously looking down on her partners for their naivete and lack of intelligence on the situation.

While Designing Women presented one outside character among a trio of three native-born Southerners, The Golden Girls portrayed only one Southerner, Blanche

Devereaux, living with three outsiders from the Midwest and Northeast. This permeation of non-Southerners not only had them question or mock Blanche’s southern beliefs – but further stereotyped their perception of the region. In “One Flew Out of the Cuckoo’s

Nest”, both Dorothy and Sophia – natives of New York – attempt to connect both with

Blanche and her cousin, Lucas. Dorothy makes jokes about renovating Blanche’s childhood home, Hollingsworth Manor, and Sophia dresses up as an antebellum maid.

While these stereotypes are presented by non-Southerners, it is equally important to note that Blanche equally makes presumptions about her roommates as well. She frequently classifies them as Yankees, creating the dominant reading that one’s heritage – either from the north or the South – immediately creates an inherent classification of separation.

There has been much research previously done examining each of these particular programs as a singular unit. For instance, Crowe (2007), Kelly (1981), and

Colucci (2016) each wrote extensive monographs on Designing Women, The Andy

Griffith Show, and The Golden Girls, respectively. Yet, most of these works primarily dealt with an overarching history on the particular program, noting famous characters, episodes, and plotlines throughout the program. Interestingly – and somewhat surprisingly – each of these works failed to fully investigate the use of the show’s setting, listing them frivolously without any depth of the importance of place to program.

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Furthermore, works such as Watching Dallas (Ang, 1982) and Ma and Pa and

John Boy in Mythic America: The Waltons (Roiphe, 1973) examine the underlying narratives of each program. Both infer the concept of mythical imagination, with a keen belief: “the family is regarded as the ideal cradle for human happiness. At least it should be (Ang, 1982, p. 68). Although Dallas was seen as a prime-time soap opera, it could be argued The Waltons took similar concepts to portray a family drama in primetime.

Unlike popular dramas of the 1970s like Hawaii Five-O, Kojak, and Cannon which highlighted action, violence, and/or police-inspired storylines, The Waltons instead focused on the family (see Brooks & Marsh, 2007). The primary difference between the two programs was wherein The Waltons, the value of family should be a more important community, Dallas presented the notion that through corruption and power, a family could essentially become the community by buying local politicians off.

Tuchman’s (1978) second category of annihilation – stereotyping – is a prominent part of each program within this study. Yet, the use of stereotyping takes many forms. In certain programs, the inclusion of Civil War iconography, namely the

Confederate Flag, presents a region still at odds – and enamored – with the past, an argument that continues today (see Hammack, 2017). Those who ascribe to such points of view are also seen as holding less intellect, essentially double-downing the perception of those who continue to live in the past are too senseless and unsophisticated to be in the contemporary and more enlightened world.

Such correlations also have connections regarding race. While only certain guest characters are portrayed as outwardly racist within these programs, such shows also lack a proportionate number of non-White actors. Thus, the South, an area that sees a

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majority of Black, Hispanic, and other minority groups in many localities, is essentially whitewashed on television. The lack of a minority population’s representation in scripted prime-time programs can result in the perception that they are either absent not valued or important in the region (see Signorielli & Kahlenberg, 2001). In The Waltons, many of the Walton children were portrayed as being more accepting of Black and Hispanic members in their local community. While this tolerance could and should have continued in later programs, there were seldom race relations presented in future storylines on programs set in the 1980s and 1990s.

Thus, the key question to answer throughout this project is somewhat murky. In other words, there is not a quick and dirty explanation of what the South is according to the prime-time television programs set in the region. Yet, from a producer’s point of view, the six key readings can prominently be seen in most episodes: community trumps individuality, progress can complement but not supersede tradition, ends-based justice, women as bearers of meaning, stereotypes obscure reality, and responsibility is a guiding philosophy. Combined they seemingly form a dichotomy of pride versus misunderstanding. Put simply, most of the programs showcased characters who did not feel ungrateful for being Southern. Rather, the programs went above and beyond to ensure their community and place within the region was welcoming and hospitable. In particular the three rural settings – Mayberry, Walton’s Mountain, and Hazzard County – were portrayed as commonplace cities that felt safe and welcoming. While the urban cities – Atlanta, Dallas, and Miami – were not showcased as frequently, the sub-settings from Southfork Manor to Blanche’s homeplace often presented situations where you felt like a guest to dinner or a late-night cheesecake snack.

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The notion of pride was often shown in character representation as well. For various reasons, main characters such as Andy Taylor, Pa Walton, Bo and Luke Duke,

J.R. Ewing, Julia Sugarbaker, and Blanche Deveraux all did not feel ashamed of their roots but, in their unique ways, wanted to make the world a better place because of them. Each program presented an overarching concept of conscience, and these characters – on a varying scale – each tried to do what was right to better their families and community.

On the contrary, each of these programs frequently showcased the concept of misunderstanding. Either through guest characters or new settings, the question of “how do you live like this?” coursed through many scripts. Regardless of genre, each program’s heartbeat seemed to be the presentation of “the other” – an outside of the norm character who could provide lighthearted comedy or enigmatic drama. Often, this came through a need to stereotype the region to one that was low-class, uneducated, or simply not current with the times. There seemed to be a consistent need to save the

South from not only its history but revive it to recognize the wonders of the late- twentieth-century supposedly being experienced in other regions of the country.

In certain cases, this was done through outright stereotyping of the region – either through making fun of accents, appearance, or dress. An interesting study is through Sophia Petrillo, an Italian-born New Yorker. As Vecoli (1994) and Staples

(2019) explored – the Italian assimilation into the country, particularly the northeast, was not an overnight phenomenon. In particular, Sicilians – Sophia’s native homeland – were viewed as “sneaky and cowardly…a pest without mitigations” (NY Times, 1891).

Yet, by the original air date of these programs, Sophia is not seen as a leech on society,

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but rather an excellent cook who has innumerable stories about her past to connect to troubled times of the current day. This is a fascinating exploratory study as to her place in American society is better than a Southerner and she, therefore, has no qualms on creating a Mammy-inspired stereotype.

As Smith (2009) aptly notes, “each television text is a complex product of creativity and popular culture” (pp. 106-107). These two elements – creativity and popular culture – provide the two key elements. In essence, what messages do television present, and what are the dominant readings that permeate mass culture as a result? The popularity of reruns and binge-watching allows for the televised South to infiltrate the audience’s living rooms and present the fictionalized portrayal of the region to the Northeast, Midwest, West Coast, and around the world. While many of these shows continue to receive critical acclaim and perceptions of heartwarming memories, particularly among its original viewers, it is critically important to recognize the unintended consequences of such popularity.

This notion, therefore, is the answer to the ultimate question: so what?

Examining the South as a region sought to recognize its place as “the other”, as the outsider that through consistent television productions, presents a location that seems abnormal contrasted to other places in the country. Thus, those from Southern areas – with emphasis on the rural South – are perceived as misunderstood, unintelligent, or simply out-of-touch with the reality of the twenty-first century. Such groups most notably recently gained prominence in the 2016 United States presidential election (see Benton,

2019). So long as television continues to project urban areas such as New York and

Los Angeles as idealistic and the South as an uninformed cesspool of yesteryear,

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audiences who follow the dominant readings to such programs and have no direct connection to the area will continue to think so.

Just as other demographic characteristics, namely gender, race, and class, have frequently been subjects of media studies, the inclusion of region concerning these categories should also be further discussed. As much as gender and skin color are immediate defining characteristics of individuals, their DNA is also created based on their hometown. Therefore, it is critical to continue to understand how the power of television has created dominant readings informing the mediated perception of not only the South but other regions of the country and world.

The popularity of television reruns as a stable and consistent means of programming on both traditional and new media platforms has introduced the six programs in this sample to new audiences year after year. In late 2019, streaming platform Hulu announced it would release the complete Designing Women. This brought about numerous popular articles (see Lawler, 2019; Bierly, 2019) about what shows to watch and history of the program itself to unfamiliar viewers. While the business of television is evolving by the month, the need for content, especially known content has kept each of these programs in a continuous cycle long after its initial airing came to an end.

While new platforms have brought the revival of many of these programs, traditional broadcast and cable channels also rely on them for content. For 35 years,

Roanoke, Virginia CBS affiliate WDBJ broadcast The Andy Griffith Show nightly. In early 2019, the station announced that they would be shifting the show to a secondary channel – a move that resulted in over 900 comments on Facebook with commenters

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noting “we don’t need more news, we need more Mayberry” and “Not a good move. I always look forward to watching Andy when I get home from work” (Facebook, 2019).

Even as these programs are available on DVD and on streaming platforms, the loyalty to shows amplifies their respective importance in American culture in the twenty-first century. Additionally, in May 2020, Me TV created a complete lineup to the month of

“May”berry, showcasing the program once again almost seven decades after “The New

Housekeeper” originally aired. (Clodfelter, 2020).

As noted in one of the prior Facebook comments, the comfort of watching a show like The Andy Griffith Show or others in this sample, seems to provide a nostalgic relief from the events of the day. In other words, rather than watching news or other current programs, many of these shows instigate an area of relief. Certain dominant readings reveals – notably community trumps individuality and responsibility guides philosophy can thus serve as a counterbalance to pessimistic news of real world events or violent, unwholesome programs airing on prime-time television today.

Furthermore, the importance of these programs not only resonate with audiences, but with media creators as well. In 2019, Emily Spivey created a new program, Bless the Harts. Set in North Carolina, Spivey (2019) noted that previous programs inspired her new creation:

That’s sort of what I wanted to do, because Bless the Harts is really in the

tradition of The Andy Griffith Show and King of the Hill, where I really just wanted

to put authentic, funny, soulful characters out there; the kind of people that I grew

up with. So that it’s not Hee Haw and it’s not a super-politicized thing. It’s just

about people that I grew up with, and friends and family, and hopefully a lot of

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heart and a lot of laughs. I’ve been wanting to do a show about the South

forever, literally forever, so this is a dream come true.

While it has yet to be seen the impact a program such as Bless the Harts will have, it showcases the continuation of similarly-minded programs in the current media landscape.

Yet with the positive and uplifting spin that these programs can hold, there is an equal and opposite effect that needs to be explored. When examining The Andy Griffith

Show, The Waltons, and The Dukes of Hazzard, the moral principles and dominant readings presented can cast a positive light on the region. Yet, the stereotypes showcased can create an equally negative spin. For instance, in 2019, a Michigan police officer was fired after numerous Dukes of Hazzard memorabilia was found in his home – along with a framed Ku Klux Klan historical artifact (DeVito, 2019). The intertwining of the program’s most notable symbol, the Confederate Flag and the South continues to be a debate many years after these program’s original runs concluded.

Furthermore, in Designing Women and The Golden Girls, certain characters were seemingly presented as comic relief due to their ‘southerness’. For example,

Suzanne Sugarbaker’s role in Designing Women was that of a misinformed former beauty queen from Ole Miss who rode in high society circles and seemed out-of-touch with reality. Similarly, Blanche Devereaux in The Golden Girls was someone who valued her beauty and sexuality over anything else. This could mistakenly lead to a presumption that good looking Southern females must therefore been unintelligent and lack commonplace skills.

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Growth Of Theoretical Perspectives

This study incorporated two primary theoretical perspectives: Symbolic

Annihilation and the Encoding/Decoding Model. Each perspective provided a platform to identify how the programs that were examined, and the dominant readings created from them, help understand how the American South has been presented to television audiences for over a half-century.

When examining Tuchman’s (1978) approach to Symbolic Annihilation, adapted from Gerbner and Gross’ (1976) introduction, the two key concepts, absence and stereotyping, were readily shown. Yet, such conceptual frameworks were connected to the readings of the programs rather than specific character analysis. In other words, although the study did not note if more male or female characters were present, through the dominant readings identified, it did create notions of such. For instance, through the dominant reading “progress clashes with history and tradition”, the notion of tradition was, in many instances, of a white male homogeneous society where females and all individuals of color were essentially subjugated to a secondary role.

With a few exceptions, racial character absence was dominant in each series. Of the six programs in this study, only Designing Women’s Anthony Bouvier was a regularly occurring character of color. This trend of “the odd appearance of a wrong- headed foreigner set right by the white hero” shown on other primetime programs was also readily present in the South (Eskridge, 2019, p. 29). However, unlike other regions of the country, the percentage of African-Americans in the South has historically been much higher than that of other regions. From 1960 to 1990 alone, the percentage of

African-Americans was around 20 percent – roughly double of the national average

(Gibson & Jung, 2002). While the absence of characters from other regions may have

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been more commonplace, having African-Americans whitewashed from a region where they comprised a large proportion of the population created a notable absence for both current a future audiences.

Tuchman’s (1978) other arm of Symbolic Annihilation, stereotyping, was a constant fixture in each of the programs. While the dominant reading “stereotypes obscure reality” directly addresses this notion, “progress clashes with history and tradition” also identifies the role of stereotyping. Prior work has examined stereotyping on a character level, primarily looking at gender, sex, and race on television and in commercials (see Mastro & Greenberg, 2000; Reid, 1979; Furnham & Mak, 1999).

However, this study found that regional stereotyping was prominently featured through the frequent inclusion of an outsider as a guest character. Many of these plotlines featured some newcomer that was unfamiliar to the main cast and immediately feeling separated from them because of their southernism. Be it mocking their compassion, accents, or cooking, there rarely seemed to be the perception that being in the South was less-than being from other parts of the country.

Furthermore, characters within programs that did not self-identify as Southern used opportunities to mock those from the region. The intra-perspectives of such characters and dominant readings are something that may not be as readily featured in other settings. For instance, an outside character like Woody Boyd on Cheers set in

Boston fondly speaks of his hometown in Indiana but does not readily bash his new surroundings. The dominant reading throughout the South presents the concept of stereotyping as being greater than and essentially any other region, based on many of the storylines, must be better than the South.

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Additionally, the incorporation of Hall’s (1980) Encoding/Decoding Model presented an opportunity to identify the dominant readings in each of the programs selected. Hall’s (1997) notion of the ‘Other’ also became a primary part of the research.

Like Tuchman’s work on absence and stereotyping, the ‘other’ was commonplace in almost each episode.

Through a deep reading of dozens of episodes for each series, the pieces of a dominant reading puzzle became clearer. The study presented a model to create such a dominant reading and recognize that “circuit-like” model of communication Hall (1977) identified. The definition of Southern culture is a created meaning by many of these programs that are set within its borders. Therefore, it is necessary to understand how the media creates its perceived version of culture through constant reinforcement of various forms.

Limitations And Future Research

Although this study attempted to examine television’s portrayal of the American

South, it was not without limitations. The first was the overall time frame. As the study presents a selection of programs between 1960 and 1993, it does not examine programs since 1993. The rationale for this timeframe was to highlight the importance of broadcast television when the medium reached its largest proportion of audiences before the rise of cable and digital. However, since 1993, there have been numerous broadcast programs, namely Reba, Friday Night Lights, Hart of Dixie, and, as previously noted, Bless the Harts, that have provided new insight into the American South in primetime. Furthermore, the shows that were included in this study were all available to a mass audience through DVD or streaming platforms. Other programs, such as

Evening Shade and Frank’s Place were critically acclaimed through numerous

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Primetime Emmy Award nominations, but neither has been easily accessible through such services.

Furthermore, this study – as outlined in the method section – did not include every program situated in the South between 1960 and 1993. While it sought to examine the most pertinent programs, with a particular emphasis to those that have maintained a degree of cultural relevance over the past half-century, others such as

Green Acres and Hee Haw were excluded.

Completing a textual analysis, as this study does, presents a singular analysis of programming. Thus, while it seeks to understand dominant readings of television programs, it is limited to the understanding as shown through the researcher. The inclusion of interviews prior to analysis helped to gain an understanding of the situation, but such data is only based on the interview questions given by a third-party. To have a fuller understanding of the perceived dominant readings by producers, creators, and actors of these programs, a more detailed, constructed interview with questions about the importance of setting and regionalism within program conception and production could be completed.

When referencing Fiske’s (1987) three levels of television codes, this project primarily helps to decipher how the code of reality corresponds with that of ideology.

Yet, by doing so, it omits the second level: representation. This code is created through the more technical side of television – the lighting, editing, music, and aesthetics. In addition to the narrative, the audiovisual side of television production is equally important to understand how characters are presented and portrayed. Such future research could examine the framing of such characters and settings.

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In addition to framing, future studies could use this analysis as a starting point to gather data about other audiences to understand the dominant, negotiated, and oppositional readings of such programs. Akin to Morley and Brundson’s (1980)

Nationwide studies, participants could be asked about their perceptions of the American

South and then through a viewing of these programs, be questioned about such perceptions again – noting if the viewings impacted a change in belief or attitude. It would be interesting to complete such a study in various parts of the country to see if

Southerners see their portrayed region and characters in a similar fashion compared to those outside of the area. Following the model presented by Yousman (2013), research could also identify how Southerners see themselves and if the televised presentations of the region and individuals are similar or different than the actual perceptions.

Additionally, as previously noted, this study focused primarily on programs originally shown on broadcast television between 1960 and 1993. Yet, in the 25 years since the study’s end date, there have been numerous programs on all platforms including some which continue to air as of 2019. A comparative study between the dominant readings of broadcast television portrayal of the American South and that on cable and streaming platforms could question whether new technologies are providing new messages to audiences.

Furthermore, this study’s sample focused on prime-time, scripted, entertainment television. Yet, in the current age of reality television programming dominating both broadcast and cable schedules, examining how shows such as Survivor, The Bachelor or Duck Dynasty presented both characters and Southern settings would provide an additional source to understanding this question.

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Like reality programming, informative/news-based programs could provide a new lens to fully determine how the medium not only portrays the fictionalized version of the

South but the actual, non-fictionalized one as well. This complete understanding of how television presents the South through audiences’ dominant readings of messages not only will help to better understand the region but arguably the country altogether.

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APPENDIX LIST OF EPISODES

Sample Number Program Initial Airdate Episode Title The Andy Griffith Andy the 1 14-Nov-60 Show Matchmaker The Andy Griffith Mayberry on 2 13-Feb-61 Show Record The Andy Griffith Ellie Saves a 3 17-Apr-61 Show Female The Andy Griffith Crime-Free 4 20-Nov-61 Show Mayberry The Andy Griffith 5 26-Feb-62 Guest of Honor Show The Andy Griffith 6 30-Apr-62 Cousin Virgil Show The Andy Griffith 7 19-Nov-62 The Mayberry Band Show The Andy Griffith 8 4-Feb-63 Class Reunion Show The Andy Griffith 9 29-Apr-63 Mountain Wedding Show The Andy Griffith Gomer the House 10 4-Nov-63 Show Guest The Andy Griffith My Fair Ernest T. 11 3-Feb-64 Show Bass The Andy Griffith Gomer Pyle, 12 18-May-64 Show U.S.M.C. The Andy Griffith 13 9-Nov-64 Barney’s Uniform Show The Andy Griffith If I Had a Quarter 14 15-Feb-65 Show Million Dollars The Andy Griffith Opie Flunks 15 19-Apr-65 Show Arithmetic The Andy Griffith 16 15-Nov-65 Aunt Bee on TV Show The Andy Griffith Aunt Bee Learns to 17 7-Feb-66 Show Drive The Andy Griffith Big Fish in a Small 18 28-Nov-66 Show Town The Andy Griffith Aunt Bee’s 19 6-Feb-67 Show Restaurant The Andy Griffith 20 20-Nov-67 Andy’s Investment Show The Andy Griffith 21 19-Feb-68 Helen’s Moment Show

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The Boy from the 22 The Waltons 2-Nov-72 C.C.C. 23 The Waltons 22-Feb-73 The Scholar 24 The Waltons 28-Nov-73 The Bequest 25 The Waltons 21-Feb-74 The Graduation 26 The Waltons 14-Nov-74 The Book 27 The Waltons 6-Feb-75 The Choice 28 The Waltons 13-Nov-75 The Loss 29 The Waltons 19-Feb-76 The House The Great 30 The Waltons 18-Nov-76 Motorcycle Race 31 The Waltons 24-Feb-77 The Long Night 32 The Waltons 30-Nov-77 The Flight 33 The Waltons 9-Feb-78 The Family Tree 34 Dallas 30-Apr-78 Barbecue 35 The Waltons 2-Nov-78 The Portrait 36 Dallas 5-Nov-78 Election The Dukes of 37 2-Feb-79 Daisy’s Song Hazzard 38 Dallas 16-Feb-79 Sue Ellen’s Sister 39 The Waltons 22-Feb-79 The Legacy The Dukes of 40 4-May-79 Route 7-11 Hazzard 41 The Waltons 29-Nov-79 The Silver Wings 42 Dallas 9-Nov-79 Rodeo The Dukes of Dukes Meet Cale 43 2-Nov-79 Hazzard Yarborough The Dukes of 44 8-Feb-80 Find Loretta Lynn Hazzard Divorce – Ewing 45 Dallas 15-Feb-80 Style 46 The Waltons 28-Feb-80 The Medal 47 Dallas 21-Nov-80 Who Done It The Dukes of 48 21-Nov-80 The Late J.D. Hogg Hazzard 49 The Waltons 27-Nov-80 The Outrage 50 The Waltons 12-Feb-81 The Carousel The Dukes of By-Line, Daisy 51 20-Feb-81 Hazzard Duke The New Mrs. 52 Dallas 27-Feb-81 Ewing 53 Dallas 17-Apr-81 Full Circle 54 Dallas 27-Nov-81 The Split

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The Dukes of 55 27-Nov-81 Trouble at Cooter’s Hazzard The Dukes of 56 12-Feb-82 Dear Diary Hazzard 57 Dallas 19-Feb-82 Adoption 58 Dallas 5-Nov-82 Aftermath The Dukes of The Great 59 26-Nov-82 Hazzard Insurance Fraud 60 Dallas 4-Feb-83 Crash of ‘83 The Dukes of 61 4-Feb-83 Coy vs. Vance Hazzard 62 Dallas 29-Apr-83 Penultimate The Dukes of 63 4-Nov-83 Boss Behind Bars Hazzard 64 Dallas 18-Nov-83 The Oil Barons’ Ball When the Bough 65 Dallas 17-Feb-84 Breaks The Dukes of How to Succeed in 66 17-Feb-84 Hazzard Hazzard The Dukes of The Dukes in 67 2-Nov-84 Hazzard Hollywood 68 Dallas 9-Nov-84 Homecoming The Dukes of Opening Night at 69 8-Feb-85 Hazzard the Boar’s Nest 70 Dallas 15-Feb-85 The Brothers Ewing 71 Dallas 8-Nov-85 Quandary 72 The Golden GIrls 9-Nov-85 Break-In 73 The Golden GIrls 8-Feb-86 The Operation 74 Dallas 14-Feb-86 Dire Straits 75 The Golden GIrls 10-May-86 The Way We Met 76 Designing Women 17-Nov-86 Design House 77 Dallas 28-Nov-86 Proof Positive 78 The Golden GIrls 29-Nov-86 Vacation 79 Designing Women 8-Feb-87 Monette Revenge of the 80 Dallas 27-Feb-87 Nerd Long Day’s Journey 81 The Golden GIrls 21-Feb-87 into Marinara To Catch a 82 The Golden Girls 2-May-87 Neighbor 83 Designing Women 11-May-87 Bachelor Suite 84 Dallas 6-Nov-87 Mummy’s Revenge 85 Designing Women 9-Nov-87 Heart Attacks

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86 The Golden GIrls 28-Nov-87 The Audit 87 Dallas 19-Feb-88 Farlow's Follies My Brother, My 88 The Golden GIrls 6-Feb-88 Father 89 Designing Women 22-Feb-88 How Great Thou Art 90 The Golden Girls 7-May-88 Mother’s Day 91 The Golden GIrls 5-Nov-88 Yokel Hero Out of the Frying 92 Dallas 18-Nov-88 Pan 93 Designing Women 21-Nov-88 The Candidate 94 Designing Women 13-Feb-89 The Naked Truth 95 Dallas 24-Feb-89 Wedding Bell Blues You Gotta Have 96 The Golden GIrls 25-Feb-89 Hope 97 The Golden Girls 13-May-89 We’re Outta Here Julia Drives Over 98 Designing Women 22-May-89 the First Amendment Fathers and Other 99 Dallas 3-Nov-89 Strangers Not Another 100 The Golden GIrls 11-Nov-89 Monday Bernice’s Sanity 101 Designing Women 13-Nov-89 Hearing 102 Dallas 2-Feb-90 I Dream of Jeannie Clinton Avenue 103 The Golden GIrls 3-Feb-90 Memoirs 104 Designing Women 26-Feb-90 Tornado Watch 106 The Golden GIrls 28-Apr-90 All Bets Are Off 107 Designing Women 7-May-90 Have Faith How Do You Solve 108 The Golden GIrls 10-Nov-90 a Problem like Sophia? 109 Dallas 23-Nov-90 Terminus Keep the Home 110 Designing Women 26-Nov-90 Fires Burning The Emperor’s New 111 Designing Women 4-Feb-91 Nose 112 Dallas 1-Feb-91 Designing Women 113 The Golden GIrls 16-Feb-91 Older and Wiser The Decline and 114 Dallas 26-Apr-91 Fall of the Ewing Empire

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Henny Penny – 115 The Golden Girls 4-May-91 Straight, No Chaser The Pride of 116 Designing Women 13-May-91 Sugarbakers The Strange Case 117 Designing Women 4-Nov-91 of Clarence and Anita 118 The Golden GIrls 16-Nov-91 Ro$e Love$ Mile$ 119 Designing Women 3-Feb-92 Mamed Questions and 120 The Golden GIrls 8-Feb-92 Answers 121 Designing Women 27-Apr-92 A Little Night Music One Flew Out of the 122 The Golden Girls 9-May-92 Cuckoo’s Nest 123 Designing Women 6-Nov-92 Viva Las Vegas 124 Designing Women 24-May-93 Gone with a Whim

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Colin Kearney received his B.A. in communication with a concentration in media production and criticism from George Mason University in 2012 and M.A. in communication from the University of Delaware in 2014. His master’s thesis: Has the tribe spoken? An analysis of representation and portrayal on CBS’s Survivor was completed in 2014. In it, he revealed how the long-running reality television program promoted young, White male adults as the primary leaders and dominant cast members. He completed his requirements for the PhD in mass communication at the

University of Florida in 2019.

Kearney has taught at the University of Delaware, University of Dayton, and

University of Florida. As of 2019, he has taught courses in Public Speaking, Persuasion,

Dialogue, Telecommunication Programming, and Media Law.

His research interests include television history, media programming and management decisions, media representation, new media adaptation, and political communication. He has presented his research at numerous conferences including the

Broadcast Education Association, National Communication Association, and Eastern

Communication Association.

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