With the economic upturn after WWII, there grew an economic class that had not previously existed, the teenagers. They were kids who were old enough to make their own financial decisions, and the networks soon realized that by appealing to this rising demographic would harbor more profits. Dobie Gillis is one of the first examples of TV networks using a teenager as the main character, instead of the classical family sitcom where the father or mother was the focal point. Dobie is seen as having a life outside of the nuclear family, which included dating and friends. While most sitcoms at the time took place in the home, (the living room and kitchen mostly), Dobie is rarely seen in the home. Most of the plot of the above episode takes place in the family's store, signifying how much time Dobie spends outside of what was normally acceptable for children. Likewise Maynard, Dobie's best friend, is a representation of the beatniks, a significant counter-culture movement that until then was seen by adults as a joke. And while Maynard is seen as lazy and not as desirable as the classy Dobie, he is still shown to be a kindhearted and sweet person. At the end of the episode we viewed, the beatnik movement was both a source of humor, but was also agreed by the adults of the show as an understandable point of view, appealing to the rebellious attitudes of the main demographic while still looked down on by older audiences.
In the episode of Dobie Gillis screened for class we can see the beginnings of Youth Subculture starting to form in both Dobie and his best friend. In the show, teenagers are depicted as having their own lives, separate from the lives of their parents and simply going to school. In fact, the teenagers are not actually seen going to school, suggesting that their lives are filled with more than just getting A’s. We see the teenagers set in opposition to the parents, and the parents not understanding the ‘alternative’ culture of Dobie’s best friend. His friend is seen as a blight on ‘proper’ society which needs to be corrected by the socially acceptable Dobie. The comedy comes from the fact that when Dobie and his friend switch places Dobie looks a bit too convincing in his character, suggesting that Dobie is not as straight laced as his parents would like to believe he is. The show essentially shows teenagers deviating from the structured lives of their parents, creating their own counter culture through which to navigate their daily lives. They have their own music, style of dress and slang that the authoritative parent figures can’t hope to understand. It is through this that Dobie Gillis shows the structure of youth subculture beginning to form on television.
Around the late ‘50’s and ‘60’s networks began to target specific audiences, “audience segments”, in their television shows. Dobie Gillis is an example of a show targeted towards teenagers. We can see subculture beginning to be featured because the show follows Dobie and his best friend, Maynard, as they navigate life as young adults. This contrasts to earlier television shows that usually featured adults as their main characters. From the episode we watched, we can see that most of the scenes in Dobie Gillis do not take place in the home, but in the family store. Dobie also features, Maynard, a beatnik, whose interests lie far from typical ideals of what a teenager should do and want. In the episode we watched, Maynard was focused on getting to a concert where he could play the bongos with Felonious Monk. He wears a shirt with holes in it and sports a beard thats a bit unkempt as compared to Dobie who usually dresses in a nice shirt and slacks. We can assume that’s his parents influence on him though. Dobie Gillis is a representation of the counterculture teenagers from that time began to adopt and their need to distance themselves from their parents and to navigate life on a different path.
In the episode of Dobie Gillis that we watched in class, we are able to see the beginnings of subculture in television. The show was clearly geared towards teenagers and younger people at the time. It appealed to them because the show focused on a high school boy and his life outside of his family for the most part. This was large departure from normal television programs in that most shows focused on an entire family. Following Dobie and his best friend Maynard appealed to a younger audience because it most closely resembled parts of their lives; going to school and dealing with teenage problems. Dobie exemplifies everything that teens at the time thought was cool. It could be argued that Maynard’s character existed as a contrast to Dobie so that viewers had a different type of character they could potentially identify with in some aspects. By emphasizing the teenage student’s life outside of the family, the show was able These factors contributed heavily to the youth subculture that expanded with the help of Dobie Gillis.
The essence of a subculture in “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis” is evidenced through Dobie himself, and his good friend Maynard. This show aired in the midst of the rise of teen TV, or television that were based around teenager characters, in hopes that they would appeal to a teenage audience (who conveniently carried disposable income). Because of this, producers had to create shows that had teenage characters that their teenage audience could relate to. So, they created characters such as Dobie Gillis, their idea of what the subculture of the 1950s was. As pointed out by others on this blog, Dobie lived a life outside of the nuclear family that was frequently depicted in other TV sitcoms. The TV show focused on him, and not his mother and father, and his interactions with friends (and the dating atmosphere) outside of the home. More so, Dobie’s ragged beatnik friend Maynard represented the counter-culture movement. His goatee and sleeveless sweatshirt are a prime example of the beatnik’s stylistic interpretation, and how far that differed from the typical dress of the more “sophisticated” people of that time (just look at the professional attire that Dobie’s father wore). While Maynard was a kindhearted and likeable individual on the show, his sluggish demeanor and choice of clothing are two ways in which the media depicted the beatnik movement. Dobie epitomized the subculture through his sense of independence, while Maynard did the same with oppositions to societal standards.
At around the time of the release of the show “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis,” new TV shows began to change their formula of how they catered their content. The old idea of creating programming that appealed to wide audiences changed. Shows began to try appealing to a specific market rather than try and grab everyone’s attention. Dobie Gillis, for example, was a show that primarily focused on teenagers and was meant to attract that demographic. The program depicted family and friends but did it from Dobie’s perspective rather than the parents or other adult figures. It often takes place outside of the family home and gives viewers a look into his life outside of the activities with his family, an idea most shows before haven’t used. The show, because of this, was able to deal with other ideas. The idea of beatnik culture, for example, was shown and was primarily reflected in Dobie’s friend Maynard. Maynard’s appearance, a plain and raggedy sweatshirt along with his goatee, showed a counter-culture that wasn’t often apparent in a positive light on television. This free-spirited, laid-back idea was different from the norm on TV and it showed. Dobie’s parents did not approve of Maynard’s appearance or lifestyle but Dobie did, even though Dobie more often fit under his parent’s values. Maynard wins over the family and the audience, regardless of his appearance or style, due to his humor and willingness to help his friends, including Dobie’s family. We saw this in the episode we viewed when Maynard pretended to be Dobie. Dobie Gillis was one of the first shows in what became a large movement in television in order to focus on certain demographics in order to get a larger and more focused audience.
Dobie prominently features a beatnik character who revels in the pain of being a part of a society he hates. He's an "angry young man" because he can be, though I suspect a lot of that is mostly because the writers failed to understand why teens dove into the beatnik style and so it translated, in their minds, to a symptom of young, middle class boredom during the period. Much the way many people spun the Occupy Wall Street movement to be less about the inherent inequality of a system which allows 1% of the population to control 99% of the wealth and the subsequent need to dismantle or seriously change the system and more about the “millennial” generation’s dissatisfaction at having to work for their money. Maynard’s character, while treated with an air of general respect and shown to be essentially a benign force, is a patronizing look at counterculture. The show, in this episode at least, tips its hat to counterculture and acknowledges its existence but doesn’t seem to unite the causes of people wanting to rebel against the mainstream with any sort of social problems of substance. So, while Dobie does address the existence of beatnik counterculture and a general dissatisfaction with life that began as an undercurrent teen culture in the 1950s and early 1960s and became part of mass teen culture by the late 1960s to early 1970’s, due to the nature of the program – as Dobie is essentially a middle class, suburban comedy – it does not deem it pertinent to show the audience why Maynard is rebelling, or why they should too.
After viewing The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, The character of Maynard triggered my memories. Finally I realized that he is the archetypal character of Shaggy Rogers. Maynard inspired the creators of Scooby-Doo - His four human characters were modeled from characters on the series, with Rogers being inspired by Maynard. The Maynard character begins the series as a stereotypical “beatnik”, with a goatee, hip language, and a generally bohemian appearance. He serves as a foil to the well-groomed, well-dressed, straight-laced Dobie, and the contrast between the two friends provides much of the humor of the series. However, he is still a kindhearted boy who is willing to help Dobie’s father to chase his dream with the willingness of giving up his own important event. Maynard may be described as the prototype of the late-1960s hippie. His abhorrence of conventional social forms is signified by comical reactions to three words: "work", “police", and “marriage".Whenever the word "work" is mentioned, even in passing, he yelps "Work?!" and faints. Dobie: "Zelda, I don't think that will work." Maynard: "Work!?!" Dobie: "Maynard!" This oft-repeated exchange became something of a catch phrase in certain circles (mine included) At that period of time, as the beatnik Krebs made America realize that it's much more important to play the bongos in a coffee house than hold down a job of any sort.
Dobie provides insight to the burgeoning lifestyle of the American teenager in the 1950’s. No longer were they expected to be indoors, rather they too were becoming the targets of ad campaigns and lifestyle trends. Dobie’s and his friend have a life outside of the home, away from the parents. Becoming entrapped in Dobie’s dad’s scheme, Dobies friend lingers on the prospect of giving up going to the concert that he wants to see. In the end, Dobie’s friend does get to go to the concert; signifying that the younger generation should come and that the adults should not stop them from doing what they want.
By including teenagers and shifting the focus away from the adults, networks were hoping to attract a younger audience. This can even be seen in other media shifts such as the drive thru movie theatres which started screening more movies geared towards teenagers in particular.
With the economic upturn after WWII, there grew an economic class that had not previously existed, the teenagers. They were kids who were old enough to make their own financial decisions, and the networks soon realized that by appealing to this rising demographic would harbor more profits. Dobie Gillis is one of the first examples of TV networks using a teenager as the main character, instead of the classical family sitcom where the father or mother was the focal point. Dobie is seen as having a life outside of the nuclear family, which included dating and friends. While most sitcoms at the time took place in the home, (the living room and kitchen mostly), Dobie is rarely seen in the home. Most of the plot of the above episode takes place in the family's store, signifying how much time Dobie spends outside of what was normally acceptable for children. Likewise Maynard, Dobie's best friend, is a representation of the beatniks, a significant counter-culture movement that until then was seen by adults as a joke. And while Maynard is seen as lazy and not as desirable as the classy Dobie, he is still shown to be a kindhearted and sweet person. At the end of the episode we viewed, the beatnik movement was both a source of humor, but was also agreed by the adults of the show as an understandable point of view, appealing to the rebellious attitudes of the main demographic while still looked down on by older audiences.
ReplyDeleteIn the episode of Dobie Gillis screened for class we can see the beginnings of Youth Subculture starting to form in both Dobie and his best friend. In the show, teenagers are depicted as having their own lives, separate from the lives of their parents and simply going to school. In fact, the teenagers are not actually seen going to school, suggesting that their lives are filled with more than just getting A’s. We see the teenagers set in opposition to the parents, and the parents not understanding the ‘alternative’ culture of Dobie’s best friend. His friend is seen as a blight on ‘proper’ society which needs to be corrected by the socially acceptable Dobie. The comedy comes from the fact that when Dobie and his friend switch places Dobie looks a bit too convincing in his character, suggesting that Dobie is not as straight laced as his parents would like to believe he is. The show essentially shows teenagers deviating from the structured lives of their parents, creating their own counter culture through which to navigate their daily lives. They have their own music, style of dress and slang that the authoritative parent figures can’t hope to understand. It is through this that Dobie Gillis shows the structure of youth subculture beginning to form on television.
ReplyDeleteAround the late ‘50’s and ‘60’s networks began to target specific audiences, “audience segments”, in their television shows. Dobie Gillis is an example of a show targeted towards teenagers. We can see subculture beginning to be featured because the show follows Dobie and his best friend, Maynard, as they navigate life as young adults. This contrasts to earlier television shows that usually featured adults as their main characters. From the episode we watched, we can see that most of the scenes in Dobie Gillis do not take place in the home, but in the family store. Dobie also features, Maynard, a beatnik, whose interests lie far from typical ideals of what a teenager should do and want. In the episode we watched, Maynard was focused on getting to a concert where he could play the bongos with Felonious Monk. He wears a shirt with holes in it and sports a beard thats a bit unkempt as compared to Dobie who usually dresses in a nice shirt and slacks. We can assume that’s his parents influence on him though. Dobie Gillis is a representation of the counterculture teenagers from that time began to adopt and their need to distance themselves from their parents and to navigate life on a different path.
ReplyDeleteIn the episode of Dobie Gillis that we watched in class, we are able to see the beginnings of subculture in television. The show was clearly geared towards teenagers and younger people at the time. It appealed to them because the show focused on a high school boy and his life outside of his family for the most part. This was large departure from normal television programs in that most shows focused on an entire family. Following Dobie and his best friend Maynard appealed to a younger audience because it most closely resembled parts of their lives; going to school and dealing with teenage problems. Dobie exemplifies everything that teens at the time thought was cool. It could be argued that Maynard’s character existed as a contrast to Dobie so that viewers had a different type of character they could potentially identify with in some aspects. By emphasizing the teenage student’s life outside of the family, the show was able These factors contributed heavily to the youth subculture that expanded with the help of Dobie Gillis.
ReplyDeleteThe essence of a subculture in “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis” is evidenced through Dobie himself, and his good friend Maynard. This show aired in the midst of the rise of teen TV, or television that were based around teenager characters, in hopes that they would appeal to a teenage audience (who conveniently carried disposable income). Because of this, producers had to create shows that had teenage characters that their teenage audience could relate to. So, they created characters such as Dobie Gillis, their idea of what the subculture of the 1950s was. As pointed out by others on this blog, Dobie lived a life outside of the nuclear family that was frequently depicted in other TV sitcoms. The TV show focused on him, and not his mother and father, and his interactions with friends (and the dating atmosphere) outside of the home. More so, Dobie’s ragged beatnik friend Maynard represented the counter-culture movement. His goatee and sleeveless sweatshirt are a prime example of the beatnik’s stylistic interpretation, and how far that differed from the typical dress of the more “sophisticated” people of that time (just look at the professional attire that Dobie’s father wore). While Maynard was a kindhearted and likeable individual on the show, his sluggish demeanor and choice of clothing are two ways in which the media depicted the beatnik movement. Dobie epitomized the subculture through his sense of independence, while Maynard did the same with oppositions to societal standards.
ReplyDeleteAt around the time of the release of the show “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis,” new TV shows began to change their formula of how they catered their content. The old idea of creating programming that appealed to wide audiences changed. Shows began to try appealing to a specific market rather than try and grab everyone’s attention. Dobie Gillis, for example, was a show that primarily focused on teenagers and was meant to attract that demographic. The program depicted family and friends but did it from Dobie’s perspective rather than the parents or other adult figures. It often takes place outside of the family home and gives viewers a look into his life outside of the activities with his family, an idea most shows before haven’t used. The show, because of this, was able to deal with other ideas. The idea of beatnik culture, for example, was shown and was primarily reflected in Dobie’s friend Maynard. Maynard’s appearance, a plain and raggedy sweatshirt along with his goatee, showed a counter-culture that wasn’t often apparent in a positive light on television. This free-spirited, laid-back idea was different from the norm on TV and it showed. Dobie’s parents did not approve of Maynard’s appearance or lifestyle but Dobie did, even though Dobie more often fit under his parent’s values. Maynard wins over the family and the audience, regardless of his appearance or style, due to his humor and willingness to help his friends, including Dobie’s family. We saw this in the episode we viewed when Maynard pretended to be Dobie. Dobie Gillis was one of the first shows in what became a large movement in television in order to focus on certain demographics in order to get a larger and more focused audience.
ReplyDeleteDobie prominently features a beatnik character who revels in the pain of being a part of a society he hates. He's an "angry young man" because he can be, though I suspect a lot of that is mostly because the writers failed to understand why teens dove into the beatnik style and so it translated, in their minds, to a symptom of young, middle class boredom during the period. Much the way many people spun the Occupy Wall Street movement to be less about the inherent inequality of a system which allows 1% of the population to control 99% of the wealth and the subsequent need to dismantle or seriously change the system and more about the “millennial” generation’s dissatisfaction at having to work for their money. Maynard’s character, while treated with an air of general respect and shown to be essentially a benign force, is a patronizing look at counterculture. The show, in this episode at least, tips its hat to counterculture and acknowledges its existence but doesn’t seem to unite the causes of people wanting to rebel against the mainstream with any sort of social problems of substance. So, while Dobie does address the existence of beatnik counterculture and a general dissatisfaction with life that began as an undercurrent teen culture in the 1950s and early 1960s and became part of mass teen culture by the late 1960s to early 1970’s, due to the nature of the program – as Dobie is essentially a middle class, suburban comedy – it does not deem it pertinent to show the audience why Maynard is rebelling, or why they should too.
ReplyDeleteAfter viewing The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, The character of Maynard triggered my memories. Finally I realized that he is the archetypal character of Shaggy Rogers. Maynard inspired the creators of Scooby-Doo - His four human characters were modeled from characters on the series, with Rogers being inspired by Maynard.
ReplyDeleteThe Maynard character begins the series as a stereotypical “beatnik”, with a goatee, hip language, and a generally bohemian appearance. He serves as a foil to the well-groomed, well-dressed, straight-laced Dobie, and the contrast between the two friends provides much of the humor of the series. However, he is still a kindhearted boy who is willing to help Dobie’s father to chase his dream with the willingness of giving up his own important event.
Maynard may be described as the prototype of the late-1960s hippie. His abhorrence of conventional social forms is signified by comical reactions to three words: "work", “police", and “marriage".Whenever the word "work" is mentioned, even in passing, he yelps "Work?!" and faints. Dobie: "Zelda, I don't think that will work." Maynard: "Work!?!" Dobie: "Maynard!" This oft-repeated exchange became something of a catch phrase in certain circles (mine included) At that period of time, as the beatnik Krebs made America realize that it's much more important to play the bongos in a coffee house than hold down a job of any sort.
Dobie provides insight to the burgeoning lifestyle of the American teenager in the 1950’s. No longer were they expected to be indoors, rather they too were becoming the targets of ad campaigns and lifestyle trends. Dobie’s and his friend have a life outside of the home, away from the parents. Becoming entrapped in Dobie’s dad’s scheme, Dobies friend lingers on the prospect of giving up going to the concert that he wants to see. In the end, Dobie’s friend does get to go to the concert; signifying that the younger generation should come and that the adults should not stop them from doing what they want.
ReplyDeleteBy including teenagers and shifting the focus away from the adults, networks were hoping to attract a younger audience. This can even be seen in other media shifts such as the drive thru movie theatres which started screening more movies geared towards teenagers in particular.