Too Short for a Blog Post, Too Long for a Tweet 444

 

Here is an excerpt from a book I recently read, "Triumph of the Yuppies: America, the Eighties, and the Creation of an Unequal Nation," by Tom McGrath.

TV in the 1960s - from Dick Van Dyke to "Leave it to Beaver" - had largely been defined by middle-class families doing middle-class things. TV in the early 1970s, from "All in the Family" to "M*A*S*H," had developed a social conscience. But "Dallas" went in a completely new direction: It was unabashedly about a rich and powerful elite who loved to spend money - their shoulder pads and designer handbags telegraphed power and wealth - and lived by their own code. It was a show about free enterprise and success, and if some of its characters were unscrupulous, that only made it more enticing to watch. Romanian president Nicolae Ceausescu, a hard-line Communist, allowed the series to be aired in his country, believing it would show his fellow citizens the evils of capitalism. His decision backfired, as Romanians began seeking out the lavish lifestyles they were seeing on the series.