Behind the White Picket Fence

Some think living a cookie cutter lifestyle is best - and from outside of the invisible glass dome that surrounds the suburbs - it may seem that way. In TV shows (ex. Leave it to Beaver) and movies, suburban life seems simple - the houses are all the same, the lawns are all the same, everyone is the same - perfect. Everyone is happy.

You're typical suburban family:
happy, perfect, zero problems

At one time the suburbs were the perfect place to live and start a family because that's what they were originally built for. After World War 2 was over and the soldiers came back home, the first thing they wanted to do was get married and have babies with their wives. Waiting throughout the war had worn down their patience and they wanted to get started and have a place of their own to live as soon as possible.

This was a common problem for young veterans until a man named William Levitt developed the idea of a suburban sprawl or Levittown as the first one was called. 

These towns were built specifically for veterans and their families as they had the appeal of being less crowded and less expensive than a place in the city. Also, the houses in these "Levittowns" could be built fairly quickly for the couple who wanted to get started on their new life right away. 

While "the suburbs" had started out with a positive connotation, as time began to pass, the suburbs began to lose their charm. 

Many begun to feel  that there was too much...sameness.

Look how much variety! So many interesting
people must live here!

As the years passed, the connotation the suburbs conjured up became more and more...questionable. Sure there were those that still saw suburbia as a great place to raise their kids - where they could be surrounded by like people and not worry about crime.

But, there were also those that began to see the suburbs as a place where EVERYONE was the same. White, boring, same occupation, same car. Everyone was the same.

Soon, books and movies were written where, if the author wanted a dull setting, they would write their play, book, etc. as taking place in the suburbs.

John Cheever, an American author let his thoughts of  life suburban life shine through in a short story titled, The Swimmer. 

John Cheever - Mister Rogers?

The Swimmer is a criticism of the stagnant life that is suburbia. The story revolves around Neddy Merrill, a typical suburban husband and father who becomes absorbed in the cyclical nature of life in the suburbs causing him to ignore his family as his life falls apart. In a metaphor for the passing years, Neddy embarks on a journey through his town that -- to him -- seems to take only a day, but by his journey's end, we find out that along the way, he has had an affair, become a drunkard, and harassed his friends for money. He arrives home to an empty house - his wife and children have left long ago but he had never noticed.

Today, the suburbs are still given this stereotype. Suburbia in fiction is often full of airheads, ignorance, and rebellious children trying to escape the impending doom of turning into their cardboard cut-out parents.

What was once a haven for easy living has turned into a black hole, sucking out the life of those who live within.