Chapt 1 Assignment

“The Cosby Show” Growing up in the 70's and 80's were very challenging. I came from a very traditional family, meaning both parents were in the home as well as all 7 of my siblings. My father worked hard and my mother stayed at home and raised us for a portion of that time. We often watched a lot of family oriented shows, “ Eight is Enough'', which was my mother's favorite.(I wonder why) Little House On The Prairie, The Jeffersons, etc. My personal favorite was the Cosby Show, although Little House on the Prairie was definitely in the running. One of the reasons I favor The Cosby Show is because it gave me hope. Growing up in the projects was not a joyful experience, although my parents did a great job with what they had. The Cosby Show depicted family in a very positive way. It provided an alternative to the stereotypical African American family. Unlike other black sitcoms such as “Good Times”, which always left you depressed after watching the show, “ The Jeffersons'', whose nanny was very loud and opinionated. The Huxtables were upper class people. Cliff Huxtable( Bill Cosby) was a doctor and his wife Claire( Phylicia Rashad) was a successful lawyer. The family structure was that of a nuclear unit or modern family. The gender roles of the parents were that of egalitarian. They were a two parent home with 5 children. They both balanced the responsibilities of supporting their children through work and quality time. The gender of the children were 4m girls and 1 boy. This particular sitcom went against the stereotypical gender roles for African Americans, especially the male. I'm sure this influenced a lot of issues. The gender roles of the children were displayed as your typical youth. If I were to read a book called “The Cosby Show” versus watching the sitcom, the nationality of the family would be unknown. Critics considered this sitcom to be ''not black enough'',. But it gave us as African Americans a different view of our race and behavior that was once portrayed so negatively. The family was viewed as a loving family. The father was very smart, caring, and very involved in the domestic situations around the house. The wife's role was that of a very supporting wife, mother, and working woman. The children had a good relationship with each other besides the everyday chaos that goes on with teenagers. They treated each other fairly, they shared secrets, hung out with each other at times, covered for each other until their conscience got the best of them or they got caught, whichever one came first. Society influenced issues that the family experienced. First of all, this wasn't your average family and for sure an African American one. The Huxtables were an all black family who lived in a very prominent area. Not only were they living in the suburbs, the father was an OBGYN, and the wife,a very successful lawyer. I’m sure this posed issues for some. They had to maintain their integrity regardless of any heresies, etc. Throughout episodes, it shows us how the success was followed out by their children as well, enrolling in colleges such as Princeton and NYU. Their race alone caused many issues and questions. After the civil rights movement, sitcoms such as “Sanford and Son”, Good Times”, The Jeffersons”, etc , gave blacks a different image than what Bill Cosby brought to the table.. It raised a lot of questions, but it also gave the people a different view of life and how it could be. People started viewing black differently in some instances. I could relate with the Huxtables in a lot of areas. The family structure was similar. After a few years of my mother raising us( until we were all in school) my mother went back to work. My parents both shared domestic duties as well as responsibilities of providing for us. My parents were very much so involved in the church just as much as the home. We were always doing something in the community pertaining to ministry. My father was an outstanding man in the community, and although there were 8 of us(5 boys, 3 girls) They would always say how they admired my father for raising outstanding men and women in our society. We received a lot of favor throughout the years because of my father. The difference between the Huxtables and my family were the finances. Although both my parents are educated with decent jobs, it never compared to the lifestyle of the Huxtables. I used to ask the question why we still seemed to struggle at times. My father's desire was to get his family out of the projects. By age 10, that would only be a distant memory for me. My father did just that. We moved into a very nice neighborhood which was predominantly white. This changed the course of my life. My parents believed and encouraged us to talk about our problems. This method worked pretty good until we became teenagers. They’re teachings would eventually go in one ear and out the other. (now these were during our teenage years)

This sitcom illustrated 2 myths: Myth of Separate World and Myth of Family Consensus.
The notion that a family is a place to escape from the outside world could be functional in this sitcom.
This could also be dysfunctional. Its good to feel that you have a place to go and feel same from the outside world. Cliff and Claire suggested this myth in many scenes. You would notice how when they had a long day at work, they would come home, take their shoes off, and have a big sigh of relief as to say”yes we are home at last”... This myth could also be dysfunctional for the families who have turmoil in the home. Some people would actually rather stay at work longer to avoid coming home.

This show gave me the idea that married life was wonderful and blissful. I thought that children should be close to perfect and never get into trouble. It gave me the idea that we would have lots of fun and interaction with other. My children would always look out for each other and get along great. I appreciate this assignment because it allowed me to look back on how I viewed things growing up. Boy have my views changed. I still believe to a certain degree the myths concerning family. Not because of the show altogether but because my parents are still married, still working in ministry, and they still love each other very much. I've experienced 2 marriages, almost 2 divorces( finalized July 25th) some very hurtful and heartbreaking moments. Although I wasn’t fortunate to experience the heavenly blissful marriage, I still believe it exist.