My mentor was Nick At Nite: The Donna Reed Show, My Three Sons, Gidget, Mr. Ed, Dennis the Menace, The Patty Duke Show, etc. Also similar shows that syndicated

My mentor was Nick At Nite: The Donna Reed Show, My Three Sons, Gidget, Mr. Ed, Dennis the Menace, The Patty Duke Show, etc. Also similar shows that syndicated during the late 80s and early 90s, like the Andy Griffith Show, Webster, The Jeffersons, and especially Good Times--which despite being white and relatively rural I identified most with. I grew up with near zero supervision so I would often watch these shows into the wee hours. I knew that the behaviors in these shows were idealized and in large part imaginary, but I also believed they represented the types of relationships and goals I should aspire to if I wanted to learn to behave like the non poor. In retrospect I think my beliefs were pretty healthy considering the circumstances, and in particular more constructive than, e.g., aspiring to be like sports stars. There's something to be said for demanding, if not mandating, strong moral codes in our popular entertainment. In many ways those old 1950s era shows were far more mature than the current fare. We tend to think of those characters as naive, but I don't think the characters, writers, nor audiences were naive.