More Power to Bill

The Cosby show set the representational and marketing standards that continue to determine what types of African American shows get produced, and where those shows are sold. I find it interesting that the Cosby show also started it all for the international networks. This show has taken the non-stereotypical idea of the African American family and has showed America and other places that African American people can act in all different ways. They aren’t the stereotypical view such as being “ghetto” or a low income family. I feel that the Cosby show has also opened doors for African American movie productions. I agree with what la monarca wrote from “The White Gaze” which was the idea of pride in a positive image of distinctly African American society were both prominent in the Coleman and Havens pieces. The Cosby show was a reason for African Americans to finally show pride in their culture without it being shown in a negative light.

What are Black sitcoms really like?

Black Sitcom Portrayals written by Robin Coleman, examines the way African American’s are depicted in TV shows anything from That’s My Mama, The Jeffersons to The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Coleman’s essay is very strong because he backs up his points via opinions from African American’s about their own personal feelings towards these TV Shows (J.C. Lonette, and Freddie). Blacks in TV shows are more often portrayed in a negative light and linked to a lower working class because wealth is often depicted with “whiteness.” Henry Louis Gates argues that, “television has failed to represent the full economic spectrum of African Americans. Yet they also seem to believe that all economically ascended Blacks have their immediate roots in the underclass and/or ghetto…” (81). Stereotypes of blacks and whites seem to affect TV shows a lot, White’s are not always super rich and unappreciative of money as shown in 90210 or Gossip Girl and African American’s do not always live in poor neighborhoods full of crime and gangs as shown in Lincoln Heights. J.C argues how even sometimes in TV shows like The Fresh Prince of Bel Air when the good kid is black and he possesses good values and behaviors he is picked on for that. In many predominately black TV shows the kids are either trouble makers or come from a troubled household, or else have been “rescued”/cleaned up and adopted by a white family. Below is a video of the teen TV show 90210, 90210 consists predominately of extremely rich white teenagers who go to high school and constantly throw huge parties, drive ridiculously expensive cars, and live in million dollar homes in Beverly Hills, California. The only kid in the TV show who is African American happens to also be the only one who is adopted in the show by a wealthy white family. Even though he talks with a “slang” he dresses like many would say a “white boy.”

Another part of this article I found really interesting that I personally can relate a lot to through a friend of mine is the argument Coleman and his participants explain, “Hollywood’s preference for lighter-skinned African Americans....the participants saw television communicating that African Americans with White features are better (84). I find this to be really interesting and obvious in many TV shows and even in magazines. Models used are often very light skinned African Americans (who almost look ethnically ambiguous) it is not often that you see a really dark-skinned African American used. As the participants explain they feel this brings back their feelings of segregation they used to experience and still sometimes do presently. The lighter skinned African American’s are used for more beauty and can show more richness. Automatically I connected this to my best friend Meghna who is Indian and from Gujarat, India (North India). She has always told me, “I hate my skin getting dark.” Through curiosity five years ago I asked why? I really wanted to know. As she explained to me, the darker you are the less beautiful it is seen in her Indian culture, lighter is beauty and richness, it sort of shows their class in society. They would say, “The lighter, the better, and the more beautiful.” I found that to be really interesting. I never would have connected the lighter skin to beauty or class, but when Meghna looks at pictures of her and all her friends on Facebook she proudly likes to see she is the “white-est” Indian in the picture.

The last point I would like to make regarding this essay is Coleman’s participant, Billie’s argument about the misrepresentation of the Black church. Whenever I see the representation of the Black church in movies it is true that I see it as this happy, choir singing, dancing place, as Billie states, “[The Black church is seen] only in a derogatory way. Just jumpin’ around, dancing’, Black people’s roots are in the church, but they never see us as Catholics or Presbyterians. Just [as] rockin’ and dancin’ and jumpin’ up and down.” (85). Take a look at the end of the movie Big Mamma’s House, unfortunately I agree with Billie that the church is not really represented properly it is not seen as a place engaged in worship, but rather a place to “jump around.”

90210


Big Mamma's House

black sitcoms

Robin R. Means's article "Black Sitcom Portrayals" gives a very good insight on the complexities and themes of some sitcoms that predominately feature African Americans throughout their creation. He uses Class Depictions (79), African American Culture/Communities (84), and Identity and Self-Image (86) as sub themes in his topic that discuss the issues. Means goes into detail a lot about class and how class is portrayed amongst African Americans in sitcoms. For example most feature them living in less than perfect conditions that we expect the "perfect" American home to be, like with a white picket fence, happy parents, two kids, and a dog. Some shows feature characters living as a single parent, or living poor. While "The Cosby Show" features a family living middle to upper class (88).

I have a lot of points to make about this article but its hard to say without coming across like a complete racist, but, I find it interesting that it is okay for the sitcoms that feature african amercians to almost be allowed to ridicule white people as part of the jokes. In turn, it is not okay for a live action sitcom, featuring predominately whites, to be able to make the same sort of jokes. Obviously both occur vice versa, but I believe it occurs more in black sitcoms. Jokes like: "look at that white boy, or cracker [ do something stupid]" I have heard before in some of these black sitcoms. If the tables were turned, and a group of white people said something regarding the N word, I do not believe it would be allowed to broadcast. Race is a very touchy thing on television and it is hard to handle it right, but the point I am trying to make is that blacks get more leeway when it comes to making jokes regarding whites or any other race for that matter, including their own race. Obviously there is a lot of historical and cultural history that makes all of that possible.

Overall I think that the article was a very fascinating read and how Means pulled it off was very well done without coming across too harsh.

Black Sitcoms: Myths and Global Successes

Black Sitcom Portrayals, by Robin R. Means Coleman, examines the way African Americans are depicted in sitcoms. Typically, blacks on television have been associated with the lower working class, inferiority, and lack of upward mobility. Shows such as The Jeffersons counter this stereotype by “presenting economic achievement in the black community.” (80) Blacks are displayed as self-sufficient and of higher status, which presents a unique picture of rich African Americans. Freddie also considers the maintained relationship between affluent and poor blacks important, as wealth can be “misconstrued as whiteness,” as seen in the Cosby Show. J. C. likes to see moralistic values in African American sitcom characters such as Fresh Prince’s Carlton, despite the ridicule by other characters. Gale believes black men should be seen as the authoritative figure of an intact family, and supports a husband-wife team as opposed to the single-parent trend. J.C. claims that black females are often portrayed as partnerless and choose good looks over substance. The men are often deficient in love and family life and are mostly failures. Multiple participants also called attention to the fact that Hollywood prefers lighter skinned African Americans with white features over darker skin, leading to intraracial segregation. In addition, participants were also angered over the absence of the black church in sitcoms, although they admit that churches in general tend to be left out of any sitcom. Jennifer offers further opposition to sitcoms that focus on black struggles that focus on racism, since many blacks have to deal with those issues daily and don’t view them as entertainment. However, Valerie, Lonette, and Jasmine can relate to the strong, successful, independent black women portrayed in shows such as Living Single.

Timothy Haven’s ‘The Biggest Show in the World’: Race and the Global Popularity of “The Cosby Show” also deals with African American portrayal in sitcoms, by focusing on The Cosby Show and how it has achieved global success. The Cosby Show set the standards for African American shows, in a time when middle-class African American sitcoms are being increasingly exported into a decreasingly regulated economy. Audiences are beginning to identify themselves based on gender, race, and ethnicity as opposed to nationality, which contributes to global success of shows such as The Cosby Show. Gillespie argues that imported culture contributes to the creation of new ethic identities. Many non-white viewers feel a connection to The Cosby Show due to a common history and regional identity, which correlates with race and helps explain the transnational dimensions of radicalized television discourse. The Cosby Show was most popular outside the U.S. and received high ratings in countries such as Lebanon and Norway. Successes and failures of the show are explained when analyzing the response to the show in the UK and South Africa. In the UK The Cosby Show was aired on an upscale channel, and was poorly received by black audiences, while in South Africa the show aired on a channel for general audiences and was popular with blacks. The state of the television industry and racial political climate also contributes to a show’s level of success. Viacom held the copyright laws for The Cosby Show from 1984 to 1994—a time of decreased regulation of television systems, increased programming needs, and technological innovation. Viacom experienced an increase in exports as non-western countries opened their markets to U.S. goods. When satellite TV was introduced, Viacom eagerly and cheaply filled programming gaps with The Cosby Show, and the initial lack of confidence in the show was soon disproved by its success. Still, its hard to say why this certain show was so well received, as Family Ties was a similar show and only differed from The Cosby Show in race. Havens suggests the show was popular because it avoided dealing directly with American economic problems and short-term political issues, instead focusing on domestic life and familial growth, which diversified groups can relate to. Both blacks and whites appreciate the dignity and upper-middle-class values of the show’s characters.

I chose to show a clip from The Cosby Show, since it is mentioned by Coleman a few times and served as the basis for Haven’s main argument. In terms of Coleman’s reading, the show is praised for representing black families as successful, wholesome, and financially sound. Wealth is displayed immediately, as Bill Cosby is dressed in a suit. Also, son Theo mentions that his father is a doctor and his mother is a lawyer. Additionally, the basis of the conversation revolves around the idea of Bill Cosby encouraging Theo to improve his grades so he can go to college, which demonstrates both upward mobility and an authoritative father figure. In terms of Haven, the show can be seen as globally popular due to its focus on family issues rather than economic or political concerns. People are all types are able to relate to Bill and Theo Cosby in a father-son relationship, further contributing to its success. Like Coleman argues, the dignity and middle-upper class standing the Cosby family attracts various audiences. Finally, this clip further illustrates how The Cosby Show avoids loud, physical “black” humor of the working class and instead uses intelligent humor, or wit, which further appeals to diverse audiences.

Black Sitcom Portrayals

I found Coleman's essay "Black Sitcom Portrayals" very interesting and informative. It thought it was personal (based on the opinions/ viewpoints coming from Lonette, J.C., and Freddie), eye-opening, and therefore, beneficial to the people reading this because it points out little things that the media portrays in its black characters that would be good to see compared to reality and considered based on impact towards the real black community as well as to other demographics.
This whole time, I've been watching shows like the Fresh Prince of Bel Air and My Wife And Kids (watching it because it was funny and thinking nothing wrong was intentionally happening) and never thought to realize perhaps little things depicted in these comical shows introduce controversial issues (depending on what is being said, done, or presented etc.). It is no surprise that having black characters on the shows appear more "white" black with European features annoys real black people watching these shows (black sitcoms) because it is not representative of the true community and it is obvious the media favors a certain portrayal of black. What really surprised me was when Robert shared that as a child he was picked on by his own race because he was so dark is pretty shocking - this shows how much the media constructs the minds of its viewers.
Also, the fact that certain shows like Good Times target a lower-class black family struggling trying to make it, shows that blacks have a reputation of making up the majority of the lower/poor class. In reality, this is not the case. There are many black families moving up the ladder of success and making up a majority of the middle class. What is good is that other shows like the Fresh Prince and My Wife And Kids show a more realistic view of reality. On the other hand, there are other minor messages out there that upset the black community. Little things like negativity, religion, gender roles, exaggerations of "hyper-racial"characters etc. As offensive or unnecessary as these details are in black sitcoms, I also think that is addresses an honest part of reality. That these issues the characters face in the shows are also in existence in real life. So in part, the media is only mimicking what is going on in the real world in order to construct a more realistic setting/ story-line and allow its viewers to relate better. Although the actual representation of the Black people is not always true in the media, the personal and social lives can sometimes be accurate. (the stereotypes are wrong - not representative but the issues are real).