The family dynamic for the Black Comedy has changed. Is it
for the better or worse? While they have become more politically diverse – they
have not become as prolific as our white counterparts. It seems we are still in
the experimental phase when it comes to rolling out black family sitcoms,
meaning; the networks will roll one out, just to see what the backlash is, and
then maybe another a few years down the line.
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| New Kid On The Block! |
The History
Cable has brought on a change in television and the Black
Family Sitcom, because it brought out more choices, and subsequently more
scripts. The good news (and this is very good), many shows are produced now by
blacks more than ever before; and these are blacks that have a name in entertainment.
Statistically, blacks watch more television than any other
ethnic group (Nielson Rating 2013), which explains the inclusion of more blacks
on television shows like How to Get Away with Murder, Scandal, and Rosewood;
but overall the options seem to be still limited – unless you count shows on
black-content cable channels like OWN or BET (even those shows have limited
reach in advertising).
Maybe the lack is due to the complication that exists in a
black family comedy: what do you talk about? The experiences in a black family
comedy are highly based on the experiences of the characters, and their history
within the black community. Having the ability for a family comedy to be
understood by both black and white audiences has been a difficult challenge…but
does it have to be?
Back In The Day
Black Family Comedies used to gain crossover audience appeal
by being a fly-on-the-wall. It introduced a world of stereotypes that appealed to
white audiences, while not necessarily holding a positive view of blacks. Sanford &
Son, The Jeffersons, That’s My Mama, Good Times, 227 – exposed new worlds,
where the black male adults were depicted as angry, the children as slap-stick,
and the family structure was so separate monetarily (except for the Jeffersons)
from the middle-class, that it actually caused black kids in the real world to see
very limited potential in their world. Diversity was dispelled, and rarely
talked about.
The Cosby Era
While there has been a backlash in the news about Bill
himself, his creation, The Cosby Show, was a break-through in both comedy
style, and the perception of the black family. It displayed a successful black
family, who were taking care of their kids, who had real individual issues much
of America kids were going through. It fostered a different view of the
American Family, which appealed to both black an white audiences. It spawned
more shows where the parents were successful, passing on valuable life lessons
to their children: The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, My Wife and Kids, The Bernie
Mac Show.
It is worth noting that a trend was also developing at this
stage, where black comedians were starting to produce their own shows, which
was also a time multiple shows aired during the week with black casts (Martin,
Living Single, The Jamie Foxx Show..etc.). And the UPN network produced many black family
sitcoms, helming them as the channel to watch such demographics: All of Us,
Half & Half, Moesha, The Parkers, Everybody Hates Chris…etc. It is perhaps
the only time in history that more than 6 black family sitcoms ran at the same
time (this also cast UPN as not-so-professional network too. Then Warner
Brothers bought it – creating the CW network…and BAM…black programming faded
away).
The Tyler Perry Era
Crass and Ghetto, is what Tyler Perry brought to the screen
in the family comedy. While the early era views black life as a stereotype, and
the Cosby Era interjected real life issues – Tyler Perry had a focus on both.
He created a family that mostly was geared to blacks. The language, the
mannerisms, the antics, were comical and buffoonery at times, but it was not
black trying to appeal to a while audience, but the opposite. It made us laugh
at ourselves, and it worked. The House of Payne surpassed The Jeffersons as the
longest running black comedy of all time. In addition there was Meet The Browns, both
gaining high numbers in viewership (it was like another version of Rosanne).
A trend was starting here as well, for shows where the
language was geared towards black audiences, even in animation like The
Cleveland Show and Boondocks – it spoke in underlining tones about black
issues, creating a soapbox for our voice.
The Obama Era
In recent years there has been a shift in the context that
is tackled in black family comedies, and also a shift in creating a world
beyond that of the standard comedic setup of 3-walls and two camera stage-like appearances.
With a president who is outspoken about the plights of young black men, and
citizens as a whole, there have been sitcoms that have also been outspoken
about such issues. The Carmichael Show, is written with this in mind, and while
it has comedy at its center, it also has real family discussions about serious
issues, and also a mesh of both middle and upper class with the two leads
coming from two different lifestyles.
Black-ish, and the new Uncle Buck, also tackle these issues
from the start, while offering a more realistic view of the world, by letting
diversity come and go in varied cultures they either work with, are friends
with, or neighbors too. It resembles a clean-cut family, living in the suburbs,
with smart children who could be the son/daughter of Obama himself.
The Future
Perhaps we are heading in a direction that I see The
Carmichael Show heading; where we have diversity in the black family comedy,
that is among blacks of all classes, living among a diverse world. A sprinkling of that is delivered in Empire – the ultimate show of both diversity
and classes in dramatic form. In Empire however, you feel it is a world
disconnected from the white world around us…and the ratings will keep it that
way. But I see that as the future for
the Black Sitcom, and with that, maybe the networks can trust us to have more
than just a few at a time.
But by us watching black programming, we can show the
networks that we can generate the income, which is the real reason the decline
has not picked up. We are a diverse society, and black programming should be
that way too, but if you can’t include it in many shows, le’ts hope they can at
least include it in one.
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