How Do We Talk About The Cosby Show? A Retrospective

"...at least we can

talk

about it with José!" The Cosby Show was one of the most successful sitcoms of all time, premiering in 1984 and lasting 8 seasons; It spent 5 consecutive seasons as the number one

show

in the US. The only other sitcom to do that was All in the Family in the 1970s, and no sitcom has been able to do it since. At its peak, The Cosby Show was watched by more than a third of all households in America. Credited with not only reviving the sitcom genre in the 1980s, The Cosby Show also broke barriers by being a hit

show

that featured a middle-class black family.

She won 6 Emmy Awards during her career, along with many other awards and recognitions. Although the revelation surrounding Bill Cosby's predatory behavior cast a shadow over the series, long before, and certainly during its run, there was deep critical dispute over what to do with The Cosby Show's worldview. It was a show steeped in black culture, but it often glossed over the reality of what it meant to be black in America in the 1980s. The discussion around The Cosby Show is, in many ways, just as interesting, if not more so. than the program itself. But before we delve into what the show means, we need to understand what it was and the context in which it premiered.

And that will help us understand why it's so hard to know how to

talk

about The Cosby Show. The history of African Americans on television began on the fringes, often as guest performers who made only brief appearances. It wasn't until the 1960s that we began to see recurring roles for black actors, although usually in small roles, playing stereotypes inspired by minstrel shows. It was into this world that William H. Cosby found himself when he began working as a comedian, performing in San Francisco in the 1960s. In 1963, he was on The Tonight Show and released his first stand-up LP titled "Bill Cosby Is A Very Funny Fellow, Right!” As a black comedian performing in the 1960s, Cosby's comedic style took a form that would reflect much of his work throughout his career.

While he was aware that he was performing before a predominantly white audience, he designed his comedy in a way that would not upset them. He described it in an interview with the CBC in 1963. "Well, draw a situation, a racial situation, working on a stereotype about me eating watermelon in the closet. - And it affects people wherever they live! - Because I say I have to eat watermelon in the closet. - I can't eat it in public because I'm embarrassed. »In 1965, Cosby's star continued to rise when he landed a starring role in the television series "I Spy," opposite Robert Culp, one of the first examples of a black actor starring in a drama series.

Although he is a first-time actor, Cosby won three Emmy Awards for his portrayal of Agent Alexander Scott. Around Bill Cosby, the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s had begun to have an impact on the world of entertainment. Bill Cosby's strategy for addressing bigotry and racism was to create media that revealed the impact it had on children. In 1968 he presented a film titled: "Black History: Lost, Stolen or Misplaced." « - Now, if you tell the story of slavery correctly, you have a big problem on your hands. - The slave trader did not take any savage out of Africa. -He took a human being.

He sold him like an animal and separated him from his family. - The United States invented the cruelest slavery in history. - They broke up black families. - After slavery ended, America continued to separate the black man's family, and that is a terrible history to teach. » 50 years later, and parts of this film still speak loudly. Cosby would continue to define his comedy and how it reflects race, always aware of the audience watching him and the limitations he believed that created. « - I mean, there are certain routines that I can tell on a stage that deals with an exclusively black audience that I wouldn't tell on television. - I wouldn't allow it, because there are some white people who would laugh at that and say, "Yeah, that's them, and that's why they're not going to go that far with it, do you understand what I'm saying?

Saying?" In the 1970s, we began to see more shows with predominantly black casts, such as The Jeffersons, Sanford & Son, and Good Times, which not only highlighted black characters but gave them a broader range of experiences and experiences. Stories than those seen above, of course, the 1970s were not a haven for black representation on television. Stereotypes were rife, with criminals and crime shows often portrayed as black while black families were typically working class. and rarely anything else. Many black actors found new opportunities in comedies in the 1970s; Bill Cosby starred in the short-lived The Bill Cosby Show, where Cosby played a physical education teacher.

Cosby spent much of the decade creating entertainment. for a younger audience, like Fat Albert and the Cosby kids, and appearing in segments on The Electric Company. He also returned to school, earning a doctorate in education from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1977. Cosby also spent the 1970s becoming a fixture in advertisements, particularly for Jello and Coca-Cola, further cementing the family image of him. As the 1970s ended, it was believed in Hollywood that sitcoms were becoming less popular with audiences. In 1983, only two sitcoms ranked among the top 20 most-watched programs on television in the United States. As sitcom viewership declined, networks began to put greater emphasis on appealing to the majority white audience, and that often meant sitcoms starring a black cast, where episodes that touched on racial issues they were to be avoided.

That's when television producers Marcy Carsey and Tom Werner approached Bill Cosby with a proposal to create a sitcom. Although Cosby hadn't worked on a television series for years, he had still been doing stand-up comedy, and that was the approach producers took when they spoke to him. Producers Carsey and Werner explain: "In his monologues, he spoke, as he always did, about the commonality of the human experience. Not about the particular and specific of being a black family without enough money or enough resources to live in this world. today. So, we were trying to bring it back to the premise of what his entire career had been about, which is the commonality, the universality of Cosby's human experience of the working-class family with himself as a limo driver. and his wife working in home maintenance.

Due to the influence of the show's producers and Bill Cosby's wife, Camille, the show's premise was changed to make the show's main couple, Cliff and Clair Huxtable, a couple. doctor and lawyer respectively, this approach fit perfectly into the 1980s and marked a marked rise in conservatism in the American media, and with it a strong desire for issues such as race to be seen as resolved under the mantra of colorblindness. the idea that racial discrimination had ended. The Cosby Show would not be a show about a black family and the unique issues that impacted black families. It would be about an American family, with the universal problems that supposedly affect all American families.

Despite its future success, The Cosby Show was initially a difficult sell to networks. After all, comedies were considered dead and the series was passed over by major networks, including NBC. However, NBC eventually reconsidered and a multi-episode order was placed. And in 1984, The Cosby Show would go on to dominate television. Although the title of the series is "The Cosby Show," Cosby did not use his real name for his television family. He played the role of Heathcliff Huxtable, the family patriarch, easily identifiable by his colorful sweaters and his sage advice. Much of Cliff Huxtable's character and family were based on Bill Cosby, who also had four daughters and a son, and many of his lines were improvised on set, which had the effect of fusing the actor and the character. .

His playful attitude with children and his unwavering ability to set them on the right path made him one of the most popular fathers in sitcom history. "- Your wife is going to have the baby, do you understand? - So don't worry, there are women who are nine months pregnant and are picking rice, and the baby falls and starts picking next to the mother!" Clair Huxtable was played by Phylicia Rashad, the real force in the Huxtable house. Clair offered strength and grace to keep the family together. She managed to run a household while she was a partner in her law firm.

A woman who seemingly had it all. Rashad was an accomplished stage actress and is credited with keeping up with Cosby's energetic performance, and the couple's chemistry made Huxtable's parents seem like a near-perfect match. "- You always wanted to go to law school. - You've never talked about anything else! - I changed my mind. - Change it again! - After all the money we spent, sending you to Princeton? - Sondra, you ?she owes us $79,648 and 22 cents, - And I want my money now! Lisa Bonet played Denise Huxtable, the second oldest in the family. She went from being a studious high school student to a free spirit, to the point that her. character almost.

She seemed transformed by the end of her time on the show. In the previous seasons, she was the crush of many teenagers watching at home "-I have the material, I'm following the pattern, everything is under control. you believe me? - Yes. - Do you feel better? - Yes. - Leave. - Did I mention I need it by Saturday? - Yes, believe me, you couldn't be in better hands! - Okay!" Theodore Huxtable, or Theo for short, was played by Malcolm-Jamal Warner. Theo, the middle and only child, was often at odds with his parents, had problems at school, and generally was making things a disaster for his family.

Warner, an actor with less experience than some of his co-stars, was chosen because Cosby thought his performance seemed especially real "- I didn't know you were still here! "- Theo, why do you have your shirt completely open? - I'm hot. - That's what we heard." Tempestt Bledsoe played Vanessa Huxtable, the second youngest daughter of the Huxtable house. She is 11 years old at the beginning of the series, she is a particularly bright student and even smarter at figuring out how to do things her way. Bledsoe's performance is especially impressive considering her age reveals a true gift for comedy. "- Denise pushed us out of the bathroom and saw the shampoo in Rudy's eyes and wouldn't let me rinse it like Mom said, and now, Rudy could be blind for life! - If he is, can we get him?

A dog ?The youngest child in the Huxtable household is Rudy, short for Rudith, played by Keshia Knight Pulliam. 13 years of strong character. Rudy was originally written to be a boy, and Knight Pulliam was only hired because of how cute he had appeared in a commercial. The role went to Knight Pulliam and a young Jaleel White, who had later played him. Steve Urkel in. Family matters. But the role ultimately went to Knight Pulliam" - Go help mom in the kitchen. - Now? - Do I have to say "now"? - Uh-huh." - Now! - Okay! The last member to join the family in the first season was Huxtable's eldest daughter Sondra, played by Sabrina Le Beauf.

First appearing in episode 10 of the first season, Le Beauf would join the main cast for the show's second season. In the first season, Sondra became part of the family, although she was often left off screen, continuing her education at Princeton" - A Man He gets to Dad's age, and he looks back and. You see that almost half a century has passed. -And then he looks ahead and realizes that he has less than a third of his life left. - Sondra, I think you should get a job writing birthday cards." There are also several recurring guest stars on the show, including Cliff's father Russell, played by Earle Hyman, his mother Anna, played by Clarice Taylor, and friend by Rudy.

Kenny, played by Deon Richmond, and the number of famous guest stars was huge on the show, particularly black artists like Sammy Davis Jr, Stevie Wonder and BB King. The show made a concentrated effort to highlight a world where there are people. of all cultures. They were shown to live in friendship and harmony, and particularly highlighted a black family who embraced a culture that reflected their heritage. Absolutely novel at the time, the series was credited with introducing black culture to. a white audience, creating greater acceptance of it. The Huxtables lived in a bubble that was almost never crossed by.Discussions about race, although topics such as sexism, drugs, and learning disabilities arose in the series, race was largely subtextual.

This was a deliberate choice by Cosby and is at the heart of. why the show became beloved by some audiences and hotly debated by others. The world was introduced to The Cosby Show on September 20, 1984. The pilot, titled "Pilot," began with Clair and the 4 Huxtable children: Denise, Theo, Vanessa and Rudy, preparing breakfast while dancing to music. "- Okay, do you want to keep dancing, spilling food everywhere, acting like a bunch of fools? - That's fine with me! - Oh, when she says "good for me," we know it's not fine with her. "The cast had a nice, easy chemistry with each other, and we soon meet Cliff. "-Let's play some music here." This moment helped establish the Huxtables' two parenting styles.

While both Cliff and Clair are firm with their children, Cliff is very much the goofball who likes to play with children. Part of the inspiration for the series was the stand-up comedy work Cosby was doing at the time, and we can see the dialogue borrowed heavily from Rich Girl. - Well. - What do you mean, okay? - They called me "rich girl" in front of everyone! - Did you fight about that? Vanessa, that's stupid. » The moral of this episode is that friends are what you make them and they should not be decided by class. Although it's strange that when we find out that Vanessa is being made fun of, it's because of her supposed wealth.

Of all the forms of discrimination the Huxtables face, her wealth is an odd choice. While it may seem like the show takes a squeamish approach toward depictions of discrimination, that wasn't entirely true. From the first season onward, The Cosby Show did not shy away from depicting sexist characters and placing them in the wrong place. Although there were several examples in the early seasons, it becomes clearer with the introduction of Sondra's love interest Elvin, played by Jeffrey Owens, who first appeared in the season 2 episode "Cliff In Love." When we meet Elvin, we already learn that he and Sondra have a difficult relationship, having just broken up again.

« - The flowers have died, there is no morning dew... - The crickets do not know love songs, and I feel so sad. » When Elvin arrives, we have an idea of ​​what the problem could be. « - Well, I feel like things get confused when a woman works. -My mother works and I don't like her. - You know, sometimes when I get home, - There's nothing to eat. - Well... - Are your hands broken? »Clair encourages Sondra to move forward and her friends set her up with a boy named Daryl, played by Joseph C. Phillips, whom Cliff immediately tests.

«-What if you were married and you were at home and your wife came home from her work and sat next to you and said, "Where's my dinner? You better put it on this table right now." " - You're a man now, right? - Now, what would you do? - Well, I guess I'd better cook pretty well there. - Sondra! - I'm coming, Dad! - Hurry up, Sondra! - " I'm coming, dad! - Yes, hurry up! » The idea of ​​worrying about your daughter dating someone who respects women is a surprisingly refreshing change of pace from sitcoms where parents seem more concerned about the girl. her daughter's chastity, as if it were property that must be protected.

Sadly, just as this episode ends with Sondra deciding to stay with Elvin, this enlightened attitude towards women would prove less impressive as the series progressed" -Let me tell you. something, Elvin. - You see, I'm not serving Dr. Huxtable, okay? - Well, that's what happens in a restaurant. - Now I'm going to bring him a cup of coffee just like he brought me a cup of coffee. this morning. - And that, young man, is what marriage is made of, it is a give and take, 50-50. - And if you don't fix yourself and abandon those sexist attitudes, no one will ever bring you anything anywhere, at any time.

» However, Elvin would be a fixture throughout the series, with Jeffrey Owens becoming a recurring guest star in season 2 and joining the main cast permanently in season 3. Many of the early scenes with Elvin tend to be Cliff teaching him to lose his less enlightened side. he agree. « - Well, you know what women are like. - They are emotional. You say one little thing and that sets them off. - Then they start talking without thinking. - Is this cake for Mrs. Huxtable? - Yes. - It better be a good cake. » But a kind gesture from Elvin is immediately undone.

«-Dr. Huxtable, I think it's wonderful that he is buying this painting for his wife. - I'm going to buy the painting. -Did Dr. Huxtable say he was fine? - Okay Elvin, I understand your thinking. -You see, in your opinion it is okay if Dr. Huxtable buys this painting because he works and he is a man, right? - Good. - Good job. - And it's okay if I buy this painting too. - But not because he says so. - But because it is like that. »In this episode, the lesson Cliff gives Elvin is to pretend he can make pasta sauce, much like Cliff does.

« - Oh boy, you're going to learn from me. - You are going to prepare Dr. Huxtable's secret spaghetti sauce. - Is it difficult to do? - Not really. - Look, it comes out of the jar, do you understand? » While there is something nice about men teaching other men to be better with women, there is a falseness to all of this that does not sit well. Simply cooking your own sauce, without making it from scratch, doesn't seem like a distinction worth making. So what if Cliff or Elvin gets their sauce from a jar, but by supposedly making it from scratch, they're taking on a role typically considered a woman's, and they're doing it so that women's fury doesn't get the best of them? descend upon them.

This reveals an essentialism that lies at the heart of The Cosby Show's stance on gender dynamics. Women, of course, can do anything men do, but the show also posits that they are emotional and terrifying to these beleaguered men who will say and do whatever it takes to get ahead, whether that means pretending to prepare a food from scratch. , or biting their tongue when they have certain thoughts. More than anything, this reflects the changes in women's gender roles in society in the 1980s, and some of the anxiety that men feel towards them. Ultimately, Cliff has a good marriage, but he's still connected to an earlier era, with assumptions about women being emotional and temperamental.

Which makes his supposed respect for women limited, still using stereotypes instead of giving them space to be who they really are. So while Cliff's behavior is an improvement, he only seems that way compared to someone like Elvin. As Elvin and Sondra's relationship develops, Elvin's more overt sexism slowly fades, though it seems less a product of Elvin learning to be a better partner to Sondra, and more as if his sexism is a trait with him. that the program didn't want to deal with anymore. . There was one episode that attempted to show them coming to a greater understanding with each other, but it honestly seemed more like Elvin learning to manipulate Sondra rather than him learning to respect her more as a person.

However, Elvin is not the only character struggling to come to terms with gender politics. We see some of this in Theo in the season 2 episode "Theo and the Older Woman," when Theo falls in love with Denise's friend and learns that she has a boyfriend. " - Is this your brother? - No, he's my boyfriend. » Theo doesn't take it well. « - Do you know what Suzanne did to me? - What did Suzanne do to you? - He came here. - He left my room. - Yes. - She acted like she liked him! - Cliff has some good advice for him. - Theo, - I think you've lost your mind - The girl came here to help your sister with her report. - She didn't come here. to be your girlfriend. - You were the one who put on cologne, cleaned his room, started reading books, walked around "Hello, my name is Theodore" And the episode ends with Theo finding a potential new love interest and getting interested in the garden. from her mother as part of her learning process to understand women as more complex beings.

I also appreciate how she reveals that the attitudes that men have are often the real obstacle to these relationships flourishing, since women have neither. They should have an interest in returning to their less active places in the world since the days of Cliff's youth. From its inception, The Cosby Show had no qualms about tackling sensitive topics involving gender discrimination, drugs or other fears for darker sitcom episodes. Although notably there was one issue that he rarely addressed head-on: racial discrimination. In the earlier seasons, and for much of the series, race was largely a background aesthetic. References to culture included black authors, musicians, and other artists, and this was reinforced by the numerous episodes featuring guest appearances by black artists.

This can be seen in episodes such as "Play it Again, Russell", where Cliff's father overcomes some anxiety about playing with a band he had been in years before, with a number of prominent, mostly black musicians supporting him. . Although steeped in black culture, The Cosby Show had very little to say about the racism of the time. In fact, most discussions of racism and prejudice were framed as artists pulled from history. In one example, we see Russell with his old military friends telling stories about his time serving during World War II. « - When those Nazis saw that they had been captured by a platoon of all-black American tanks - Oh, oh! - The looks on their faces seemed to suggest: - «No, no!

Not you guys! No no! » - « Anyone but you! » And perhaps most compelling, we hear stories from Cliff, Clair, and their respective parents about their participation in the March on Washington as part of the civil rights movement. The premise of this episode is that Theo's work on the fly received a bad grade because he simply recited a bunch of loose facts copied from a book. His family offers him a different way of looking at the events of that day, telling his own personal stories and experiences attending the march. « - It must have been great knowing that you were going to be part of history. - Oh, no, no, no, it wasn't about that. - We were just expressing what we felt then! - And you should have seen what it was like when we got back to the buses. - True, people held hands and smiled, there was a feeling of joy and pride, and the newspapers said there were going to be problems, but there weren't!

It was a beautiful and calm day. - Yes. - It was peaceful. I still carry a little bit of that day with me. »This was a really great episode, maybe my favorite of the first 3 seasons. Not only does it provide an interesting look at history, but it also highlights the stories of the people who are a part of it. Sometimes history can be boiled down to facts of events that took place, but a big part of why we care about history is because it affected real people, and hearing their stories and experiences firsthand brings those events to life.

But like other moments in the series that address racial discrimination, it presents this fight for racial equality as historic. Recent history yes, but history nonetheless. It is not connected to Theo's life, but is presented as artifacts from the lives of his parents and grandparents. The fact that his parents were there should speak to how recent everything was and give them a chance to connect that to Theo's life in the present. But aside from the grade Theo gets at his work, he wasn't connected to his life directly. The episode on its own was charming, but in the broader context of The Cosby Show, it stands out.

One of the few episodes that meaningfully looks at race in America, and if there had been others that looked at it contemporaneously, it would have been fine, but as one of the few outliers, it doesn't do the topic justice from the context of a discussion. in the 1980s. This series aired alongside movies like Spike Lee's "Do the Right Thing" and music by Public Enemy, so these discussions were certainly happening. The Cosby Show simply decided not to participate in them. Of course, The Cosby Show didn't need to delve into racial dynamics in 1980s America, but by saying nothing, it was endorsing something else.

It reinforced the idea of ​​color blindness. The show's portrayal of race was a major concern for Bill Cosby while working on the series, to the point that he brought in psychiatry professor Alvin Francis Poussaint to consult with him on the issue. According to Dr. Poussaint, he provided feedback on each script and how accurately he believed it reflected a realistic depiction of a black family. « - The problem with white writers was not so much that they were racist. It was that they didn't have the experience. They didn't know the context of what they were writing. »He also reflected some very real concerns regarding the representation of black people's performance in different skin tones andhair types.

« - The son, Theo, and I saw 3 or 4 dates, and they were all black women with light skin and straight hair, and I said: « Bill, who chooses these people? ». Bill went to the casting director and said, "I want you to get Theo some dates and I want them to be nice." »-That's all he said! - And the casting director said: - «Oh, beautiful? Light skin, straight hair. » Although when it came to depictions of overt racism, Dr. Poussaint stood with Bill Cosby in removing or downplaying them within the context of the show. «-Bill said, "That's kind of cheesy and straight," he said. "Let's show that she's really smart, and the white people, the white lawyers who interview her, are idiots." While later seasons would introduce some more thoughtful considerations about race, the early seasons were very careful to avoid featuring scenes in which The Huxtables were victims of any type of racial discrimination.

There was a direct emphasis on presenting positive images of a black family and, with that positive example, undermining racism within society. One limitation of that approach is described by sociologist Stuart Hall. when he wrote: "The problem with the positive/negative strategy is that adding positive images to the largely negative repertoire of the dominant representational regime increases the diversity of ways in which being black is represented, but does not necessarily displace the negative." The former. Seasons of The Cosby Shows effectively reinforce the concept of the binary of good and bad black representation on television by becoming the good guys.

This reflects the conservative values ​​of the show, although it may very well be aware of the systemic challenges facing a black family, it does little to suggest changing that system, other than working within the framework of the system to create a better life for oneself and theirs. family. It reinforces the idea that the American dream is within the reach of black families, as long as they respect the rules. This is reflected in a speech given by Theo in the first season where she accepted an award for Cliff. « - I'm an American, - And this is my American family.

Thank you » One aspect of black culture that Cosby's show emphasized was the importance of historically black colleges. It fits very well with Cosby's well-worn refrain of emphasizing education. It became a major plot point for Denise, particularly when it came to discussions about which post-secondary school she would attend. Cliff and her father really want Denise to attend Hillman, her alma mater. « - Universities, which universities are you interested in? - Oh, I don't know, Princeton, - Brown, Howard, Talladega... - What about Hillman? - Hillman? - Hillman, ew!" Finally, at the end of season 2, in the episode "Denise's Decision", Denise decides that she will attend Hillman. - This school had everything she wanted. - And it also produced some very specials who did great things, including having me Oh!

I'm Going to Hillmann. » Denise goes to school in season 3, although she still makes regular appearances on the show as part of the cast has an episode in which the Huxtable family attends. to a ceremony honoring President Hillman's retirement. This episode marked the end of an era of The Cosby Show, bringing with it a whole new world in the form of a spin-off 4, Lisa Bonet left the Cosby Show and would begin a series. spinoff titled "A Different World," which had a backdoor pilot in the season 3 episode finale titled "Hillman" would be set at a fictional historically black college following the trials of Denise Huxtable trying to achieve a higher education.

This wasn't the first time a backdoor pilot appeared on The Cosby Show. In season 1, the episode "Mr. "Quiet" served as a backdoor pilot for a series starring Tony Orlando about a community center, although it did not garner enough attention to become a series. On the other hand, A Different World, created by Bill Cosby, caused quite a stir, reaching number 2 in the ratings in its first season, following his lead on the program that was naturally The Cosby Show. The school has been identified as being modeled after historically black Howard, Hampton, Spelman and Morehouse universities. The last two are probably because the exterior shots of the school were taken at Spelman and Morehouse.

A Different World, using the comfortable leadership of Denise Huxtable, introduced audiences to a cast with more diverse backgrounds than those they were seeing on The Cosby Show. While the Huxtables lived a comfortable middle-class life with typical sitcom concerns, A Different World had black students from all over the United States, representing a range of different experiences. Many of them evolved over the years into thoughtful and revealing portraits. Denise was joined by her two roommates: Jaleesa, played by Dawnn Lewis, and Maggie, played by Marisa Tomei. Mary Alice as Leticia and Loretta Divine as Stevie took turns as dorm matrons in the first season, and the final two members of the first season's main cast were the oh-so-memorable pairing of Whitley, played by Jasmine Guy, and Dwayne, played by Kadeem Hardison.

However, A Different World is probably funniest remembered for its life after its first season, when Lisa Bonet left the series and the show was left in the hands of Debbie Allen, a Howard University alum and Phylicia's real-life sister. Rashad. . Darryl Bell and Sinbad were promoted from recurring roles to the main cast, where they were joined by newcomers Charnele Brown, Chris Summer, Glynn Turman and Lou Myers. And perhaps most importantly, the characters Whitley and Dwayne were placed front and center, and their romantic subplot was a major driving force in the series for the rest of its run.

A Different World was praised for being everything The Cosby Show was not. It gave voice to a variety of black experiences in America and did not shy away from controversial topics such as homelessness, date rape, and was one of the first television shows to address the growing AIDS epidemic of the 1980s. he credited it with sparking interest in historically black colleges. The series also broke stereotypes, with Whitley probably being the first Southern belle played by a black actress, and Dwayne Wayne, a name so cool it has to be said all over, being a modern guy who is also a math genius, many years earlier. that geek chic became a trend.

Not completely separated from their spin-off roots, the Huxtables made several guest appearances on the show, even after Lisa Bonet left the series. Each member of the Huxtable family made at least two appearances, although mainly in the first season. Although Phylicia Rashād, who appeared in 4 episodes, appeared in season 2 or later. Lisa Bonet even briefly returned to the show for an episode in season 3. Before the premiere of A Different World, Lisa Bonet's entry into the series didn't seem entirely voluntary. In an interview with David Letterman, she explained how she ended up on the show. “- And are you also going to get your own, do you have your own pilot derived from this Cosby matter? - Yes. - Now, why is that? - Why would you want to do that? - Why did they tell me?

Although Bonet has not gone into detail about her time on the show, reports from those who worked on The Cosby Show cited difficulties between her and Bill Cosby, with her constantly resisting Cosby's need to control every part of the series. Bonnie's departure from A Different World was largely due to her pregnancy. Debbie Allen wanted to keep Denise as a character on the show, thinking that a single mother would introduce a new dynamic. But Bill Cosby thought otherwise. “- He says, “You know what, Debbie? No. - Huh. - She is pregnant. Denise Huxtable is not pregnant. - Lisa Bonet is pregnant, Denise is not.

Then no. - No, you can't have it, no. “We are not going to do it, no.” - So he accepted it. She was so angry with him! - I wanted to take her, but I understood that he only wanted her back. “ Lisa Bonet would remain a recurring star on The Cosby Show in season 5 and would resume her full-time status in season 6. Sondra and Elvin began season 4 as newlyweds, announced their engagement in season 3, and married in between the seasons. Although they seemingly follow in Cliff and Clair's footsteps with Elvin going to medical school and Sondra going to law school, the two decide to drop out of school and open a nature store.

That is, the best I could say to a store where you can buy camping supplies. The couple decides to rent their first house together, which also does not inspire confidence in Huxtable's parents. "- Well, what do you think? - So this is it. - Dad? - It's an apartment, yes. - Mom, dad, have a seat. - Make yourself at home. - Thank you, thank you very much." The couple goes from graduate students to working class in the blink of an eye. But what seems like a fun new premise is short-lived, as when Season 5 rolls around and Elvin and Sondra have their first two children, Elvin reconsiders his decision to drop out of medical school. “-I looked at them, and they looked at me, and I looked at her, and then she came to me. - Take a decision. - Mom, dad, everyone. - I'm going back to medical school.” And although Sondra doesn't have a similar scene, she eventually decides to return to law school as well.

As a side note, the twins are named Winnie and Nelson, and although it's not explicitly mentioned in the show, the names are those of the Mandelas, who were in the middle of the battle against apartheid in South Africa. This wasn't the only subtle show of solidarity, as Bill Cosby apparently had to fight the network to get a sticker saying abolish apartheid to appear on Theo's bedroom door. The fifth season began with the episode "Together Again and Again", in which Denise returned from college for the summer and eventually revealed that she was planning to drop out of school. "- What are you worried about? - Will you go back to him? - No, I'm not. - Yes, get serious. - I am, I'm dropping out of school. - What?" With no great prospects on the horizon, Denise returns home to her parents.

In the same episode, Theo, who is starting his freshman year at NYU, reveals that he forgot to send his dorm check, which means he will need a place to stay. “- I told you: “Son, don't forget to send this by mail.” - And you said: - “No problem.” - And I went out and mailed it. - I'm almost certain". And of course, this means one more Huxtable child will be staying home. “-It is believable that this boy deliberately did not send that envelope, so that when he came down, there would be no rooms and he would have to come back here and live.

It's believable that Denise no longer wants to go to college because she wants to live here. It is believable that this young man and this woman, who deliberately live in a condemned place, have this baby to make us feel sorry for them so they can return here! In all three cases, the Huxtable children are portrayed as having their lives in a bit of disarray, something that seems surprising compared to how the beginning of the season seemed to suggest that Cliff and Clair were setting their children up for success. All those heartfelt conversations that encourage them to work hard, set goals, and plan for the future explode the moment they enter the real world.

And what ultimately keeps things from getting out of control for them is that they have parents who rescue them, not with words of wisdom, but with material support. Sondra and Elvin get a loan for their apartment, while Denise and Theo get room and board. Of course, none of this should be taken as a condemnation of the Huxtables, but it does highlight a very important part of the equation when it comes to their success in raising children. Growing up means making mistakes, and sometimes those mistakes can have very real costs. The crucial difference here is that the Huxtables can afford it when their children make mistakes.

One of the stated goals of the series was to provide a positive parenting example for families. But this positive example requires a degree of material comfort that is not realistic for many families. Even before the Huxtable children made mistakes, they still had a paid education, a stable home, and never lacked for anything. It is the kind of life that any child should have, but unfortunately many do not. If the early seasons featured the Huxtable children in a bubble, no serious danger could pass through them, these seasons show the children growing up in a more hostile world, but with the safety net of parents who can provide them with material assistance.

Denise leaves the show for the second time in the season 5 episode "Out of Brooklyn", where she gets a job alongside a photojournalist who takes her to Africa. “-Oh, I'm so excited! Guys, don't worry about me. I'll be fine! - I know that the place I am going to is going to be difficult and bumpy, but the hardest part will be being away from you.” I've always loved the comedy theme of sending a character to the other side of the world to explain why we won't see them in the next 21episodes of the season. It can't be understated how important Clair Huxtable is to the family dynamic.

Cliff's antics tend to take up a lot of screen time and Cosby makes such a mess of her lines that it becomes a parody. “- I will lead with the queen to go to the garden and get the SWORD.” Phylicia Rashād takes control of the scenes in a quieter and more controlled way. The show seems very aware of the angry black woman trope, where black women are portrayed as overly forward and short-tempered as some kind of innate quality. Clair's character completely rejects that trope by always being the calm voice of reason in most situations. In the season 5 episode, "Mrs.

Huxtable Goes to Kindergarten", Clair is invited to join a Saturday morning television show panel discussing current events. Her fellow panelists are baffled by how able she is to hold her ground in the heated debate. « - The depression was still ravaging the nation when the stock market began to recover. In my opinion, the accident was a precipitating event. - That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. -Oh, I wouldn't call her opinion ridiculous. - A little naive, perhaps! - My opinion is neither naive nor ridiculous, and how does Sam Hill intend to have a discussion if all points of view are not taken into account?

» And we see a rare and possibly unique example of someone in the Huxtable household facing racism. « - We are trying to expand our audience. - Well then! - Then let her talk when we get to the black issues! - Excuse me? -The black themes? - Is that what I'm here for? - Talk about black issues? - No, you are also here to speak for women. - Oh that's nice. I'm a black woman, but I'm also a human being, a lawyer, a mother of 5, and somewhat knowledgeable about history, which is why I thought I'd be invited here.

»In that moment, Clair is reduced to her identity, in a way that invalidates her individual experiences, and her response, instead of being outraged, is to hold herself to her own standard of behavior. « - I'm afraid we only have 30 seconds left. - At that time, could you tell us what effect the depression had on black people? - Do you want me to summarize that for you in 30 seconds? - We learned that misery does not like company. »Another great part of this episode is how Cliff watched everything that happened in the green room, confident that his wife could handle the experience alone.

He eventually leaves the show despite the producers' efforts to retain her. « - Getting up at 4:30 in the morning to prove who I am to 3 men basking in the non-existent rays of their own intelligence is not my idea of ​​a fun time. What was interesting? And her books were in her hands, so of course she looked suspicious. - Then I said: «What's in the bag? » - Then she gets angry with me and throws the bag on the floor. - You know, every day we receive these box lunches, with apples, carrots, sandwiches, milk, you know. - And this girl, every day, volunteers to go pick up the trash and then goes out into the hallway. -So of course I'm thinking she's sorting things out for recycling. -Dad, she opened that backpack and there was all this food. -And she told me that she takes the food home to feed her family.

»Theo simply can't save all the students from him. « - I'll save you a seat. - Uh, I don't really want that seat. - I want to sit next to that girl Cal. - I think she likes me. - You got it. - Later. »This gives us another view of the world outside Huxtable's house and the limitations of his approach. It may make a positive difference to send Theo out into the world to help a boy like Stanley, but for Rahim and many of his fellow students, Theo cannot make the impact he would like. I appreciate the different challenges of raising these children.

We are seeing class warfare and the limited impact of a good teacher, but that doesn't completely ignore the fact that a good teacher does make a difference. Even if it's not enough to change the world, at least he can provide some comfort and support to these children. This second part closed out season 7 and we saw more of Theo with these kids in season 8, but unfortunately it didn't go much deeper than what we saw in these episodes. We meet Rahim once again in the season 8 episode, "Cliff and Theo Open Up." It is never explained how he returned to the after-school program, but his financial problems persist, as seen when he discovers some money and the children have a debate about what should be done with it.

« - Are you really not going to keep the money? - No, look, I'm not going to keep it. - I'm going to give it to my father. He will make up for some of the money he lost when he was fired. »The money is finally returned to the owner of it, but fortunately the episode does not end with such a simple lesson. « - Theo, you know things haven't been going so well for my family lately. - That money could have helped us a lot. - Rahim, the money wasn't yours to begin with. - But it should have been like that! - Do you know how Mr.

Zander got that money? -He won it by betting on horses. What justice! - You're right, there isn't one. - But the people who need it most never get it. - Other people understand it. Like politicians, movie stars, baseball players, preachers! - Everyone is making a lot of money! - Yes you're right. - But not all of them are good people. - Some do drugs, some steal them, some even lie all the time just to keep their money. - But what does it have to do with Rahim? - This Rahim? - This Rahim should have kept his mouth shut and walked out of here with that money. - This Rahim is the last honest fool.

» Theo lets Rahim know that he would have done exactly the same thing, as would his classmates, and that it might have been enough to impress Letitia, one of Rahim's classmates, which seems to placate him, but does little to stop him. address the real problems you face. brought. The episode clearly states that we should not sacrifice our personal ethics in pursuit of a more just world, and reflects one of the series' most depressing messages: take care of yourselves and eventually things will work out. Or maybe they don't. But at least you won't be corrupted. You will simply be hungry.

A brilliant part of the subplot was seeing Theo grow as a character. In season 8, he was accepted into graduate school and offered a high-paying job at a major corporation. He enjoyed the opportunity to have options in his life, although he ultimately decided to pursue graduate school so he could continue working with kids like Stanley and Rahim. And this, of course, brings us to the series finale titled "And So We Begin," a two-parter about the Huxtable family preparing for Theo's graduation. It would air on April 30, 1992. The finale of The Cosby Show was a major event for NBC, with widely circulated advertisements promoting this finale.

« - You are invited to witness a special chapter in television history, an event that people will be talking about for months to come: Cosby's last show. » However, the episode itself was a bit lukewarm. Maybe that made it more appropriate for a series that's all about small moments and simple plots, but for the end of an eight-year story it felt a little flat. The plot of this two-part film was tension over whether or not Theo would find enough money for his expensive family. In the end he does it. And that pretty much sums up the plot of the finale.

There are some cute moments, like a role reversal between Theo and Cliff. " - Please listen to me. - I'm listening to you. - There are no more tickets. - Look at me! - There is no more you- Look! - There are no more tickets, do you understand me? » And Cliff's reaction to the surprise return Dabniss's is funny." - Hello dad. - Dabnis. - Mister. - Dabnis, Dabnis, Dabnis, Dabnis, Dabnis. - How are you sir? - Hello Dad. - Dabnis." Denise also makes an appearance, although Lisa Bonet certainly does not. Instead, we see a brief scene where everyone is talking to Denise on the phone and we find out that she is pregnant.

 « - What? - My baby! ! - What? - My baby is having a baby! » The plot of this two-part episode is so thin that we have a flashback to the first episode for a full 6 minutes when the series ends, Cliff and Clair dance together. to celebrate another boy's success. The last line that can barely be heard comes from Cliff, or maybe it's Bill at this point, saying, "Come on, let's go" as the two continue making personal comments that fade into obscurity afterward. As they move toward the audience, the Huxtables danced into the sunset. The final episode was more of a celebration of the series than an ending.

It's clear that the Huxtables' lives will continue, whether or not there is a camera to capture them. .The ending offers a small opportunity to reflect on the themes of the series. The value of good parenting, proper education, and the need for financial means to make that happen. Theo embodies the success of this philosophy, which aims to create a better world in its immediate environment. Although it may not change the world at large beyond that. In many ways, it's a good metaphor for The Cosby Show itself. It wasn't a series that tried to change television by rewriting the rules, but instead tried to become a positive example, and its example led to a new era of family sitcoms, one that felt safe and comfortable, but didn't necessarily rock the boat. .

The finale of The Cosby Show aired on April 30, 1992, which was the second day of what is commonly called the 1992 Los Angeles Riots, although some prefer the name the 1992 Los Angeles Uprising. These were precipitated for the brutal arrest and beating of Rodney King, in which four police officers beat King, unaware that they were being filmed at the time. The images sparked outrage and the 4 officers were charged. On April 29, they were acquitted of those charges, sparking riots in the city. Although live news coverage dominated the night in Los Angeles, it was suspended for an hour to air the final episode of the Cosby Show.

A decision made by the local NBC affiliate. « - Today, Mayor Tom Bradley urged everyone in Los Angeles to stay home, stay off the streets. He also suggested that you might want to watch the Cosby Show, because he believes and we believe that we need this time, a period of reflection, to give us a little room to breathe, maybe a time to remember what Thursday nights were like. night before all this. The madness started in Los Angeles. Rodney King's video revealed a truth known in black communities for decades. The place often, with impunity, brutalized black men during arrest, something that still happens today.

There's something appropriate about The Cosby Show, which was often accused of glossing over the racism of the time, and its ending was used for exactly the same purpose. Cosby's own feelings about the situation were made clear in an interview: "It's very difficult to look at the King tape and feel that this is not excessive force. And obviously, people were expecting some kind of reprimand. And when they arrived and saw nothing at all, the answer came. Now, how do you say that these people are irresponsible without first committing their responsibility with a verdict? I don't understand. » However, when asked about the decision to air the episode in Los Angeles, Cosby said in an interview: «At first, I didn't really feel like this would be part of what was happening in real life.

However, I do remember that when Dr. Martin Luther King was shot, when John F. Kennedy was shot, I wanted something to take me away from the horror. So I was glad they decided to go with The Cosby Show, because there was a family on the show that for 8 years had given people a good feeling about themselves. » With these words it seems clear that Bill Cosby never intended for his show to directly address the realities of discrimination that black Americans face today, at least not at a level of detail that could address something like police brutality. The Cosby Show rarely mentioned race, and when he did, it often didn't include the central cast.

Here's a rare example from the series: « - How is it possible that a guy as tall as you is so bad at basketball? -Just because a guy is tall and black doesn't mean he has to be great at basketball. - You better believe it, it's a tradition! - That's how it is! Because of your appearance, people think you can play. - Isn't that what you think? - Good! Tall, black, matte! - So go out and mate, fool! - That hurts guys, that hurts. » And none of the main actors are even present in this scene. It is a moment that happens and is equally easy to move on from.

The show simply wasn't very interested in addressing the issue of racial discrimination. It begs the question of what this show meant to the audience it was designed for. What were the reactions of black audiences to The Cosby Show? One notable criticism was an editorial in the New York Times titled, "The Black World of Television Spins, But It's Still Unreal," by literary scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. "While I applaud Cosby's success in depicting, for end, worrieseveryday lives of black people: love, sex, ambition, generational conflicts, work and leisure, far beyond the reflex responses to white racism, the question remains: has television managed to show a truly different world?

» Gate's writings reflect what many black critics of the show had observed, and Cosby himself addressed some of those concerns in interviews. In a 1989 interview, he said: "I agree with the critics who say it doesn't do enough, but the people who watch it have fun with it. We received letters of gratitude from all over the United States, Canada and Europe. I know I have to go far with that. »In another interview, he expressed concern that if he highlighted racial conflict, white viewers would feel like the villains. In 1995, Leslie B Inniss and Joe R. Feagin published an article entitled: "The Cosby Show, the view from the black middle class" in the journal of Black Studies.

The authors had more than 100 members of the black middle class describe their opinions on media representations, and the article highlighted the many thoughts related to the Cosby show. Here are some examples of the responses they got: “I know this is just entertainment, but my kids think it's the way we should live. That is unfair. It's unfair for me to explain to my son that no, mom is not a lawyer, dad is not a doctor and these things don't work like that. I think it's really sad. » «I wish we had more shows like Cosby on television, where you have a black doctor and the wife is a lawyer, because they exist.

I mean, they are small scale in percentage terms, but they exist. And I think we take too many negative aspects and exploit them. » «I have a problem with the fact that the Cosby Show will create a 30-minute episode in which Heathcliff Huxtable builds a hero sandwich. Why don't we address some real problems facing the black middle class? Yes, his kids go to NYU and other big universities like that, but they come home talking about what this racist professor said and did, and I don't see that happening on The Cosby Show. As you can see from some of the featured answers, there is no overall positive or negative trend in the comments.

The authors of the article noted that the topic was overwhelming and the responses were how varied they all were, often reflecting both positive and negative aspects of the program. Considering these comments refer to the most popular show in the country, it undermines the kind of enthusiasm one might expect from such a big hit. It reveals to us that the show perhaps struck a stronger chord, not with the black audiences it hoped to inspire, but with the white audiences who found solace in it. The Cosby Show would be re-examined many times over the years, as more comedies starring black families strayed from its squeaky-clean aesthetic.

But it was comments from a particular Bill Cosby speech that would once again offer the opportunity to reframe the show and the work Cosby had done throughout his career. «Meddle in other people's business! » On May 17, 2004, during an NAACP Legal Defense Fund awards ceremony in Washington, D.C., commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Board of Education's Brown V Supreme Court decision, Bill Cosby spoke a speech in which he made some very direct comments about the black community. . « - These are people who go around stealing Coca-Cola, people who get shot in the back of the head for a piece of cake. -And then we all ran out and were outraged: “Oh, the police shouldn't have shot him!

» - What the hell was he doing with the cake in his hand? - Everyone knows that it is important to speak English, except these idiots! - You can't land a plane with "why aren't you..." - You can't be a doctor with that kind of crap coming out of your mouth! » The speech had a number of factual errors and we have included an article refuting many of them. his points below. Perhaps the most famous response to the speech came from Michael Eric Dyson, who wrote "Is Bill Cosby Right? (Or Has the Black Middle Class Lost Its Mind?)" In an interview with NPR, Dyson made a summary of his criticism of Cosby's speech.

The interview was preceded by comments from Bill Cosby that clarified his infamous speech: « I'm watching... In the lowest economic zone, 50% of African American males drop out of high school And. I'm realizing that there is a lot of racism, we understand it, we all know it. But, again, there is a moment when we have to turn to the mirror and look at ourselves »   And on that NPR show, we can hear. Dyson's response to that. « The best of our black leaders and intellectuals who have always remembered that it is a both and, even when you talk about personal responsibility, you link that personal responsibility with its possibility of fulfillment in a culture that o Either it allows you to do better or it puts its foot on your neck and prevents you from getting up.

» And what's more, it explains the damage caused by Bill Cosby by making these debates that take place within black communities available to the general public. "They're engaging in a conversation that's been going on for a long time among black people who speak in shorthand, and they don't fully understand it, so now policymakers who listen to Mr. Cosby attack the poor and say that They are responsible, they begin to change their minds. They say, "Well, we thought we had to help them because we had to blame our own social practices for their inability to help these people, now, as Mr.

Cosby says, they have to do it themselves!" So maybe we shouldn't put this extra money into this program. »Much of what Cosby had said in his speech could be seen in his work over the decades, including the Cosby Show. In the season 8 episode, "For Men Only," we see what Cliff Huxtable's advice to teenagers at a community center is like. « - The second thing you should do after choosing is to determine if that is really what you want to do. - What do you want to be. - And then the next thing you do is you go out and figure out how to become that. - No, no, no, that's easy for you to say, Dr.

Huxtable, - You're a doctor! - I hate to tell you this, man, but... I'm not the problem. - I have a job. » The message is, quite clear, that the only thing that prevents these boys from building a future are the decisions they make. It is a very conservative message. You could almost imagine Huxtable handing out help, and while it's not a bad message, personal responsibility is a good thing. It does not address the additional challenges these boys will face as they try to escape a life of poverty. Cliff recommends higher education, but how can they afford it?

And what burden will this place on his family? And it's a little irritating to hear this from Cliff Huxtable because how many of his kids had to work an extra job to pay for tuition? Even with the momentary backlash against the cupcake speech, Bill Cosby's reputation was still healthy enough that by the time of the Cosby Show's 30th anniversary in the fall of 2014, there was a round of positive media coverage examining his longevity and success. . In some cases, articles hypothesized that the success of the Cosby Show helped prepare America for its first black president. Although Bill Cosby was still widely credited with being America's father, that image would change in late 2014, when a story he likely thought buried resurfaced.

The next section includes sexual assault. If you want to skip ahead, go to the timestamp below. In 2004, Andrea Constand, director of operations for the Temple University women's basketball team, claimed that Bill Cosby had given her pills that left her semiconscious and unable to move. And while she was in that state, she alleged that Cosby sexually assaulted her. In January 2005, Constand filed a criminal complaint. Cosby claimed the counterattack was consensual. The prosecutor eventually dropped the case, treating it as a "he said, she said" case, but Constand later filed a civil suit against Cosby in March 2005, along with 13 women who came forward as witnesses and made similar claims about predatory behavior. by Cosby.

The case was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum in November 2006. In June 2006, Philadelphia Magazine published an article by Robert Huber titled "Dr. Huxtable and Mr. Hyde,” which began to withdraw from carefully crafted public attention. person Cosby had created for himself. Interspersed with this article are the stories of some of the women Cosby had assaulted, revealing damning details. The story that Cosby was a sexual predator did not capture the public's attention. Or at least it wouldn't be for another 8 years, when a clip of a Hannibal Buress performance went viral in late 2014. Suddenly, the media caught wind of the story, and even more women began coming forward with stories. similar to what happened to Constand and the other women who approached.

In total, more than 60 women came forward with allegations against Cosby, ranging from sexual harassment to rape. In the face of mounting public pressure, Constand's attorney requested that the statement made by Cosby in the 2005 case be unsealed. The judge agreed, citing Cosby's role as a public moralist. When the deposition was opened, he revealed that Cosby had admitted to giving the women Quaaludes before having sex with them. According to Cosby, these encounters were consensual, although many of his more than 60 accusers dispute this. The statute of limitations had expired on many of the claims his accusers had made, so they could not be examined in court.

Only Constand's allegations still existed within the statute of limitations and would eventually reach the criminal courts. In December 2015, Cosby was charged with three cases of aggravated indecent assault and, in April 2018, he would be found guilty of all three charges. He was sentenced to 3 to 10 years in state prison. Cosby's co-stars on the series have largely remained quiet about the situation, although I appreciated this comment from Joseph C. Phillips: "I think, like a lot of people, he was really giving Bill the benefit of the doubt." . - This was not the man I knew. -This is not the man I worked with, he may have had other defects, but he certainly did not drug or rape people. - And then I had a conversation with an old friend, I ran into her, I hadn't talked to her in a couple of years. -I just thought, "Hey, did she used to be your mentor or something?" »-Was she an actress? - Yes, and I don't want to say much about it. - Sure sure. - So he was a mentor to her?

What did she say? -Yes. And, for 2 hours, she was sitting in my car, crying. -Telling me her story. - All the details. And in that moment something changed for me. She-she turned to me and said, wiped her face and said, “Do you believe me? ». - And I said: «Yes, I believe you. » - And that was the change. - And I had to look, with sober eyes, at what was happening. »This turn of events drastically changed the public perception of Bill Cosby and, by extension, his work. An immediate effect was the withdrawal of the season 7 episode "Last Barbecue" from distribution.

In it, Cliff prepared a special barbecue sauce that could put anyone who tried it in a sexual mood. « - Have you ever noticed that after people eat a little of my barbecue sauce, after a while, when it takes effect, they hug each other? » Another challenge to experience in the series was knowing that some of the actresses who appeared on the show were attacked by Cosby. It introduces a complication when looking back at certain episodes. How is it possible to enjoy them when we know that the actress we are seeing on the screen has been a victim of the actor sitting next to her.

Of course, this is not a new phenomenon; once you know the truth, it's very difficult, at least for me, not to see the real life stories versus whatever narrative unfolds on the screen. Several articles were produced reflecting how our new public image of Bill Cosby affected The Cosby Show. For Salon, Chauncey Devega wrote: "As a child of the hip hop generation and a member of the black working class, I grew up loving The Cosby Show. However, I'm not ashamed to admit that I have a lot more in common with the white people on Roseanne or the black family on "Roc" than I do with the Huxtables.

» And in the Chicago Tribune, reflecting on Cosby's guilty verdict, Dahleen Glanton wrote: « The problem with Cliff Huxtable is that he wasn't real. African Americans wanted it that way. In fact, we needed it to be. Cliff represented the men we knew: our husbands, our fathers, our brothers, ourselves. We had been around smart, loving, confident black men our entire lives, and Cliff introduced them to the rest of the world. But he was nothing more than a figment of Bill Cosby's imagination, a character the actor created to keep us entertained. Our mistake was trying toCliff and Cosby were the same person.

The most striking image of The Cosby Show's changing perspective came from the 2015 cover of Ebony magazine, which featured a vandalized portrait. The fractures come from Cosby himself. Ebony's editor-in-chief at the time, Kierna Mayo, also wrote in 2018 about Cosby's guilty verdict. «Cliff Huxtable's existence was not so much about truth (damn it), but about archetypal representation; perhaps not many of us in black America had seen or remembered this figure before The Cosby Show, and God knows, until then, white America. He was practically certain that he never existed. I know that beautiful black men like my father, who are not abusive, exist across generations and have done so in every era of American life.

Therefore, I refuse to let my passion and pride in the creative genius and iconography of the Cosby Show allow me to be even a little confused. I don't have to support the fallen and decrepit Bill Cosby to prove what I know about black excellence, black decency, black humor, black art, black colleges, the black family, black mothers, or black male heroes. » Although Bill Cosby will likely always be seen as a predator first, the fiction of the Bill Cosby show may still have a lasting legacy beyond that. Many works of art have been created by artists who have said and done reprehensible things, and we all have to decide for ourselves where we draw the line for what it means to enjoy a work of art knowing those facts.

Reading what Mayo got from The Cosby Show reflects the power of a person's experience with a work of art. “The Death of the Author” written by Roland Barths is often cited when describing how to separate the art from the artist. In the case of Bill Cosby, his feelings about him as a person have created a kind of metaphorical public death and, because of that, those who wish to preserve his creative works like The Cosby Show are taking the final step of removing him for good. complete. out of the equation and created an appreciation of the Cosby show that is truly their own.

Before The Cosby Show, Phylicia Rashād had worked primarily on stage, and at the end of the series, she would return to that space. She also had several on-screen roles, perhaps most notably alongside Bill Cosby in the 1996 series "Cosby." In 2004, she won a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for "A Raisin in the Sun," making her the first black actress to win that award. Following the end of The Cosby Show, Lisa Bonet appeared in several different films, including "High Fidelity" and "Enemy of the State"; She also had some roles on television, although she seems to have dedicated much of her time to raising her 3 children.

And in 2017, she married her fellow actor Jason Momoa. Malcolm-Jamal Warner branched out into directing, having directed several episodes of The Cosby Show in its later seasons. He still managed to continue acting, appearing in numerous television shows and films, notably starring in his own comedy "Malcolm and Eddie." He even released a few albums and, in 2015, won a Grammy for Best Traditional R&B Performance along with Robert Glasper and Lalah Hathaway for Jesus Children. Tempestt Bledsoe briefly hosted a talk show titled "The Tempestt Bledsoe Show." He has also acted in several different productions. Since 1993 he has been in a relationship with Darryl M.

Bell, who starred in "A Different World." Keshia Knight Pulliam made history in 1986 by being the youngest person nominated for an Emmy at the age of 6 for her work on The Cosby Show. Following the show's end, she continued acting after having found success in several roles, most notably as Miranda Lucas Payne in Tyler Perry's "House of Payne." Sabrina Le Beauf is currently starring in several productions with The Shakespeare Theater Company in Washington DC. Geoffrey Owens had several roles after The Cosby Show, although none had the same prominence. In 2018, photos of Owens surfaced showing him working at Trader Joe's grocery packing house, which unfortunately attracted a lot of negative attention and forced him to resign.

Tyler Perry offered Owens a role on "The Haves and Have-Nots" for 10 episodes, which appears to have led to a resurgence of his acting career. Joseph C. Phillips has acted extensively since the series finale, notably as Justus Ward on "General Hospital." He also works as a conservative commentator. Raven Symoné went directly from The Cosby Show to another sitcom, "Hanging with Mr. Cooper", which ran for 4 years. She starred in Disney Channel's "That So Raven," during which she was nominated for several awards. After that series, she appeared in countless television shows and movies. She has also had a prolific singing career and has released 4 studio albums.

Erika Alexander immediately moved on to a second series, "Living Single", where she played the role of Maxine Shaw for 5 seasons. Since then, she has worked steadily with roles in various films and television shows. Some notable recent roles for her were in the movie "Get Out" and the CW series "Black Lightning." On June 30, 2021, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned Bill Cosby's conviction. They found that testimony from the 2005 civil case used by prosecutors in the 2015 criminal case had included an agreement by the previous prosecutor that Cosby would not be criminally charged. District Attorney Kevin Steele, who had prosecuted Cosby in 2015, said Cosby was convicted by a jury and is now free on a procedural issue that is irrelevant to the facts of the crime.

Steele also expressed hope that this outcome will not deter future victims of sexual assault from coming forward. To talk about The Cosby Show, I think it's important to understand the context around it. In a sense, it may be completely unfair to put so much effort into understanding a single sitcom. Other sitcoms, particularly those with white casts, are not expected to redefine racial politics or provoke radical discourse on social justice. But a hit show starring a black cast suddenly has that burden on it. But contrary to that, The Cosby Show wasn't just another sitcom, it was one of the most popular sitcoms of all time.

And I think it's important to ask how he got there, looking at what he did and what he didn't do, and then, when he got there, what he did with his newfound prominence. I think an important lesson we can learn from The Cosby Show is that representation in the media has a profound impact, and what a media outlet does with that representation matters too. While there is value in being seen and visible, what you do with that visibility can make a good show truly great. This video was very difficult to make. Watching all 8 seasons of The Cosby Show wasn't even the hardest part, gathering the research and reading all the different opinions and analyzes of the show really broadened my perspective and made me appreciate the show in a way I maybe wouldn't.

I've seen it just by watching it myself. A lot of work went into making this video, so if you'd like to see more of these in the future, consider becoming a patron or member of this channel, like these great names on screen now. Thanks to these people I was able to hold on a little longer and make sure this video was the best it could be. And I hope that has been understood. In addition to supporting this channel, you also get early access to videos and the opportunity to download my music tracks. If you would like to support this channel non-monetarily, you can leave a comment, hit the like button, subscribe if you haven't already, or hit the bell to get notified when a new video comes out.

Thank you all so much for watching.