To remove Archie Bunker’s most egregious racial epithets?
I’ve heard this, but a google search doesn’t bring up any answers.
It seems unlikely that Archie’s racial slurs would be acceptable for the 70’s but not now.
Anybody know?
Don’t know, but my recollection is that even in the 70’s, he said “colored” and “hebe”, not “nigger” and “kike”.
Local stations often edit syndicated re-runs of old sitcoms and dramas. This is usually for length (they want to squeeze in more commercials) rather than for content. But it’s at least possible that a local station might edit a show to avoid complaints about racial remarks. I doubt that they’d be edited this way on a national basis, though.
I haven’t checked, but aren’t most episodes of *All in the Family * available in unedited format on DVD?
Rube, that’s my recollection too, that Norman Lear went to the edge, but not over it.
Lonesome, I expect the unedited shows are available.
The reason I asked is because someone said Archie’s language in the reruns has been edited for political correctness. It seems silly, and I was curious as to whether it was true.
I think they just skip episodes where he pushes the envelope.
There was one episode where he says, “… we’ll be up to our armpits in jungle bunnies…”
I’ve only ever seen it once, when it originally aired.
True. Although it’s been a long time since I’ve seen the episode, I seem to recall him saying, when another character dropped the “N-Bomb,” that he stopped using the term years ago.
Archie was a bigot but, in terms of epithets, he did have his limits.
Although I doubt he said “using the term” as opposed to “sayin’ dat”.
There was the episode “The Draft Dodger” that got censored even before it made its first broadcast.
It was a damned good episode.
The only time I heard the word nigger used was by George Jefferson.
Interesting that the only word mentioned as being censored in that episode was the first syllable of “Goddamn,” not a racial epithet.
I’ve noticed censorship of this type in many shows these days. Cursing and swearing is OK, but not violating a biblical commandment. It seems to me that censoring anything from All in the Family would be counter to the original purpose of the show.
I think that’s wrong. There are specific words used on TV these days (tit, asshole, and of course the ubiquitous bitch) that never would have made it on the air in the '70’s, but there were shows that were pushed the envelope then in ways that no one is trying today. Seriously, could you even imagine a show today doing Chevy Chase and Ricahrd Pryor’s “White? Black. Negro? Whitey. Colored? Redneck. Tarbaby? Peckerwood. Spearchucker? White trash. Junglebunny? Honkey. Nigger? Dead honkey.” sketch from SNL?
–Cliffy
I’d rather they just edit out Archie. And come to think of it, Edith, Gloria, and Meathead.
Just a half-hour of staring at that awful, vomit-colored Queens row house living room is quite bad enough without the dialog.
Oh, and they can have “Alice”, too. What a hamfisted muckup of of a Scorsese film to TV adaptation.
Gaw, now I remember why I hate Sundays. From the God Channel on every station to prowrestling to the most hideous sitcoms in existance, I’m surprised humanity ever made it past 2 o’clock.
I could say something about “Hee-Haw”, but I’ll save it for a more relevent Pit thread.
Stranger