The "Sitcom Suburb"

Our readings for this week covered the topic of postwar housing and the neighborhoods that they were situated in. In the readings by Jackson he illustrates the new approaches and ideas that people of the post war were starting to favor. Jackson tells a story about the Tinkham family, who were originally more farm based, but with time and new generational ideas they become more modern and started to stray from their traditional ways of life. The story consists is made up of few characters, Ray and Shirley Tinkham, their children Don and Billie-Jean, and Ray's father "The Old Man." What the story is mostly about is Ray's new attitude and idea about the post war era. he is becoming more modernized and it is reflecting on all aspects of his life including his home, his job, his family, and his farm. His father throughout the story remains attached to the farm and to more traditional values, and Shirley follows Ray's belief and relies on technology and advancements within the home to do her work for her. In the story Ray moves away from the farmstead and builds a house completely different from the house that "The Old Man," resides in. Ray's new house depends solely on convenience. It was built with a simple design to ensure that it would not require a lot of maintenance and dedication. It was also designed to help Ray separate his work life from his home life. By building in a central location right in the middle of the farmhouse and the more rural areas, Ray could escape from work and relax. Ray and his wife kept the design as simple and as basic as possible, focusing not so much on the decorative aspect but more on the convenience. They filled the house with labor saving devices such as a dishwasher and garbage disposal. They limited the amount of un-necessary rooms so there was less area to clean and look after. The whole design and structure of the house was based on efficiency. It was meant to do the work for itself with the help of technological advances. The farmhouse on the other hand had more of a history. It was built in a spot that held a type of emotional attachment. It also required much more maintenance than Ray's home. It was also father away from rural life, and literally work and home were considered one. The farm house also held a type of permanence. With Ray's home there was no emotional attachment that went into the building, instead i was looked at mainly as a place to sleep and shelter themselves in, whereas the farm held a sentimental value to it where bonds were formed and memories were made. The farmhouse had excessive amounts of room so that company could be entertained in them. In Shirley's home she couldn't imagine going through all that work entertaining people so why would she build extra rooms for it. These were just some of the more obvious differences between the two houses. I think that by Jackson telling this story he is showing how fast paced post war America was becoming, and how more individuals were beginning to take up this one way vision of moving forward in a convenient and efficient way. While Ray's home does appear the give him more freedoms it does not give him a connection to anything. Jackson states in the reading that his wife not only depends on the house to do the work for her but over time she will expect it to raise her family as well. With all of these new innovations and modern ways of living Jackson is proving there is a loss or traditional family values and morals.

Another one of our readings talked about the 1950's and 60's style homes that were referred to as the "Sitcom Suburbs." These were also post war houses set up in post war neighborhoods. It's funny to me because when I actually notice these types of neighborhoods I can definitely see the resemblance to the sitcoms that the writers and architects of the time were comparing them too. They do have a type of "pleasantville" look to them. Critics of the time like Lewis Mumford characterizes these places as areas of conformity in both artistic design and social interaction. Going down certain streets in Buffalo like Millersport Highway, or streets located off of Niagara Falls Boulevard, I can agree with him. These types of houses all look the same. They truly do look like little houses created out out squares and right angles. While not every single house is the same as the next and there may be some differences, their basic designs and structures are the same. They are also so close in proximity and dimension, such as they all seem the exact same distance from the sidewalk, and they all have the same walkway leading to the same doorway, that its hard not to stand at the end of a street and just see a replica house over and over again. This type of layout only makes the streets looked lined with tiny boxes. To me they do not seem to hold any type of individuality, but I will say it makes these types of neighborhoods look like they hold a type of unity within them. There is usually a school nearby or a park where all of the children can come together. I know in the areas off of Niagara Falls Blvd as well as near Millersport there are golf courses and club houses. So these do make up for the lack of originality but they still look like Little Boxes, as represented in the song by Malvina Reynolds.