Norman Lear was a genius at making television! He produced some of the most iconic shows in American TV history! From Good Times, The Jeffersons, Maude, One Day at a Time and Sanford and Son, but probably his most iconic show was one that took a stark look at bigotry but from a funny perspective.
All in the Family showed how stupid bigotry was. The show was hilarious but Archie Bunker proved time and time again how bigots just don't understand. Whether it was thinking a blood transfusion from a African American would cause a white man to turn black, or that being around a gay person could rub off.
I grew up on the comedies of Norman Lear, but to choose my favorite would be impossible. But I think without a doubt the most ground breaking sitcom was All in the Family. But Norman Lear show wasn'tthe first to deal with these issues. There was a British sitcom entitled Till death do us part. That had an family that fought on issues all the time.
All in the Family was more than a sitcom. It was a show that started conversations. It helped us take a look at ourselves and our loved ones and say lets not be like Archie. Let us be more tolerant. This show dealt with real life issues such as, racism, women's liberation, rape, religion, miscarriages, abortion, breast cancer, the Vietnam War, menopause, and impotence.
Normal Lear is still alive and kicking at the time of this writing. And he along with Jimmy Kimmel tried to remake some classic episodes of All in the Family, Jeffersons and Good times. I watched those episodes and while it was cool to see them. They lacked something. Probably because nobody can fill the shoes of Carol O'Conner, Jean Stapleton, Rob Reiner and Sally Struthers.
We are living in such a politically correct world that sometimes I think we need to have conversations about hatred, not try to pretend it doesn't exist. The idea of if we don't talk about it is there, just isn't working.
I highly recommend reliving All in the Family. And talk about these episodes. You can get the complete series on Amazon.com.
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