1950s Happy Family Sharing A Beautiful Meal... When we tuned into our television sets in the 1950s, this was the familiar scene that greeted us, the idealized family unit we all aspired to... Here we have a picture-perfect family, beaming with joy, dressed to the nines, and a mother adorned in a charming apron... Father looks on adoringly, and the kids are enthusiastically excited, while Mom certainly carves the bird... Were the family values we held in the 1950s a mirage, a shimmering image that fades upon closer inspection? If you portrayed the family of today, what would this picture look like?