All in the Family

[Knowed_Out]

I remember one episode where each of the characters had their own version of what happened to lead to the power going out in the house, and Archie’s version had him as the downtrodden victim. I always wondered if it was possible to make a show aimed at conservative audiences that had an authoritarian liberal making their family’s lives hell. Oh wait, that was Maude.

[psychonaut]

@Horatius

One of the premises of shows like All in the Family, that portrayed the contemporary reality of racist and bigoted opinions, was that by showing them in a bad light, people would be influenced to change their ways, after a “Whoa! I sound just like the stupid racist character!” moment of self-reflection.

50ish years on, I’m pretty sure we can conclude that people just don’t react that way. It’s like Trickle Down Economics. It sounded good at first, but history has proven it doesn’t work.

What evidence in particular leads you to make this conclusion? As you yourself noted, there was a lot more (overt) racism in the 1970s than today. What makes you so certain that holding such views up to public ridicule, as All in the Family did, had nothing whatsoever to do with their decline?

[Robot_Arm]

@pkbites

My first thought was Rob Reiner and Norman Lear, but Lear was never a cast member, was he?
So for the second one I’m going with Danielle Brisebois.

Yes. Not many people even remember Danielle Brisebois from the show. She was nominated for Best Original Song in 2015.

Rob Reiner, by the way, was not nominated for either acting or directing, but as one of the producers of A Few Good Men.

[Grrr]

What bothers me about AitF is that people miss remember it. I’ve seen more than a few FB posts that say something like “Back when people could take a joke” referencing the show. As if racist jokes were just fun and games back in the day.

[Moriarty]

I think it’s worth remembering that the first episode of the show was preceded with a warning about its offensive content.

The program you are about to see is All In The Family . It seeks to throw a humorous spotlight on our frailties, prejudices, and concerns. By making them a source of laughter, we hope to show – in a mature fashion – just how absurd they are.

And even in the 70’s researchers worried about whether it was mocking, or instead reinforcing, prejudice and bigotry.

In 1974, Neil Vidmar and Milton Rokeach conducted a U.S.-Canadian-based study to examine various viewers’ perception of the sitcom. The purpose of the study stemmed from the results of a CBS opinion survey. CBS reported that most people simply enjoyed All In The Family and did not take offense to its content…

The study found that the show appealed more to high prejudiced viewers, who agreed with Archie Bunker’s view on race, than lower prejudiced viewers, who found his opinions to be insensitive and offensive.

The overall result of the study proved that Lear’s dominant reading of All In The Family was not what most of the audience perceived. It was found that most viewers enjoy watching the show because they think Archie speaks the truth about American society. With this data, the study concluded that the program is more likely reinforcing prejudice and racism, rather than combating it.

I think it could still be made today. It’d be cutting edge and raw, and controversial, just as it was in its own time.

https://outsider.com/entertainment/all-in-family-cbs-hired-extra-staff-handle-complaints-about-sitcom/amp/

The Societal Reception of ALL IN THE FAMILY

[John_DiFool]

@Knowed_Out

I remember one episode where each of the characters had their own version of what happened to lead to the power going out in the house, and Archie’s version had him as the downtrodden victim.

A Rashomon plot. They also did that with some plumbers-Archie thought the young one was a threatening hoodlum, Mike saw him as a goofy gum chewing kid. Edith saw him as he really was: a calm young professional, who nonetheless took exception to something Archie said.

[Robot_Arm]

@John_DiFool

A Rashomon plot. They also did that with some plumbers-Archie thought the young one was a threatening hoodlum, Mike saw him as a goofy gum chewing kid. Edith saw him as he really was: a calm young professional, who nonetheless took exception to something Archie said.

Refrigerator repairmen, actually. The assistant was played by Ron Glass; it’s his first credited role on IMDb.

[Author_Balk]

@Robot_Arm

Refrigerator repairmen, actually. The assistant was played by Ron Glass; it’s his first credited role on IMDb.

That is correct about the refrigerator repairmen. The plumber episode was the one where a prisoner was on a work furlough. Archie didn’t want him working in his house.