Socially Constructed Stereotypes in All in the Family, The Jefferson’s and The Cosby Show.

1311 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: media impact on bias

Eye witness accounts of events are not always accurate. The accounts depicted by depend on how witnesses read the situation. The same is true when interpreting the depiction of race and/or ethnicity in media productions. Because situations gain meaning through the process of social construction (the interpretation of a situation based on one’s knowledge), the same event can be viewed and internalized by witnesses who render opposing viewpoints. This analysis will compare the depiction and rejection of socially constructed stereotypes relative to race and ethnicity in three situation comedies: All in the Family, The Jefferson’s and The Cosby Show.

Norman Lear, a political and social activist, teamed up with Bud Yorkin and formed Tandem Productions which developed and produced the sitcoms All in the Family and The Jefferson’s, among others. All in the Family (1971 to 1979) and The Jefferson’s (1975-1985), a spin-off and ‘black cast’ version of the predominately ‘white cast’ All in the Family, aired on CBS television network after being declined by ABC network. Lear’s bigoted father provided the basis for script dialog. (Winzenburg 2004)(NormanLear.com). The Cosby Show (1984 – 1992), created by Bill Cosby, based on his life-story, aired on NBC after being rejected from ABC. Though the main cast of The Jefferson’s and The Cosby Show are ‘black’, critics claim these shows instill ‘white’ elements and are not representative of black struggles (Class Dismissed, film).

Both Archie Bunker (All in the Family) and George Jefferson (The Jefferson’s) are opinionated bigots incapable of substantiating their arguments. In Archie’s case, his bumbling buffoon antics support the stereotypical working-class intell...

... middle of paper ...

...” Journal of Black Studies. 25:6. 1995. Web. Pg. 692-711. 12 Nov. 2013

Winzenburg, Stephen. TVs Greatest Sitcoms. Excerpts Chapter One. 2004. Web. 12 Nov. 2013

Normanlear.com. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. http://normanlear.com

“Bill Cosby Biograph.” The Biography Channel website. 2013. 18 Nov. 2013 http://www.biography.com/people/bill-cosby-9258468.

Palmer, Gareth. ““The Cosby Show”—an ideologically based analysis.” Critical Survey. 6:2. 1994. Pg. 188-194. Web. 12 Nov. 2013.

Luther, Catherine A. and Jodi L. Rightler-McDaniels. ““More Trouble than the Good Lord Ever Intended”: Representations of Interracial Marriage in U.S. News-Oriented Magazines.” Journal of Magazine & New Media Research. 14:1. 2013. Web. 12 Nov. 2013.

McCarthy, Tyler. “Sitcom success a reflection of changing society.” Daily Campus. 29 Jan. 2012. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.

Show More
Related

  • Examples Of Deviant Behavior In The Simpsons

    861 Words  | 2 Pages

    Move over Jetson there is a new beloved animated family in town, the Simpsons. The Simpson’s originally aired on December 17th, 1989 and has yet to make us stop laughing. The Simpson’s follow a not so typical American family from the fictional town of Springfield. The episode follow the satirical lives of Homer (Dad), Marge (mom), Bart (brother), Lisa (sister), and Maggie (little sister). Though this is a satirical TV show many episodes provide excellent points and example of material covered in a sociology class. The episode “Marge not be Proud” gives multiple examples of deviant behavior and this essay will discuss two of them.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Jefferson Show

    711 Words  | 2 Pages

    “According to, “The Jefferson,” it was one of the longest running sitcoms in the history of American television from “1975 through 1985,” The Jefferson show was mainly an African American couple living in New York City. However, the show tackles several controversial topics such as racism, suicide, gun control and adult illiteracy. “The show constantly used words such as “nigger” and “honky”, especially during the earlier seasons.” (Academy Of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation from 1995-2013)

    Read More

  • Blended Families In The 1970's

    1247 Words  | 3 Pages

    Americans love their television, and television loves the American family. Since the 1970’s, the depiction of the American family on television has gone through many changes. In the 70s, the Brady Bunch showed an all-white nuclear family. Today, Modern Family, shows a family of blended races, ages, and sexualities. For thirty years, the sitcom family has reflected the changing society of its time and there is no exception of this for the families in The Brady Bunch and Modern Family. The lifestyle, social aspects, and economics situations of the Bradys and the Pritchett-Dunphys are similar in their attempts to portray the lives of families of their time, but differ drastically in the types of families they represent. The characters in Modern

    Read More

  • Racial Stereotypes in Television

    1767 Words  | 4 Pages

    helping. Television is making the shows out to seem like one race is better than another. For

    Read More

  • The Impact of African-American Sitcoms on America's Culture

    974 Words  | 2 Pages

    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. During the 1950s and 1960s, 97% of the families were Caucasian. In the first five years of the 1990s, nearly 14% of the television families were African-American (Bryant 2001). These statistics obviously show the substantial impact our American culture has had on African-American television families.

    Read More

  • children stereotypes on tv

    1245 Words  | 3 Pages

    “The Proud Family” is a children’s program that runs daily on The Disney Channel and on Saturday mornings on ABC Kids. It is a TV-G rated program. The show is about an African-American family with the last name Proud. There is a mom, dad, three kids, and a grandmother. The main character of the show is the oldest daughter named Penny Proud who is probably in junior high. Also, some of Penny’s friends are in the show. All of the characters in this show are stereotyped by many things such as race and gender, including Penny.

    Read More

  • African Americans role of Television

    2271 Words  | 5 Pages

    The roles African Americans play on television are not satisfactory. Though the roles have changed during the development of television, the current relationship is not representative of true African American people or their lifestyles. The question is how do the past roles African Americans play in television sitcoms compare to the current roles? How does this affect society’s perception of the African American in American culture? Throughout the history of television the roles and the representation of African Americans has developed with the changing cultural conditions. However, the representation of African American’s has not fully simulated into today’s society. What the average citizen views on his or her television does not accurately portray the African American’s influence on America.

    Read More

  • Seinfeld's Impact on American Culture

    2263 Words  | 5 Pages

    "Seinfeld" was always present in my home during its nine-year run on Thursday nights as "Must See TV," and the social commentary was welcome humor. However, not everyone was thrilled by Seinfeld's prominence in American society and the subject matter with which Seinfeld dealt. Many Christians, Jews and other minorities had problems with the show's portrayal of their respective groups. Despite criticism from ethnic and religious groups, Jerry Seinfeld and his show were possibly the best sources of social commentary that America's mainstream had to offer. The show is missed in today's current television line-up and no post-"Seinfeld" sitcom has come to the same level of cultural criticism.

    Read More

  • Media Creates Negative Psychological Impacts towards Racial Stereotyping

    968 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the modern world, all kinds of oppressions involve a dominant cultural psychology that causes different communities to be suppressed on diverse social, racial grounds. There is usually a hierarchy of oppression in which some communities are perceived to be less valuable than others. However, stereotypes are usually utilized to rationalize this domination and to label individuals on certain type while marginalization is the social process of being demoted to the lower social standing. On the other hand, oppression is any form can be visible at the personal or social level in the media as media reaches several individuals regularly and has the power to influence at all the levels of society and contributing significantly to stereotyping, marginalization and oppression of different communities around the world. The paper aims to critically analyze that in what way media impacts psychology of people by portraying particular communities in the diverse society in such a way that the depiction leads to stereotyping, marginalization and oppression of racial groups. For this purpose, two key resources are used in this paper. One is a web article by Sarah Senghas, named “Racial Stereotypes in the Media” published in 2006, and the second one is an empirical research paper by Elizabeth Monk-Turner, Mary Heiserman, Crystle Johnson,Vanity Cotton, and Manny Jackson, “The Portrayal of Racial Minorities on Prime Time Television: A Replication of the Mastro and Greenberg Study a Decade Later” published in 2010.

    Read More

  • Racial Stereotypes on Television

    1870 Words  | 4 Pages

    For many years, racial and ethnic stereotypes have been portrayed on multiple television programs. These stereotypes are still illustrated on a day-to-day basis even though times have changed. Racial or ethnic stereotypes should not be perpetuated on certain television programs. These stereotypes provide false information about groups, do not account for every person, allow older generations to influence younger generations, create tension between groups, and affect people in many ways.

    Read More

  • Mister Rogers' Positive Influence on Children

    3929 Words  | 8 Pages

    Some television critics have abused “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” Several statements declare he is a wimp because of his general caring approach on the show. Not only have television critics made negative remarks, but the children’s show has also been made fun of on late night television shows such as “The Tonight Show” with Johnny Carson as well as Eddie Murphy on Saturday Night Live (Bianculli 43). On a different level of criticism, the older siblings of those who watch the show develop negative opinions of “Mister ...

    Read More

  • The Daily Show Analysis

    1717 Words  | 4 Pages

    This intolerance served as the driving force behind the creation of The Daily Show. Over the show’s lifetime, it evolved from a light-hearted parody of television news presenters to a show that seriously critiqued the underlying messages of news programs themselves and undoubtedly skewed those in power. “It has established itself as a source of legitimate critical examination of American political and media culture, and of current events.” (Popkin) Stewart’s boldness grudgingly earned respect from many big names in politics, further contributing to his credibility.

    Read More

  • The Trial Of R Kelly Essay

    718 Words  | 2 Pages

    According to A Novel Approach to Politics “Questions about the very nature of reality seem to be common in fiction of all sorts.” Especially, The Boondocks, a fictional cartoon, uses satire to describe real events that happen in society. The episode I tuned into was “The Trial of R. Kelly”, which explained how R. Kelly won his trial and the views of the people about his case. In the episode, the people outside the court house showed different cognitive frameworks of how they view R. Kelly situation. In other words, the media made sense of the reality of R. Kelly situation in different ways because of the media wanted to select certain information. In this paper, I will explain how the media exemplified mediated reality and agreement reality in the “The Trial of R. Kelly” episode of The Boondocks.

    Read More

  • Everybody Hates Chris

    1151 Words  | 3 Pages

    Since television came into existence, it has evolved into a useful tool to spread ideas, both social and political, and has had a great effect on the generations growing up with these heavily influential shows. To these younger generations, television has taken the role of a teacher, with the task of creating a social construction by which many of us base our personal beliefs and judgments on. This power allows television shows take the opportunity to address problems in a manner that many audiences can take to heart. Many television shows present controversial topics in a comical matter, in some ways to soften the blow of hard-hitting reality at the same time bringing attention to the issue being addressed. In the television show, Everybody Hates Chris, season one, episode four entitled “Everybody Hates Sausage”, the stereotypes that continue to fuel racism are examined in a satirical motif, and class is presented in a comical way, but carries serious undertones which present a somewhat realistic view of the different social strata within the United States.

    Read More

  • Video Analysis of Color Adjustment

    1952 Words  | 4 Pages

    Marlon T. Riggs’ video, Color Adjustment, offers the viewer an exciting trip though the history of television, focusing on the representation, or lack thereof, of African-Americans. A perfectly chosen combination of television producers, actors, sociologists, and cultural critics join forces to offer insight and professional opinion about the status of African-Americans in television since the inception of television itself. As Color Adjustment traces the history of television shows from Amos n’ Andy and Julia to "ghetto sitcoms" and The Cosby Show, the cast of television professionals and cultural critics discuss the impacts those representations have on both the African-American community and our society as a whole. Color Adjustment continually asks the question: "Are these images positive?" This video raises the viewer’s awareness about issues of positive images for African-Americans on television.

    Read More

More about Socially Constructed Stereotypes in All in the Family, The Jefferson’s and The Cosby Show.

Open Document