Maybe it was her Vitameatavegamin...

I’m going to have to agree with Quetzal’s notion that it is a bit tough to assent for this section of reading since Doherty has yet to truly prove that "During the Cold War, through television, America became a more open and tolerant place." However, I can see the way his argument is starting to come around to that conclusion.

So far, Doherty has explained that television became the more popular medium in the United States during the 1950s, a period defined by MacCarthyism and fear. With television being so new, exciting, and accessible, it was the perfect platform for spreading propaganda and anxiety right into Americans’ living rooms. Our reading for today concluded with, what I think is his most interesting evidence: the contrasting case studies of blacklisting with The Goldbergs and I Love Lucy. The bulk of these chapters sets the reading in the period, laying out the fear and anxiety that flowed through different media outlets (newspapers, radio, magazines) but concludes with the triumph of the public’s opinion of Lucille Ball, despite the attention drawn to her alleged Communist ties.

Doherty explains the relationship between the Cold War and TV stating that the “temporal bond […] suggested a codependent relationship” (3.) What better medium to spread propaganda to the masses than something new, exciting, and accessible? Doherty explains later that Americans had gained greater media literacy post-WWII: “after four years of screen propaganda, Americans has developed a keen sensitivity to the ideological currents of the popular media” (20). Doherty’s point that TV was accessible not only because it was not as laborious as reading, but that American’s had a more discerning eye for propaganda is very important. Despite the mild blacklisting hysteria that erupted in Hollywood, it does not seem to have taken long for it to subside (though this might have a lot to do with how incredibly amazing Lucille Ball was).

The final chapter in which Doherty contrasts the tragic and triumphant results of blacklisting is the key to writing an assenting post for this section. Though The Goldbergs has a 17-year run on radio, and was relatively popular, the inclusion of Philip Loeb in Red Channel led to his blacklisting, and, likely, his eventual suicide. I Love Lucy has unprecedented popularity, with Philip Morris purchasing $8 million worth of advertising during its time slot and an estimated 44 million viewers for the episode where Lucy and Ricky welcome Little Ricky. There are more differences between the two shows than just popularity and sheer money-making capacity. Lucy and Desi Arnaz were not just TV personalities, but true show business people. After the accusations of Lucy’s Communist ties, Desi used the TV as a vehicle to dispel the claims; they used the most popular, intimate medium to tell ensure their viewers that their trust in their favorite TV family is not ill-placed: “Welcome to the first I Love Lucy show […] We are glad to see you back and we are glad to be back ourselves. But before we go on, I want to talk to you about something serious […] Lucy is no communist […] Lucille is 100 percent an American.” (55-56).

Doherty claims that “TV was too public a medium to keep all its business private” (37). For me, the I Love Lucy case study is where the tables are turned; as Doherty states: “TV was too public a medium to keep all its business private.” It is not until TV personalities understood the power that they held, as the characters families welcomed into their homes at night, that the medium could make the shift into influencing a more tolerant America.

Also, I found a clip of The Goldbergs:


And the episode of I Love Lucy Doherty mentions when "Little Ricky" was born:

Bonus: One of my favorite Lucy bits of all time: