Archie Bunker’s Bicentennial Minute

I for one has always been a fan of retro TV shows, and one day when I was channel surfing a stopped to watch All in the Family. For anyone who has never seen this show before, politics often becomes an issue. The premise of the show is that there is a conservative older man, Archie Bunker, whose views often clash with his son-in-law, Michael, a liberal college professor. This particular episode was especially interesting because the son-in-law was offered a job, but became worried that he would not get it when he learned that he had to compete against a black man to get it. This was a show in the 1970’s and the idea of Affirmative action was directly talked about. Michael, who was active in all of the peace marches and an advocate for civil rights, suddenly feels the effects of what was brought up as ‘reverse racism’ in the show. What was interesting was that they even say that Michael had more experience, but was denied the job because it looked better to the school if they hired a minority. However, the show described the overall justification for Affirmative action, which was to give minority groups a boost, which has been denied to them for so many years. Even though Michael was upset at his lost opportunity, he seemed to understand why it occurred. It made me think of people 35 years ago or so, watching that program, then when it was over, them having a more clear sense of Affirmative Action (why it was pit into place, and how it can have a huge affect on lives of everyone-no matter which color you are). However, it seems as though some of the unsettling notions of such controversial legislation were apparent then as they are now.

The clip I have posted below is Archie Bunker’s rant on America. He does not want Michael to get the job because he does not want them to move away, so he says he supports the idea that Michael would loose a job to a black man (something that he certainly doesn’t really agree with). If you listen closely, his true feelings on America will leak out. He does this is a very crude, and offensive (but comical) way. It is almost surprising that his language was acceptable at the time; I don’t think it would on a new show today. If you don’t see the clip for entertainment value, it is good to watch it to get an insight into 1970’s American culture, and even how such political issues were exposed used the media at that time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cbu0voHaqbA