To be fair, there was also the bumbling black nerd, Steve Urkel. And people loved him, in much the same way as they love Homer Simpson. Also, Waldo Geraldo Faldo from the Fresh Prince.
Even bumbling doofus characters can be written and portrayed in ways that make them likable, which make the audience root for them, and be given redemption arcs that endear them to the viewer. Granted, that was more of a 80's / 90's hallmark, from a time when propaganda wasn't so rampant in being used for nefarious ends.
All of us watched Family Matters and Fresh Prince because it was fun and good TV. I honestly don't know anyone who watched it simply because they were "black shows."
They honestly weren't. Another World... maybe. But The Cosby Show? Even Sanford and Son? Different Strokes? Hell, I think half the Tv I watched as a kid featured black people.
Man, I watched those shows because the PEOPLE were funny and I identified with them because of their human struggles.
There hasn't been a black man on TV in the last 15 years that didn't feel like he was there to play a "black man" vs play a "man". How can anyone identify with that at this point?
Remember Al Bundy and Homer Simpson? It's been going on for decades
To be fair, there was also the bumbling black nerd, Steve Urkel. And people loved him, in much the same way as they love Homer Simpson. Also, Waldo Geraldo Faldo from the Fresh Prince.
Even bumbling doofus characters can be written and portrayed in ways that make them likable, which make the audience root for them, and be given redemption arcs that endear them to the viewer. Granted, that was more of a 80's / 90's hallmark, from a time when propaganda wasn't so rampant in being used for nefarious ends.
All of us watched Family Matters and Fresh Prince because it was fun and good TV. I honestly don't know anyone who watched it simply because they were "black shows."
They honestly weren't. Another World... maybe. But The Cosby Show? Even Sanford and Son? Different Strokes? Hell, I think half the Tv I watched as a kid featured black people.
Man, I watched those shows because the PEOPLE were funny and I identified with them because of their human struggles.
There hasn't been a black man on TV in the last 15 years that didn't feel like he was there to play a "black man" vs play a "man". How can anyone identify with that at this point?