The iconic whistle on the TV screen communicates something to the baby boomer generation. My father used to watch reruns of the classic comedy The Andy Griffith Show, which follows the life of single dad and Mayberry town sheriff, Andy Taylor. Along with his son Opie, partner Barney, and a whole cast of characters in the town, they create many seasons of love and laughter for fans. In today’s world, Netflix and DVR are second nature and I even had the opportunity to Netflix the show at my leisure. In the early 60’s that was non-existent, so everyone gathered around the TV whenever it was on. If someone missed it, then they also could not follow the buzz about it the next day. This show was designed to represent the ideals of small-town America in the early 1960’s. There are moments and interactions in the show that give a sense to viewers of what the show was trying to communicate. Whether it was the stereotypes of certain characters or the personal identities they all struggled with, each character communicated a different part of this sleepy town.
Being the sheriff of a small town means that Andy is looked up to as a role model in the community and is held to a high standard amongst the other citizens. In one particular episode “Opie’s Charity,” Andy is dismayed to find out that Opie only gave three cents to the charity for needy children. Other kids in the neighborhood with financial trouble, gave up to two dollars (about 15 today). People in the town were looking at Andy in shame because being a sheriff is a decent paying and highly respected job and so Opie should have donated much more. Opie continuously told his father that he was saving the money to buy his girlfriend a present. The sentiment was nice but there were real kids in need who could use that money more than his girlfriend needed a gift. As Judith Martin says in her textbook “Intercultural Communication,” “We have many identities, and these can conflict.” (Martin 202). Andy does not want Opie to think buying a gift for someone is a bad thing, but he also has a reputation in the town for being a man of high honor and many people look up to him. Martin also highlights how “We use the various ways that identity is constructed to portray our-selves as we want others to see us” (Martin 202). Andy has to decide whether to user his identity as a father, a sheriff or simply a citizen of Mayberry who cares for the needy. After arguing with and later grounding Opie, Aunt Bee believes Andy is taking his identity as a sheriff to seriously and is not coming at the situation with a father’s heart. He lets Opie down for supper, only to find out that he was going to use the money to buy a coat for his girlfriend because she was one of the needy Children. Andy still has a slight wish that Opie would donate the money, so the charity would buy the coast for her and Andy would keep his reputation. He quickly realizes how ridiculous he is acting and praises Opie for having such a kind heart. Andy learns that he will still be a respected sheriff and knows that he is doing the right thing by his son.
One of the biggest themes throughout the show is stereotypes. This TV show was meant to model what people expect of towns at that time. There are areas of the show in which stereotypes are followed and where they are not. In the episode “Andy and Opie: Bachelors,” the two guys fit into the typical male stereotype of being unable to do housework. Aunt Bee goes out of town and the boys spend the episode burning food and leaving the house with wrinkled clothes because they are not able to do housework. A family friend ends up having to help them throughout the episode, so they can survive. Martin highlights that “We pick up stereotypes in many ways, including from the media” (Martin 208). Andy and Opie are the media example of men needing help. It is later exposed that because Andy started with the police force so young, he never had the time to learn these matters. By the end of the episode, the family friend begins to teach Opie a few things in the kitchen and Andy sees how these skills could be beneficial even if Opie grows up to become a working man. Another Prime example is when stereotypes are wrong. In the same paragraph of the book Martin discusses how “In TV shows and movies, Older people are generally seen as needing help” (Martin 208). In the episode “The shoplifters,” a local store owner comes to Andy and Barney trying to figure out who is stealing from the store. They have no leads when all of a sudden Andy bumps into a little old lady and hears a clanking sound. When they take her outside, she claims she is being harassed and the store owner tells the officers to leave the old lady alone. In the end they place her a bathroom scale and determine that she weighs too much for someone her size and find the stash of goodies under her jacket. The town is shocked because an old lady is not someone that is thought about as a shoplifter. Everyone thought it might have been the tourists or the rowdy teenagers but not someone as sweet and innocent as an old lady. In this case, a positive stereotype was proven wrong because now the town knew that an old lady was just as capable of committing a crime as anyone else.
Throughout the show, Andy best exemplifies the Mercy Core Value of Justice. He has to right by the town and by his own family without breaking the rules. Whether it be charity donations or catching robbers or just being a dad, he has to make just decisions in every episode. Later on, in the seasons, he introduces a lady who would later become a step mom to Opie. He has to be fair to Ms. Helen and love her but also understand that Opie has always had his dad all to himself. Andy also has to be aware of his fairness because in such a small town, he sometimes has to punish people he used to know or is friendly with. The theme of Justice as well as other Mercy core values are visible in the show and in the way the cast communicates with each other.
The Andy Griffith show is a model for communication, even if the intercultural aspect is a little different. In a small southern town, it is easy to think everyone is the same, but this show proves that each person has their own identity and style of communicating that is unique to them. The ways in which Andy governs the town and maintains personnel relationships with each character is important to how the shows dynamic is played out. Many people say that shows of today will never hold up to the shows of the past and through this project experience, I learned that they may be right.
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