Scharrer, Erica2024-04-262024-04-262001-01/10.1207/s15506878jobem4501_3https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14394/8406An exploratory content analysis of family-oriented sitcoms shows modern television fathers and working class television fathers are more likely to be portrayed foolishly than fathers of the past or fathers of higher socioeconomic classes. A sample of long-running and top rated domestic sitcoms from the 1950s through the 1990s is examined. A theoretical argument is made that the portrayal of sitcom fathers can be linked to changing social climates in which certain jokes become "fair game."article