# Life Was Better in Black and White



## SeaBreeze (Dec 22, 2013)

*Black and White by Steve Vaus
*
You could hardly see for all the snow, 
 Spread the rabbit ears as far as they go. 
 Pull a chair up to the TV set, 
 "Good Night, David. Good Night, Chet."

Depending on the channel you tuned, 
 You got Rob and Laura - or Ward and June. 
 It felt so good. It felt so right. 
 Life looked better in black and white.              

I Love Lucy, The Real McCoys, 
 Dennis the Menace, the Cleaver boys, 
 Rawhide, Gunsmoke, Wagon Train, 
 Superman, Jimmy and Lois Lane.
Father Knows Best, Patty Duke, 
 Rin Tin Tin and Lassie too, 
 Donna Reed on Thursday night! -- 
 Life looked better in black and white.

I wanna go back to black and white. 
 Everything always turned out right. 
 Simple people, simple lives... 
 Good guys always won the fights.
Now nothing is the way it seems, 
 In living color on the TV screen. 
 Too many murders, too many fights, 
 I wanna go back to black and white.

In God they trusted, alone in bed, they slept, 
 A promise made was a promise kept. 
 They never cussed or broke their vows. 
 They'd never make the network now. 
 But if I could, I'd rather be in a TV town in '53. 
 It felt so good. It felt so right. 
 Life looked better in black and white.

I'd trade all the  channels on the satellite, 
 If I could just turn back the clock tonight
 To when everybody knew wrong from right. 
 Life was better in black and white!


----------



## SifuPhil (Dec 22, 2013)

Totally agree, and I still watch those very shows on TV.


----------



## That Guy (Dec 22, 2013)




----------



## Anne (Dec 22, 2013)

Everything wasn't better, obviously, but we didn't have kids killing kids; mass shootings in the theaters or stores; parents starving or completely neglecting their children, etc, etc.  I realize we didn't hear much about the ones there might have been, but in no way do I believe those crimes were as numerous as they are today.

People did respect their elders; kids may have tested their limits, but they learned it was not something they wanted to do regularly.   Maybe marriage wasn't made in heaven, but most at least tried to keep it together, even though it required some sacrifice and unselfishness on their part.  They didn't immediately cast blame on each other in the bad times, and didn't see divorce as the simple and final solution.

Maybe those black and white programs didn't show human nature as it looks now, but surely gave a better example than what I see out there now.


----------



## rkunsaw (Dec 23, 2013)

I woke up in the middle of the night and turned on the TV. Saw two episodes of Burns and Allen followed by the three stooges. Great fun.


----------



## Davey Jones (Dec 23, 2013)

You're all forgetting about  TV commercials in those days,you were lucky if you saw one lasting 15 seconds.
Today it almost 30 minutes of combine commercials and 30 minutes of the 1 hour show.
I use to like watching "Morning Joe" but Ive dropped it because of one after another blasting commercials,who needs that.


----------



## SifuPhil (Dec 23, 2013)

Davey Jones said:


> You're all forgetting about  TV commercials in those days,you were lucky if you saw one lasting 15 seconds.
> Today it almost 30 minutes of combine commercials and 30 minutes of the 1 hour show.
> I use to like watching "Morning Joe" but Ive dropped it because of one after another blasting commercials,who needs that.



It's gotten to the point where I'm jumping up and cursing at the set with these commercials, especially around Xmas time. 

I don't even think it would be so bad if every commercial were different, but to have the same guy coming on the screen every 10 minutes telling me I need to take his pill (which isn't insulin, by the way! ) to help control my diabetes is just too much. Or the tear-jerker ones - the little bald-headed kids with cancer seem to have replaced Sally Struthers and her African babies, and they run those suckers for a full minute to make sure you feel guilty. 

I seem to remember when cable TV, like FM radio, was commercial-free.


----------



## SeaBreeze (Dec 23, 2013)

Those commercials for "No No" the new pricey hair removal system, is like a mini infomercial during regular shows.  You think it's gonna last a couple of minutes, and then you wonder if your show is over and you are watching a full-blown infomercial.


----------



## SifuPhil (Dec 23, 2013)

SeaBreeze said:


> Those commercials for "No No" the new pricey hair removal system, is like a mini infomercial during regular shows.  You think it's gonna last a couple of minutes, and then you wonder if your show is over and you are watching a full-blown infomercial.



Those are horrible - I mean, _aside_ from the thought of me shaving my arms and chest ... 

And you know what? Despite all my schooling I _still_ can't figure out how it works! It isn't a laser - it's just a bright light ... if that really worked I should have been hairless after that first Pink Floyd laser-light show ...


----------



## That Guy (Dec 23, 2013)




----------



## Davey Jones (Dec 23, 2013)

Most of the shows I really want to watch are taped so I can speed right thru all those commercials.GOD!!! I love doing that.


----------



## Anne (Dec 23, 2013)

Good idea, Davey; those commercials are so tiring.   

Speaking of unrealistic, how about those soapies?!!   I used to watch General Hospital throughout the whole Luke & Laura deal, but haven't since then.   Still think they're amusing though....everyone looks perfect most of the time; they can't get along no matter what, and have no clue what the real world is like.


----------



## RedRibbons (Dec 24, 2013)

I still watch Black and white movies. Some of them are the best movies ever made. I also love Andy, that was the best comedy ever made. Even my grown kids agree.


----------



## Old Salt (Nov 9, 2019)

*I just saw on TV that those of us who lived in the fifties were "The Silent Generation." I think we were the luckiest generation. At least I was. I look at my mother's life and I admire her greatly for her courage. This is in Germany now: She lived through WWI, hyper inflation (A billion Marks for a loaf of bread), devaluation of the Mark, the Great Depression, WWII, running a business and raising four children by herself since my father was away at war, selling everything of value for a pound of sugar or butter after the war, devaluation of the Mark (second time), father declared missing but never returned from Russia. The inconveniences: no hot water, no central heating, no flush toilets. It was only in her later years that she could enjoy life. 

I look back, and my generation was so lucky. I did live through a war but that was between ages of 3 - 9, we did have quite a few air raids toward the end. But my pleasant memories start after I emigrated to Canada. No wars (too young for the Korean War), no depression, no lack of food, an era where there was still a middle class, all the modern conveniences, TV, satellites, moon landings, computers, the internet. It is my conviction that no generation before us or after us ever had it so good. Even though we walked 5 miles each way to school through two feet of snow!  *


----------



## hollydolly (Nov 9, 2019)

Davey Jones said:


> *You're all forgetting about  TV commercials in those days,you were lucky if you saw one lasting 15 seconds.
> Today it almost 30 minutes of combine commercials and 30 minutes of the 1 hour show.
> I use to like watching "Morning Joe" but Ive dropped it because of one after another blasting commercials,who needs that.*



Not ours thank God.

Much as I hate commercials and record everything so I can zoom past them..our commercials last around 3 minutes each break which are around 15 or 20 minutes apart..  , and total about 12 minutes in an hour long show on average

Ooops just realised this thread is 6 years old...


----------



## StarSong (Nov 9, 2019)

Seems to me this entire list describes a time and medium that was almost exclusively Caucasion-type White.  Not to mention straight, presumably Christian, and women knew their places (in the kitchen, nursing, teaching, or fawning over the big, strong men). 

Check out the list:

David & Chet
Rob & Laura
Ward & June
Lucy, Ricky, et. all
The Real McCoys
Dennis the Menace and his neigborhood

Rawhide, Gunsmoke, Wagon Train,
Superman, Jimmy and Lois Lane.
Father Knows Best, Patty Duke,
Rin Tin Tin and Lassie too,
Donna Reed

Me? I'll take today's world. Living color, warts and all.


----------



## Aunt Bea (Nov 9, 2019)

Lots of murders and fights but I'm still a fan of the old film noir style programs like Peter Gunn, The Naked City, Mr. Lucky, etc...


----------



## Old Salt (Nov 9, 2019)

StarSong said:


> Seems to me this entire list describes a time and medium that was almost exclusively Caucasion-type White.  Not to mention straight, presumably Christian, and women knew their places (in the kitchen, nursing, teaching, or fawning over the big, strong men).
> 
> Check out the list:
> 
> ...


You are absolutely right. I do tend to see things from a white, elderly male perspective. My apologies for being self-centered, even though I never insisted that my daughters' place was in the kitchen. I also drilled tolerance into their young brains since the previous generation of Germans had committed such atrocities. My generation will carry the guilt for that to the grave! One thing I do hold against this era and present state of unrestrained capitalism is that it now takes two people to support a household. As far as income goes each gender, each race has been cheated out of a good raise for the past fifty years. And the children turn into latchkey kids. There was something to be said about having a parent home when school was over. I was a latchkey kid myself, since my mother had to look after the store and didn't make it home until early in the evening. But that was during war time and does not apply to Canada. It is the "silent generation" in Canada I keep referring to when I sing its praises. But as you said, that was from a white male's perspective. One other thing though: didn't Rosie the riveter open the door to women when it came to career choices. It was no longer just nurses and teachers, even though equality in pay and respect is still in a developing stage.


----------



## StarSong (Nov 9, 2019)

Old Salt said:


> You are absolutely right. I do tend to see things from a white, elderly male perspective. My apologies for being self-centered, even though I never insisted that my daughters' place was in the kitchen. I also drilled tolerance into their young brains since the previous generation of Germans had committed such atrocities. My generation will carry the guilt for that to the grave! One thing I do hold against this era and present state of unrestrained capitalism is that it now takes two people to support a household. As far as income goes each gender, each race has been cheated out of a good raise for the past fifty years. And the children turn into latchkey kids. There was something to be said about having a parent home when school was over. I was a latchkey kid myself, since my mother had to look after the store and didn't make it home until early in the evening. But that was during war time and does not apply to Canada. It is the "silent generation" in Canada I keep referring to when I sing its praises. But as you said, that was from a white male's perspective. One other thing though: didn't Rosie the riveter open the door to women when it came to career choices. It was no longer just nurses and teachers, even though equality in pay and respect is still in a developing stage.



My point was that these shows depicted a very narrow, very vanilla slice of life.  Because they all showed very similar lives, they and their accompanying commercials seemed to be representative of the whole.  And they clearly were not.

Non-whites (other than very stereotypical roles) were all but ignored completely. As were non-Christians, homosexuals, people struggling to put food on the table, divorced families, women working in jobs others than those I mentioned, etc.


----------



## DaveA (Nov 9, 2019)

Davey Jones said:


> Most of the shows I really want to watch are taped so I can speed right thru all those commercials.GOD!!! I love doing that.


Same here, Davey. It's the way to go !


----------



## Old Salt (Nov 9, 2019)

*"Me? I'll take today's world. Living color, warts and all." StarSong*

I agree with that sentiment! Not only in regards to TV but to ethnic mixtures in general. Well, I wouldn't be a proper Canadian if I didn't, would I!


----------



## Old Salt (Nov 9, 2019)

DaveA said:


> Same here, Davey. It's the way to go !


Me, too! I have been recording all my shows for years. Even the news!


----------



## Marie5656 (Nov 10, 2019)

*Wow, and older thread I have never seen before.  I love a lot of the old Black and white movies.  Sunset Blvd is a favorite.  Also, a favorite older Christmas movie is Holiday Affair with Robert Mitchem and Janet Leigh.  It is hard to find, so last year Rick found it and Put it onto a DVD for me.*


----------



## Marie5656 (Nov 10, 2019)

StarSong said:


> My point was that these shows depicted a very narrow, very vanilla slice of life.  Because they all showed very similar lives, they and their accompanying commercials seemed to be representative of the whole.  And they clearly were not.
> 
> Non-whites (other than very stereotypical roles) were all but ignored completely. As were non-Christians, homosexuals, people struggling to put food on the table, divorced families, women working in jobs others than those I mentioned, etc.



*You make an excellent point, StarSong.  I grew up in a small town. Not quite Mayberry, but I did not even meet my first person of color until I was about 13 and had a single black classmate (he and I became friends through high school).  I think I was here in my current town before I met my first  "out" gay person.  I spent a lot of my younger adult life with a very closeted out look on life.  I have grown though.*


----------



## Trade (Nov 10, 2019)

When you hear someone pining for the "Good Old Days" It's almost always going to be a white person.


----------

