Good Times
Originally aired on CBS in 1974 as a spinoff of the sitcom Maude, Good Times was a Black situation comedy based on the everyday lives of a Black Chicago family during the height of the civil rights movement (Deane, 2004). The cast starred Esther Rolles as the mother Florida Evans who first appeared as the maid in the television show Maude, John Amos as the father James Evans who starred in the hit miniseries Roots, comedian Jimmie Walker who played the oldest son James Evans Jr. (JJ), Ja'net DuBois as neighbor and friend of the Evans family Willona Woods, Ralph Carter who played the youngest son Michael Evans, and Anderson Bern Nadette Stanis as daughter Thelma Evans (Deane, 2004).
Good Times took place in the assimilated hybrid minstrelsy genre of Black sitcoms which means that it often had offensive stereotypical aspects present such as mammy and sambo characters, but these characteristics took place in a traditional white sitcom setting and often had references to the Black civil rights movement that was taking place at the time. Originally created to show African Americans in a different more positive light, it gained popularity with Black and White audiences quickly and rated number seventeen for the 1973-1974 seasons (Ingram, 2004). As the show proceeded however, it began to drift away from its original purpose as the character JJ's popularity began to grow. Often criticized for his similarities to buffoonish minstrel characters in early television history, JJ was seen as doing a disservice to the show causing Esther Rolles and John Amos to leave. Attempting to continue the show and regain ratings, the show's producers centered episodes around the hijinks of JJ, but alas the show's ratings continued to fall and the show was cancelled. This brings us to the question at hand. Was Good Times a show that portrayed Blacks in a positive manner to the American public, or was it more of the nail in the coffin to the positive identity of Black America?
Positive Aspects
Good Times was an interesting 1970's television comedy series that explored the life of a poor black family. This family was simply trying to get by and have a good life in the projects of Chicago. The Evans family was a family that faced real problems on the show and encountered many different situations which they had to overcome. When the show was debuted on February 1, 1974, the series starred John Amos and Esther Rolle as James and Maude (the parents) (Ingram).
“Leave it to Beaver” was a popular sitcom about a traditional nuclear family played out through the perspective of an adolescent boy whose curiosity and antics often got him into trouble (TV.com). Despite the show promoting positive family values, it also inadvertently shed light on a historically dark period of time in American history. One such instance was the lack of diversity on the show. Nearly 100% of the show’s characters were white throughout the six-season, 234 episode series. In the single episode that depicted an African-American, the character was a servant, further a reflection of the times when African-Americans where predominantly seen and treated as second-class citizens (Leaveittobeaver.org). However, this 1950’s ideal serves as a reference point to what typical families looked like and how vastly different they look now.
The Era of Good Feelings was one in which the federalist dissolved thus leaving only one party; the republicans which left no room for party politics, this resulted into nationalism which was emphasized not only with that of Madison's letter but also the Star Spangled Banner, the Bonus Bill, the Monroe Doctrine, The Court Decisions of John Marshall and most importantly National Spirit through the U.S. After the win of James Monroe a Virginian Republican president nationalism was looked at through that of a great perspective wherein Monroe won 231 of the electoral vote verses Adams who only won 1 of the electoral vote.(Doc I-Presidential Election, 1820) Also as the war between American and Britain came to a halt there were some minor issues that took place however, both countries settled the disputes between each other rather than going to war. This is because the British had taken note to U.S. sovereignty, therefore the U.S. was able to put forth Nationalistic ideals seeing that one of the strongest European nations had now respected the sovereignty that we a young country had established. This was followed by a letter that Madison wrote to congress in 1815 which represented once again the spirit of National Pride. With such aspects of National ideals in place National Spirit could take place wherein flags, words, prominent symbols and slogans were used to increase Nationalism.
That 70’s show is about Eric Forman and his teenage friends and also is family members that live in Point Place Wisconsin through the time period of 1976-1979. The biggest surprise about the series is that despite it being only a three year time frame it managed to run for eight seasons that was seen on Fox from 1998 to 2006 which became the networks second longest running live action sitcom only trailing the show married with children. Despite the fact that the show wasn’t really based in the 70’s the production of the show did a good job to make it seem like they lived in the 70’s with cars, music etc… It’s kind of weird that the show was named “that 70’s show” when it didn’t officially take place during the 70’s.
The Impact of African-American Sitcoms on America's Culture Since its start, the television industry has been criticized for perpetuating myths and stereotypes about African-Americans through characterizations, story lines, and plots. The situation comedy has been the area that has seemed to draw the most criticism, analysis, and disapproval for stereotyping. From Sanford and Son and The Jefferson’s in the 1970s to The Cosby Show (1984) and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in the 1990s, sitcoms featuring black casts and characters have always been controversial. However, their significance upon our American culture cannot be disregarded.
African Americans struggled with their dignity and struggles for justice and inequality. Jim Crow was basically laws that were enforcing racism.There were a lot of signs in the street that said, “For Colored Only”, or “Whites Only.” They had schools for only the whites, laundromats that were also only for the whites; they had schools for only blacks and laundromats for only the blacks. Having Ivan, who played Duff and Abbey, who played Josie, be an African-American couple who really didn’t have much and struggled with discrimination shows us how really bad racism was back in the day.This film showed us the racial injustice, societal roles and spouse abuse. It also showed us how racism and the struggle to find jobs affected a lot of African Americans and their
Along with America's help, the ISI had assistance from a striking and very wealthy, young man named Osama bin Laden. He joined the ISI, as a favor to the head of Saudi intelligence and his good friend, Prince Turki. Bin Laden quickly assumed the important role includ...
The collapse of slavery after the Civil War sent social and political shockwaves throughout America. Within four bloody years the cemented concept of slavery was suddenly destroyed, but the ideology of white superiority over blacks remained throughout the country. The minstrel shows were a direct result of this surviving ideology and it reinvigorated the discrimination towards blacks. The shows were comedic acts starring blacks that slandered their demeanor and behavior through satirization. These shows saw the most prominence in America during the mid 19th century and were performed across the nation. The minstrel shows and entertainment industry reflected the widely accepted the social differences of the time between blacks and whites and
They had to deal with racism, prejudice, and hate. People might have well ruined the
Delacroix’s boss, Thomas Dunwitty, feels entitled to be and “act black and no matter how hard he tries to be black, he will always be white. Dunwitty is a typical racist that loves and appreciates Black culture, but doesn’t love and appreciate Black people. In the movie, he only wants to use Black people for entertainment and only wants to see them portrayed as their stereotype, which is being ignorant idiots. He doesn’t want educated Black people on his network. No, he wants the obedient, compliant “nigger” who is willing to do anything for “massa”. Dunwitty wants a “nigga” show. He wanted to use “being a nigga” as entertainment. He loved the fact that the show makes an absolute mockery of slavery and Black people because he thinks it’s not racist or wrong because it was made by a Black person. This movie showed me that no matter how hard we try to destroy stereotypes, they will always be in effect. People don’t want a show that shows black empowerment, truth, positivity, or Black intelligence. They only want the ignorant Black people, the stupidity, disrespect, and negativity. People want Black people to be portrayed this way on television just to say “see this is really how they act”. Intelligent Black people with dignity
... incident with Sam or his affection with Betty Jo could be used to show that he still cared about the African Americans but was also superior. Many of the White children in Wade had this problem; they felt that they had responsibilities to hold but still knew to care and show respect towards the African Americans.
Negative things are said about African Americans on a daily basis. From the beginning we have had stereotypes built up against us tearing down our image in society. Over the years it would seem that African Americans would want to fix this image of them but instead they have continued to build to this negativity. One of the main reasons why this image is present until this day is reality television. Although it may not be real, portraying these images on television gives both sexes of the African American race a bad name. Even though some of these shows are funny what needs to be realized is that the people watching these shows are not laughing with African Americans, but instead at them.
In the U.S., GM foods have received little public opposition; this is largely due to the fact that food manufacturers are not required to label their products as containing genetically modified ingredients for fear of confusing consumers. Due to the lack of evidence that genetically altered foods are harmful, the Food and Drug Administration considers GM foods to be “generally regarded as safe” (known as GRAS) and no special labeling is required (Falkner 103). In the U.S., genetically modified crops are monitored by t...
THOSE OF US WHO grew up in the 1950s got an image of the American family that was not, shall we say, accurate. We were told, Father Knows Best, Leave It to Beaver, and Ozzie and Harriet were not just the way things were supposed to be—but the way things were
...he mexican-american war on residents and individuals in both countries clearly violated the just war principles. (“Impact of the Mexican American war”)
Cellular phones are the world’s most popular mobile device used by Americans today. What many Americans fail to realize are the negative impacts cell phones may have on someone. Cell phones are distracting, they can cause benign tumors and cancer, can used for cyber bullying, spread germs, and viruses, and are highly addictive. Indeed, billions of people all over the world use cell phones. Many of those people do not realize how dangerous cell phones really are.