JOURNAL ARTICLE

American Cold War Hospitality: Portraying Societal Acceptance and Class Mobility of Mexican, Cuban, and Chinese Immigrants in 1950s Sitcoms.

  • Published In: JCMS: Journal of Cinema & Media Studies, 2023, v. 62, n. 4. P. 9 1 of 3

  • Database: Academic Search Ultimate 2 of 3

  • Authored By: Bernhardt, Mark 3 of 3

Abstract

This article explores how 1950s television producers and corporate sponsors used situation comedies to address critiques of capitalism and US race relations through portrayals of middle-class accessibility for Mexican, Cuban, and Chinese immigrants. Emphasizing their foreignness, they portrayed these immigrants as welcome members of US society, embraced as friends by white Americans who helped them assimilate to show they faced no obstacles to class mobility due to discrimination. If immigrants struggled to join the middle class, it was because of personal shortcomings related to cultural backwardness, which emphasized the importance of assimilation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Additional Information

  • Source:JCMS: Journal of Cinema & Media Studies. 2023/07, Vol. 62, Issue 4, p9
  • Document Type:Article
  • Subject Area:Literature and Writing
  • Publication Date:2023
  • ISSN:2578-4900
  • DOI:10.1353/cj.2023.a904625
  • Accession Number:174430859
  • Copyright Statement:Copyright of JCMS: Journal of Cinema & Media Studies is the property of Society of Cinema & Media Studies and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

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