Black & White TV Families

The family sitcom that started the trend of African American the TV family may have been in the 1980’s The Cosby Show. This show consisted of a strong and loving upper middle class black nuclear family, the father being a doctor and the mother a lawyer. This portrayal of a well respected black family became a household name in American culture. The parents had strong morals and principals orienting around the caring of their children laced with humour to make it more memorable. This was a positive influence for the black audience as well as for the development of television history. Following the show’s success, in the 1990s The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was created making another successful program centered on a black African American family. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air also had a short storyline of an interracial marriage between a black woman and a white man who later have a son appearing in a happy marriage. This show made Will Smith a worldwide star and his comedian act was the standout performance. In the 2000s came My Wife and Kids, about the lives of another black family combined with comedy. These kind of representations depict that black and white families have in common that family is just as important regardless of what race.

There are more white American family shows produced throughout history, focusing on white characters and families. Examples include The Nanny, Married with Children, 8 Simple Rules, Malcolm in the Middle, The Middle etc…Likewise most of these shows consist of nuclear families that in the end look out for each other and solve their issues. Both black and white shows have represented this kind of happy family’s ideology that has been embedded into watching family sitcoms. The success of the African American TV shows have helped opened doors for more involvement in future TV making. There have been more black characters added to television programs but in the end more white casting. In the line of history there been an improvement, that African American TV shows can be just as successful if not more.