America and the Huxtables: The Legacy of "The Cosby Show"
In its eight year run, The Cosby Show proved to be America's favorite family sitcom. The Cosby Show transcended racial, class, and gender differences to become universally appealing to the American public. The show was groundbreaking in its representation of African Americans, especially when compared to the sitcoms of the 1970s. As a result, many sitcoms in the mainstream since The Cosby Show have been exploring a multitude of reflections of people of color on previously unseen social, economic and cultural levels.
The methodology used in this research is a qualitative data analysis of sitcoms from various decades, including the 1970s and the most recent prime time sitcoms. There was also an evaluation of literature written on blacks in the media, The Cosby Show, and several sitcoms included in the study. Findings have indicated that The Cosby Show has left a long lasting legacy, created a new standard for "black sitcoms," and changed the limitations of the sitcom genre. However, many of the sitcoms since Cosby have reverted to minstrel images once again, portraying one-dimensional characters with no other purpose than comedy.
The methodology used in this research is a qualitative data analysis of sitcoms from various decades, including the 1970s and the most recent prime time sitcoms. There was also an evaluation of literature written on blacks in the media, The Cosby Show, and several sitcoms included in the study. Findings have indicated that The Cosby Show has left a long lasting legacy, created a new standard for "black sitcoms," and changed the limitations of the sitcom genre. However, many of the sitcoms since Cosby have reverted to minstrel images once again, portraying one-dimensional characters with no other purpose than comedy.
School:
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Department:
Broadcast Journalism
Research Advisor:
Angharad N. Valdivia
Department of Research Advisor:
Media Studies
Year of Publication:
2002