| This dissertation examines the symbolic representation of social class and social mobility in situation comedy. The social positions of sitcom characters are identified from their occupational, educational, and financial backgrounds and circumstances, and characters are grouped in four levels of a stratified sitcom social structure, although the characters did not discuss class or stratification. A content analysis of 13 sitcoms (all from 1991-1992 season, including Cheers, The Cosby Show, The Golden Girls, Roseanne, Seinfeld, and The Simpsons) focused on characters' financial and work-related issues and opportunities.; Social structure and processes were conspicuously absent in sitcom stories and situations, and characters' social positions and the stratification of sitcom society were portrayed as static, regardless of changes in characters' finances, educational attainment, or employment. The contradictions inherent in characters' work circumstances (even manual laborers are somewhat autonomous at their jobs) point to a complicated social structure without strict class boundaries, and these contradictions and complications facilitate humorous situations for individual characters.; In these situation comedies, public issues were conceptualized as personal troubles. Foundational values of American culture---individualism and success based on merit---were present in the ways characters handled financial and occupational issues. Characters were portrayed as needing to be personally responsible for their circumstances, self-reliant in their approach to issues, and engaged in individual agency to resolve situations. The emphasis on characters solving their own dilemmas, being resourceful, and being industrious are all indicative of the premium these sitcoms placed on individualism and meritocracy. Sitcom characters who demonstrated their "worthiness" experienced felicitous resolutions to the issues they faced.; The failure of an important genre on such a ubiquitous medium to challenge the causes, nature, and consequences of the American class structure seems largely an artifact of the structure and practices of the industry that produces American situation comedies. |
