Media Analysis: That Seventies Show

by Antonese

Time Travel. We all with it were possible. While learning about the 1970’s, I wanted a time travel machine to really see how that generation worked. As I was flipping through the channels, I landed on That Seventies Show. I had found my time travel machine! Afeter watching three hours of back-to-back reruns I quickly learned that That Seventies Show is a satirical mirror of the seventies generation.

Everyone loves a good comedy. That Seventies Show definitely makes you laugh. This show is about six friends who live in Wisconsin during the 1970’s. They portray events and lif of that era in a comical and exciting way. I learned a lot about that generation without realizing it. From the music to the presidents to the fashion, That Seventies Show taught me valuable information within the context of a narrative.

The characters in That Seventies Show have different personalities and beliefs. Hyde is the hippie of the gang. He sports is afro and loves to smoke marijuana. He’s into music and maintains a “live and let live” attitude. Jackie and Kelso are the rich airheads who are into their looks and nothing else. Donna is the child of the Baby Boomers, a preview of the Gen-X-ers. She is independent and has learned to take care of herself. Fez is a Mexican immigrant who is always getting picked-on as a foreigner. Eric is the average seventies kid. He skates by on his own mediocrity. His parents definitately portray the seventies prototype as well. His mom, Kitty, is a traditional housewife who is also an alcoholic. She is moterhly and caring, but she turns to alcohol when times get rough. Eric’s dad, Red, is a stern Korean War vet. He shows how men were suppose to act tough and macho in that era, exhuding a strong and emotionless persona. His rude attidude scares off most people, but at least he is comfortable in his own skin. He’s not shy and insecure.

As I watched each episode, I noticed how all the characters, aside from Fez, were white. I pondered on why this is. If That Seventies Show portrays people of the seventies, shouldn’t it show both blacks nad whites? I still haven’t found a strong answer. Perhaps it’s just showing the reality of segregation. Or maybe it’s reminding us about our own reacism. Although there aren’t African-Americans, there is Fez. In the show, they demonstrate how cruel people were to immigrants. They make him look stupid and clueless. Perhaps that shows hhow many people viewd immigrants. Or worse, it tells us how our society currently views immigrants.

The seventies were three decades ago. Yet we can still access our public memory of it through shows like That Seventies Show. It can become a mirror reflecting reality of that generation through the lens of our times.