How do Texaco Star Theater and The George Burn & Gracie Allen Show work

1B. Texaco Star Theater with Milton Berle (first 25 min)

post by my class mate: (50-100wirds)

Yuejie Gu

Both Texaco Star Theater and The George Burn & Gracie Allen Show are comedies, and they are easy to be understood by the general public. They both applied musical elements, which helps add dramatic and comic elements to the show, and I think it is a good strategy to leave impressions on the viewers. The shows also talk about things related to people’s everyday lives at that time, which seems apprehensible and educational. Therefore, when it is straightforward, meaningful, and funny, it becomes easier for viewers to accept and understand the television as the domestic medium.

In Texaco Star Theater, there is a musical performance that talks about all the US presidents in the order of their appearance in a funny way. For instance, when George Washington is mentioned, it is said that “thanks to him we get a day off”. In this case, the viewers can get to know about American history and politics in an interesting and understandable way. While in The George Burn & Gracie Allen Show, it discusses a lot about tax. With a series of questions thrown by Gracie, it explains what the government did with the tax (e.g. army, navy, agriculture, salaries for Congress), which allows the viewers to learn something from watching it.

From my perspective, there are lots of things being “taught” in these series, such as how to add ads into a show (e.g. the one about Carnation Evaporated Milk). The gender stereotype of that time is also implied by the series. Women tend to be easily tricked, and society seems to be more male-dominated. For instance, in The George Burn & Gracie Allen Show, when Gracie asks about the Community Property Law, she keeps failing to understand the concept. The way Gracie cooks the egg by baking ten pieces of bread can also be evidence.