Celeb News: The Huxtables cover Ebony Magazine

uhoh-ohno

"Cliff-Hanger: Can 'The Cosby Show' Survive? Should It?"

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For eight seasons on NBC—five of which it was the country’s most-watched program, according to Nielsen ratings—Cosby’s portrayal of Heathcliff Huxtable—a physician, loving husband and doting Black father-reinforced the widely held virtues of the nuclear family, if not also unwittingly illuminating the hazards of respectability politics (the notion that if Black people simply act “good” and “behave,” the world-at-large will treat them as such.)

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Although the show provided emotional relief from the stereotypes in the newspapers, it may have done very little to prove them false. Cosby—through Cliff Huxtable— inadvertently told America that Moynihan and Reagan were right.

The Moynihan Report, respectability politics, that cover, the fact that this was done in Ebony Magazine

. . .

Reza

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respectability politics (the notion that if Black people simply act “good” and “behave,” the world-at-large will treat them as such.)

who created this messy term? the show did no such thing. It showed two successful black professionals dealing with normal family issues in a comical, endearing and most importantly positive atmosphere.. in fact this show showed everyone that black people were just like everyone else and that many of our problems are universal regardless of color.

uhoh-ohno

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Originally posted by Reza

who created this messy term? the show did no such thing. It showed two successful black professionals dealing with normal family issues in a comical, endearing and most importantly positive atmosphere.. in fact this show showed everyone that black people were just like everyone else and that many of our problems are universal regardless of color.

So, why isn't "Good Times" thought of in the same light? Were they not a "normal family" with normal family issues being portrayed in a comical matter? What about "The Jeffersons?" When you think about why the Cosby's were so endearing, as opposed to the Evans family, then you get into the crux of the "respectability politics." The fact that the Huxtables were upper middle class and didn't talk about racism much, if at all, kind of made them safe and more appealing to the white mainstream. Often times, the Huxtables were thought of as atypical blacks, not like those "other" blacks.

None of this is really the Cosby Show's fault, tho. This is why representation is important. If you can only count the number of blacks shown on TV on one hand, then you're probably going to make generalizations about those people because that's all you've seen.

Bey'Knight

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Originally posted by uhoh-ohno

So, why isn't "Good Times" thought of in the same light? Were they not a "normal family" with normal family issues being portrayed in a comical matter? What about "The Jeffersons?" When you think about why the Cosby's were so endearing, as opposed to the Evans family, then you get into the crux of the "respectability politics." The fact that the Huxtables were upper middle class and didn't talk about racism much, if at all, kind of made them safe and more appealing to the white mainstream. Often times, the Huxtables were thought of as atypical blacks, not like those "other" blacks.

None of this is really the Cosby Show's fault, tho. This is why representation is important. If you can only count the number of blacks shown on TV on one hand, then you're probably going to make generalizations about those people because that's all you've seen.

The premise of the cosby show was not to tackle sensitive contentious topics. They wanted to represent black families in a kid-friendly lighthearted positive light. Black ppl dont have to be reduced to our struggles, we're entitled to escapism and entertainment like everybody else and the show facilitated that.

robotdanger

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Originally posted by uhoh-ohno

So, why isn't "Good Times" thought of in the same light? Were they not a "normal family" with normal family issues being portrayed in a comical matter? What about "The Jeffersons?" When you think about why the Cosby's were so endearing, as opposed to the Evans family, then you get into the crux of the "respectability politics." The fact that the Huxtables were upper middle class and didn't talk about racism much, if at all, kind of made them safe and more appealing to the white mainstream. Often times, the Huxtables were thought of as atypical blacks, not like those "other" blacks.

None of this is really the Cosby Show's fault, tho. This is why representation is important. If you can only count the number of blacks shown on TV on one hand, then you're probably going to make generalizations about those people because that's all you've seen.

The Cosby Show didn't tackle those issues because for the first time on TV, there was a black family that everyone looked up to. Doing such would've alienated its audience tremendously. If you wanted to see a family facing hard times and dealing with black issues, you had Good Times. If you wanted to see an upper-class New York black family, with core values and a sense of unity, you had the Cosby Show.

uhoh-ohno

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Originally posted by robotdanger

The Cosby Show didn't tackle those issues because for the first time on TV, there was a black family that everyone looked up to. Doing such would've alienated its audience tremendously. If you wanted to see a family facing hard times and dealing with black issues, you had Good Times. If you wanted to see an upper-class New York black family, with core values and a sense of unity, you had the Cosby Show.

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Originally posted by Bey'Knight

The premise of the cosby show was not to tackle sensitive contentious topics. They wanted to represent black families in a kid-friendly lighthearted positive light. Black ppl dont have to be reduced to our struggles, we're entitled to escapism and entertainment like everybody else and the show facilitated that.

Except, I didn't answer a question about the intent of the Cosby Show or why the Cosby show didn't tackle those issues. I answered a question that asked about "respectability politics" and why the Huxtables were so much more "respectable" than other black, TV families that came before it. The fact that the Huxtables were an upper middle class, nuclear family and avoided discussing racism, for the most part, made them more safe and appealing to the white mainstream. The only time I remember racism being vaguely discussed on Cosby was when Claire got that gig as a panelist on that Sunday morning talk show, with a bunch of William F. Buckleys, and they more or less admitted that they only gave her the job because they needed to kill two demos (blacks) and (women) with one stone.

Discussing racism doesn't reduce blacks to their struggles. "A Different World" "Family Matters" "Fresh Prince" "The Jeffersons," Hell, Lt. Uhura on "Star Trek: The Original Series" all did it, and I doubt anyone would say those black characters were reduced to their struggles just for bringing up racism.