Mass communication media has always played a direct part in the creation and dissemination of popular culture. For the United States, in particular, television and the situation comedy have become part of the defining experience of what it means to be American. The evolution of the part that television has played has certainly changed over time. Part of that change has been the diffusion of entertainment; an ever increasing number of hours spent, per person, in front of the television; and dramatically swinging opinions about and shaping the medium. It is the intent of this paper to look at the historical impact of television, and in particular the situation comedy, on popular American culture.
