Future of Commercial TV

Ernest Borgnine didn't even act on stage until he was in his 30's. So when he won an Oscar in his late 30's for portraying a man who wasn't very handsome, struggling with trying to get married while having a lower class job, you can believe he may have had those feelings in real life.

Quote: AZDuffman

I have heard Norman Lear said he did not want "beautiful people" on "All in the Family" and it looks like the rest of his shows went mostly the same way.

I saw a early episode of AITF the other day and it
was hilarious! Archie was an over the top bigot.
You can't find those early shows even on cable,
you have to buy them. What we thought was
advanced TV in 1970 is now considered to be as
bad as the 40's when it comes to race relations.

I was an adult in 1970, Lear's shows were cutting edge
on what was going on in society. The attitude today
is the Inquisition all over again. We pretend Archie's
don't exist anymore and we think that way they'll go
away. Sure they will.

One of the clever things about Archie Bunker was that he took a shot at every possible ethnicity including white groups (British, Germans, etc). It was never clear what he was himself.

I always thought Julia Louise Dreyfuss had some very funny takes on political correctness.

Quote: Pacomartin

One of the clever things about Archie Bunker was that he took a shot at every possible ethnicity including white groups (British, Germans, etc). It was never clear what he was himself.

I always thought he was some kind of Brit/Scott mix based on his religion and dislike of white groups that came "later."

Quote: AZDuffman

I always thought he was some kind of Brit/Scott mix based on his religion and dislike of white groups that came "later."

At one point Archie is called a WASP. But he refers to England as a "fag country," and Germans as "Krauts", and the Irish as "Micks".

Quote: Pacomartin

At one point Archie is called a WASP. But he refers to England as a "fag country," and Germans as "Krauts", and the Irish as "Micks".

That could still make him a Protestant Scot...

Quote: Pacomartin

I always thought Julia Louise Dreyfuss had some very funny takes on political correctness.

I like where Tina Fey kisses Salma Hayek on the mouth
and makes a crack about now she see's why men like it.

Quote: Pacomartin

At one point Archie is called a WASP. But he refers to England as a "fag country," and Germans as "Krauts", and the Irish as "Micks".

Doesn't mean he can't be British heritage. IIRC he said their being a fag country is part of why we threw them out of here?

There are still Archie Bunker's everywhere, but most
of them don't live in the US. Archie was a dying
breed. There are still lots of Southerners who don't
like Blacks and Jews, but they aren't very vocal
about it.

One thing I discovered when I owned the taxi company
was many Black people are under the impression that
most Whites spend a lot of time thinking and talking
about ways to hold Black people down. This was stunning
to me. The exact opposite was true, I didn't know any White's
who did this, they just don't care what happens to Blacks.
Its not on their radar. The few Black people I got to know
well were surprised about this. Then they were dismayed,
because to find out you're not even on the radar is more
disturbing than people talking about you all the time.

Quote: Evenbob

There are still Archie Bunker's everywhere, but most
of them don't live in the US. Archie was a dying
breed. There are still lots of Southerners who don't
like Blacks and Jews, but they aren't very vocal
about it.

One thing I discovered when I owned the taxi company
was many Black people are under the impression that
most Whites spend a lot of time thinking and talking
about ways to hold Black people down. This was stunning
to me. The exact opposite was true, I didn't know any White's
who did this, they just don't care what happens to Blacks.
Its not on their radar. The few Black people I got to know
well were surprised about this. Then they were dismayed,
because to find out you're not even on the radar is more
disturbing than people talking about you all the time.

That could explain this.