The Cosby Show vs. Shameless

This week's topic on racism seemed to bring up many opinions and emotions, some that I didn't even realize that I held. In reading Jhally's article on Enlightened Racism in relation to The Cosby Show I was surprised to find how such a popular, family-oriented show could be analyzed and critiqued to such an extreme degree. I never realized before that the sitcom unknowingly possessed so many controversial issues dealing with the ideas of modern racism, social mobility, false images of race and culture, and white American tolerance of African Americans. I always enjoyed watching The Cosby Show due to the fact that I could relate to the family in many ways and I understood their lifestyle to some degree. I didn't so much see the color of their skin, but instead the way they lived their life. However, now looking back I realize that I was able to relate to the show because it coincided with my life as coming from a white, American, upper-middle class family. The show does not include a lot of "black humor" or "stereotypical black portrayals" like many other popular black sitcoms, which explains why many white people are able to connect with the show and see it as something relatable. However, what is frightening to think about is the fact that this show has created a false image, or a myth of social mobility in terms of race and culture. For people like me, who grew up in a small town and did not know many black people or people of various ethnic backgrounds, I would easily assume that it is completely believable and doable for a black family to be upper-middle class, live in a nice house like the Huxtables, live in a safe neighborhood with wealthy friends, and are able to have all of the privileges as a typical white family. I had never seen the other side to class and culture besides my white, suburban upper-middle class town, and watching shows like this made me believe this was something "normal". However, now that I have opened my eyes to so much more of the world by coming to DePaul, living in a big city, taking classes like Martin Luther King Jr. vs. Malcolm X., I have come to realize that this in fact is not reality. I strongly believe that we as a society have evolved racism into not so much of a degradation of skin color, but more so to its relation on class and culture. I have to admit, if The Cosby Show was based on the story of a black family from the lower-class, struggling to get by and raise a family while trying to make ends meet, it probably would not have been as popular. This led me to think about my current TV obsession on Showtime, Shameless, which is about a white, lower-class family living in Chicago, with drunks for parents and an older sister who raises the family on her own. It's interesting to think about these concepts from an alternate perspective and question if the same concept for the show would be completely different or less popular if it was about a black family. Would I still watch it? Would it be considered stereotypical? Does a poor white family sit the same with viewers compared to a poor African American family? It is difficult to consider these questions, however, I think it is necessary in order to try and understand society's current view on racism and how it has evolved.