African American Situation Comedy
The African American
Situation Comedy is a sub-genre of comedy.
Amos & Andy (1928), The Cosby Show (1984), and My Wife and Kids (2000) are examples of
African American sit-coms.
From left to right: Amos & Andy, The Cosby
Show, My Wife and Kids
Prototypical
Roles
The traditional stereotypes of African
Americans in the media include: the Uncle
Tom—a good, gentle, religious and sober character; the coon—a comedic character who misuses the English language and
thinks he or she knows everything; the mammy—a
motherly figure who is always happy to serve her White employers; the tragic mulatto—a fair-skinned Black who
tries to pass for white; and the Buck—a
strong, mysterious, male character who assists a White hero, or is depicted as
a leader.
These stereotypes reduce African American characters to secondary roles to White characters. They continue to be perpetuated when African Americans are cast with White characters. In these contexts, African Americans are still perceived as comedic sidekicks..
Setting(s)
Like other sit-coms, African American
sit-coms frequently take place in family home or workplace settings. The
Cosby Show, for example, primarily takes place at the Huxtable
house.
Language/Discourse
Some prevalent discourses used in African
American sit-coms are Black English Dialect and Standard English. BED is frequently used by characters in
African American sit-coms. This dialect,
compared to Standard English, distinguishes African American characters from
other, White characters by reinforcing the prototypical stereotype of the
“coon.” Standard English, on the other
hand, is used in sit-coms like The Cosby
Show to challenge traditional African American stereotypes by portraying
African Americans as intelligent and successful (according to the dominant
White culture’s standards).
Typical
Storylines
Common storylines in African American
sit-coms focus on the day-to-day issues of family life. Like traditional sit-coms of the 1950s such
as Leave It to Beaver, a character,
usually one of the children, finds him or herself facing some sort of
problem. Hilarity ensues as the
character tries to solve it. After a
series of mishaps, everything is straightened out by the end of the show with
the help of one or both of the parents.
In second episode of The Cosby Show, for example, Rudy’s goldfish Lamont dies. As the family helps her cope, Cliff arranges
an elaborate funeral for him. Everyone
attends the funeral dressed in black, and Cliff delivers a moving eulogy before
flushing him down the toilet.
But
Are They a Reflection or Creation of Social Ideals?
Despite the popularity of programs like
The Cosby Show, primetime television sit-coms have been, and still are, largely
dominated by White casts. This lack of
racial diversity has not gone unnoticed.
In 2001, a study commissioned by the Screen Actors Guild and authored by
Darnell Hunt, a professor of sociology and director of the
“African American characters on television are
largely ‘ghettoized’ by three contributing factors: network placement (most
African American-centered shows were limited to UPN and WB), time slot (shows
featuring all-black casts aired on Monday and Friday nights only), and show
type (blacks were more likely than any other racial group to appear in
sitcoms).”
From “The TV Ghetto,” by
Alana Kumbier, PopPolitics.com
Just how far have we really come since the days of Andy
& Amos and the blackface minstrel shows?