Phatman
Creative Crumudgeon
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KenK said:Examples?
How is this different from other white comedies like Friends and The Drew Carey show? Unless the primary characters in a sitcom are a married couple, most sitcoms eventually turn into soap operas that focus on a love story between two characters.
Not all the time. The Cosby show never turned into a soap. Neither Did Sanford & Son, or Smart Guy. And when it comes to white shows, Friends and Drew Carey were two of the worst sitcoms ever made. When it comes to white sitcoms, Seinfeld never turned into a soap, neither did I love Lucy, the Honeymooners or The Odd couple. The sitcom devolving into a soap thing is something that happens when writers run out of ideas. Check out a little site called Jump the Shark, it'll give you some insight on when TV shows go downhill.
How do black people live. Please, enlighten us, since most of these sitcoms you speak of miss the mark. I guess accurate portraits of black life are either Good Times or the Cosby Show.
Black people are as diverse in their opinions and viewpoints as White people are. There is no one true picture of "black" life nor can we ask anyone to define what "Black" is. What is "Black here in New York may not be in South Central. A lot of the stories just aren't being told because Hollywood producers don't want them released to the general public.
The usual excuses are "not bankable", "Not appealling to a broad audience" or "doesn't pull in the ratings. But these stories about Black life are out there and they're being produced. If you want to see different viewpoints about black life you're going to have to go to your video store. On the direct to video rack are dozens of great Black movies that show a myriad of different viewpoints. If you really want to see different perspectives I suggest you go rent some of Spike Lee's movies or check out Darryl Roberts' How U Like me now; the latter film makes great commentary on the different viewpoints in the Black community. There's also "Never 2 Big" and "Motives" With Shemar Moore or Book of Love With Salli Richardson. You can also pick up "Sistas in the City".
And "Black" TV shows aren't completely accurate portrayals of life; no TV show is ever an accurate portrayal of real life. Images on TV is based on a consensus of what White writers, producers and directors THINK is a reflection of reality of a situation.
Good Times would have been worse if Not for John Amos and Esther Rolle Fighting with the producers to get better scripts. (You don't want to know what they wanted JJ to do.)
And The Cosby Show was far more accurate of Black life than the jive-talking afro wearing pimp suited hustlers we used to see in the early-mid 80's. (Check out Sporty James in Hunter) Back then we only had Benson (butler) Diff'rent strokes, (coons) and Webster (child). It was also ground breaking in that Blacks were writing and producing stories about the black experience.
Not to take away from those shows, but if those are your examples of better sitcoms compared to the current crop, I'd say your argument is pretty thin.
My argument is valid. I enjoyed The silly humor of the Wayans Brothers and I loved Jamie Foxx unitl it became a soap. Let's face it UPN and WB weren't bastions of quality entertainment, but compared to what we're getting today this is gold. Everybody Hates Chris is the best we've had in a while, (which isn't saying much) Girlfriends has run too long, All of us is a soap, and The Game is Played.
The only way this is going to get better is for more Blacks to get behind the camera. The stories are out there. I know, I'm trying to get them published. But the industry is a brick wall. It refuses to acknowledge any experience outside of the old sterotypes.
End Rant.