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The Jeffersons
1975 · TV series · 30 min episodes · 11 seasons
Created by Norman Lear, Michael Ross
Sitcom following a successful African-American couple, George and Louise “Weezyö Jefferson as they “move on up” from working-class Queens to a ritzy Manhattan apartment. A spin-off of All in the Family.
2 positive7 neutralfrom 9 commenters
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9 comments on Hacker News
All of those are about young people who mostly haven't started families, or are only starting to in very few cases (couple and a newborn baby).
I don't know about "The Jeffersons" myself, but I struggle to remember a movie with a well-off family living in an apartment, even in areas like NYC or SF.
So obviously, you are both right: a family in an apartment is usually a poor one, yet apartments are desireable for young folk.
"I Love Lucy" (first few seasons), "Frasier", "Seinfeld", "Friends", "How I Met Your Mother" are some of many TV shows taking place in middle-income apartments.
"The Jeffersons" live in a "Deluxe Apartment in the Sky".
Diff'rent Strokes took place in the apartment home of a multi-millionaire.
In "Green Acres" they leave a "penthouse view" apartment to live in a run-down house.
I've been watching some of them recently. It's amazing how relevant All In The Family still is today. The Jeffersons is still good, Cheers is relaxing after a stressful day. That easy-watching episodic nature is nice for a change.
There are some good recent sitcoms, but you don't get the same sort of 12 seasons of 22 episodes run.
Yes, Black Americans have their own culture from music to literature to TV shows like Good Times and the Jeffersons. This is not seen as a bad thing here, it has produced many great things.
For some reason your comment reminded me of something I read about the Simpsons. Every single episode, no matter what, they're always a family in the end. I think what is missing is more television programing that aimed to be an aspiration to others in their community. The Jeffersons, Andy Griffith, even to include The Wonder Years.
Perhaps has another commenter noted, the writers would first have to understand that dynamic, and to do so would be a major shift at the moment.
Did you realize that Abraham Lincoln was a racist? Did you realize that almost everyone who hasn't undergone a lifetime of "anti-racist" propaganda is a racist?
Anyway, as to the subject of the article, I think it was covered in an episode of "The Jeffersons".
Racism in China is a big problem, but the laundry advert alone isn't certainty not a big issue and is pretty over blown: being overly political correct around lighthearted comedy.
The skin pigment 'melanin' is what causes a black person's skin to be black, and is also the same as in a non-black person's tanned skin. It's a added pigment that the absence of causes light skin. Removal of melanin can happen (through non-laundry!) causes such as developing vitiligo, or being born with albinism (a genetic condition which exists in all ethnicities not just black people). Removal of melanin literally turns a darker skinned/haired person white (but obviously not changing other features).
The American TV show Everybody Hates Chris, based on comedian Chris Rock's childhood experiences made almost THE EXACT SAME JOKE more than once [1] [2], making fun of the very strict African-American mother trope of threatening a misbehaving child with 'slapping the black out of you'.
The laundry commercial may have some problematic connections with the ideas of 'clean' and 'attractive'.
America has a long history of minority TV shows aimed at mass audiences tackling stereotypes, Everybody Loves Raymond for Italian-Americans, Fresh Off the Boat for Asian-Americans, and a huge number of African-American cast shows including The Jeffersons, The Cosby Show, Fresh Prince of Belair etc. Comedy shows with characters with minority experiences are a good way to improve understanding. It will be unfortunate if lighthearted comedy dies because excessive political correctness.
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44mTfEcP76o [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPmqVW_qLmk
I remember this... from nearly half a century ago.
The February 7, 1976 episode of The Jeffersons ("Louise's Cookbook") had this plot. A publisher asks Louise to write a cookbook of her ghetto recipes. (spoiler alert) It turns out her family recipes were all from a previously-published book that her grandmother (mother?) had been using.
I thought the section on TV shows was nonsense as well. He cherry picked a few examples that fit his model.
Off the top of my head some modern comedies that don't fit are Modern Family, Parks and Recreation, and Desperate Housewives.
There were plenty of classic shows set in the city as well. Mary Tyler Moore, The Jeffersons, The Bob Newhart Show, Three's Company, Taxi, Welcome Back Kotter.