In the 1970’s, children’s television was built around the idea that media should serve the public especially with younger audiences. Broadcasters such as PBS - Public Broadcasting Service - were expected to meet educational basics such as literacy, writing, and arithmetic. These shows reflected a broader social and political shifts after the Civil Rights Movement in the 50’s & 60’s. As debates over, race, equality, and representation became more visible, children’s television attempted to present racial inclusivity and muliculturalism as postive social values. Educational programming in the 1970’s often aimed to teach academic and social lessons on diversity and collective responsiblity.
Children’s media additionally reflected changing gender roles were percieved in the 70’s as well. American women’s attitudes towards traditional roles such as “homemaker” or “housewife” were increasingly challenged during this era. Influenced by mid 1960’s to early 1970’s events such as anti-war protests and increased civil rights activity that helped cause a revival of second wave feminism. Americans began to reevaluating odeas abouts women’s place in society and the family.1 Women were becoming more visible in the workforce and politics contributed to a cultural shidt toward viewing men and women as more socially equal. Although, many of these changes were inconsistent and gradual, they reflected broader poltical and cultural priorites of a more flexible understanding of gender relations.
Programs such as Schoolhouse Rock!, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, and Free to Be . . . You and Me emphasized these fundemental educational skills while including social values like equality and social intelligence.
Schoolhouse Rock! was an educational musical program that aired on ABC from 1973 to 1985.
The central figure of the episode is Lady Liberty, who is portrayed as motherly domestic figure who opens up a cookbook to pick out a “recipe” for America. The episode frames the United States as a nation created by the blending of many different people and cultures by using cooking as a metaphor. The visual of Lady Liberty opening up the cookbook that shows the “ingredients” of America which is a list of different nationalities in alphabetical order such as Armenian, Africans, English, Dutch, etc. Another clip shows a wide array of people swimming in a pot like a pool. This imagery promotes the ideas of inclusion and a collective national identity that reflects the lingering influence of the civil rights movements and multicultural initiatives that expanded during the 1970’s.
The scene of people swimming together in the melting pot can be interpreted through the historical context of racial segregation in the U.S. Public pools were major sites of racial conflict during the civil rights era as many violently resisted integration in recreational spaces. By showing people of different racial and ethnic backgrounds sharing the same spaces together, the episode promotes an idealized version of racial integration and symbolically rejecting segregation. Programs such as Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood pioneered these themes earlier in 1969 when Mister Rogers shared a small pool with a black character Officer Clemens, challenging the racial norms surrounding segregated swimming places. Schoolhouse Rock! continues this educational tradution by teaching children that coexistence and dievrsity are apart of American values
Despite these progressive themes, the Schoolhouse Rock! episode reveals the limitations of 70’s multiculturalism. Even though it celebrates immigration and the diversity of the United States, it primarily centers on Western-European immigration groups such as the English and Irish while giving far less visibility to other non-European communities. The overall narrative still frames the American identity through a Eurocentric lens.
Government Policy reinforced this approach. The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) required broadcasters to operate in the public interest such as being responsible for serving the educational and developmental needs of children. FCC Commissioner Hooks in 1974, emphasized television had a responsiblity to support children’s learning and development in the Children’s Television Report and Policy Statement. 2 Additionally, the FCC recognized that children were especially vunerable to advertising because they could not full distingush between entertainment and commerical persuasion, As a result, they encouraged progamming that contributed postively to children’s development while placing limits on excessive commercialization. ADD IMAGE
Within this regulatory environment, programs such as Schoolhouse Rock! reflected the belief that televison could be used as educational tool that actively shaped children’s development. These programs viewed young audiences as future citizens who could learn the importance about diversity, civic responsiblity, and inclusion through media and applying it to their own lives. By exposing children to mulicultural themes and postive representations of integration such as in The Great American Melting Pot, encouraged children to normalize racial and ethnic diversity at an early age. During this post-Civil Rights era, schools and public spaces were still dealing with social tensions and integration surrounding race. Educational programming attempted to reduce these tensions by presenting diversity as a postive part of american idenity.
Beyond just this one episode from Schoolhouse Rock!, programs generally taught topics such as history, grammar, & social values. Children during this era were encouragned to see themeselves as a part of democratic society. As we enter the 80’s, there were shifts that changed the role televison played in children’s lives.