ACS 11

 American Dream  Segregation  Assimilation  Integration

 Segregated community  Second-class citizens  Lazy and opportunistic  Did not have means to achieve American dream  Either clowns or crooks – rooted in comedy  Visual nature of TV meant that white people could no longer impersonate black people as they did on the radio  Considered racist  Gave audience what they wanted to see

 Beulah was what everyone would want in a housekeeper  Black woman happy and comfortable serving a white family  Indifferent of need for her own family or network  Retreated from race conflict  Idealized the situation – it did not represent how domestic help actually felt

 No African-American representation – African Americans were more commonly guests on TV shows  Showed a good and wholesome white culture  Ideal white family  There were no characters for African- Americans to relate to  It was a “treat” to see an African-American on TV  Ideal families were the centre-piece of American TV

 Gentleman – white men could relate to him and black people were proud of him  Broad appeal  Sophisticated, smooth, class, velvet voice  Character was not rooted in comedy  Assimilation – Cole achieved the American dream and was living the ideal life. Resistance to integrating black and white within the same community.  Cole’s interaction with white women suggested integration, which was not well received. Show was cancelled because they did not want to alienate any part of the audience.  TV moves behind society

 Different ‘types’ of African Americans  Not just the clowns and crooks  No happy endings or comedies  Addresses integration and assimilation  Undercuts myth of American progress  Cancelled after one season

 Black woman with a career and a family  Widow  Integrated environment, but showed that Julia had assmiliated  Sense of belonging in her life – not subservient or overly happy for her situation  Gave a more realistic portrayal of African- Americans in their daily lives  Broke some barriers

 Rhode-scholar, articulate  More refined than his white partner  Male-bonding – skin colour did not matter  Popular show – well received by the audience  Designed to overcome stereotypical images

 White family  Overtly racist  Anti-integration  Family bonds were very strong – remained intact throughout  Used humour  Brought attention to race problems  TV became a political battleground  Showed the reality in American households  First time the father- figure was overtly racist

 First black family with both parents  Poor, solid, inner-city family who dealt with real-world issues such as racism and economic discrimination  JJ provided the familar comedic role  Replicated All in the Family, but from the African American perspective  Comedic role takes away from the political bite of the show  Potential: solid, inner- city family with real problems  Failure: turned to buffoon comedy

 White villains, black heroes  Power of the underdog  Power of family  Needed to attract white audience  Identify through immigration  Assimilation story  Adapt to society instead of changing it  Family achieved American Dream  Opened dialogues at work and school

 Positive family image  Happy, successful  Everyone wanted to live like the Crosby’s  Worked hard  Had the ‘right’ values and aspirations  Family was a shield against social crises  Diminish attitudes of racism  One of the top 10 shows in the 1980s  Considered a continuation of Roots  Image of success – post- Civil Rights America. Appealed to white and black audiences.  Reaffirmed the American Dream

 Broader representation of African Americans than other shows  Clips shown discussed skin tones  Considered by some to be the best representation of the black experience  Directly addressed colour and variations of skin colour  Too real  People didn’t want reality, they wanted versions of reality that they were comfortable with