Was Archie Bunker a racist or a bigot?

Let the flames get the popcorn started!

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(and just in case...)

:P

It was the premise of the entire show.

Of course, the way DU goes these days, you already know this and this post is just an answer to another thread.

I'd have to disagree, by Dad was pretty darned good at being both.

He was a racist or a bigot.

But he also was a classic jock-sniffer when it came to celebrities. He tried to ignore that Sammy Davis, Jr. was both African-American AND Jewish because he was famous, but Archie still couldn't get past his prejudices.

Archie Bunker was supposed to be a parody of the rightwing blue-collar "Everyman" for the l'Aire du Temps of the late Sixties and the Seventies. Afraid of change, abject trust of republicans in government to take care of him, hatred of anything or anyone "foreign", i.e., not white, Anglican-Saxon, Protestant, and republican.

In case you weren't cognizant of the epoch of All in the Family, there was a movie out around that time, called Joe about a blue collar working stiff who hated hippies (Peter Boyle). At the end of the movie, he and a friend were gaily shooting hippies as they ran away from them and their guns . . . in some theaters, people were cheering them on. That was the sentiment for those who "understood" Archie Bunker and didn't think he went far enough.

He was shooting at hippies and didn't necessarily see it was his daughter. Joe didn't have a daughter at the commune.

I do remember people in the audience shouting out, "Serves you right, motherfucker."

Of course, the daughter is the one who suffered (died). As always, there are no consequences for some.

In real life, he was very much against racism and bigotry.

""It was a lack of system that made the '30s Depression as inevitable as all others previously suffered."
Interesting how to the point of the day it is, Carroll would have made a great DUer!

made a great DUer!

No flames.

Archie Bunker's character was made to shock and repulse people. Part of the genius of the show was its forceful presentation of social issues.

Archie Bunker's character was both maddening and loveable--he was hateful of word, but not usually of action. He could be redeemed, and he had something to offer.

THAT was the point of the show. It wasn't simply about excoriating the Archie character season after season after season! :hi:

"Archie Bunker's character was made to shock and repulse people. Part of the genius of the show was its forceful presentation of social issues."

"Archie Bunker's character was both maddening and loveable--he was hateful of word, but not usually of action. He could be redeemed, and he had something to offer."

His character was made to shock & repulse people, bringing forward many of the social issues of the day. He also showed that bigots could be redeemed, that they could change and had something to offer.

The first time I saw the show I was very much repulsed, then I watched again and got what they were doing, showing the bigotry and sexism and ability to eventaully change to help create change.

I nominate All in the Family for perhaps the single best sit com of all time (though Lucy or the Simpsons may win through sheer volume of hilarity.)

I know it's a truism, but there are 10 times the channels today, and yet zero chance All in the Family could be made today.

WHY would anyone think that, or All in the Family was funny? I made myself watch again and got the reason.

OK, different format - Archie Bunker was a character in a sitcom. Stephen Colbert satirizes talk shows.

But they do the same thing - they're portrayals of idiots in order to expose and ridicule idiocy, including bigotry.

What's funny is that right-wingers don't get the joke - we've all heard about people who think Stephen Colbert's serious. :rofl:

My dad told me a story about one of his acquaintances back in the 70's, a right winger, who looooooved All In The Family, said that Archie Bunker spoke to him, he was a true American.

A few weeks later, he came in, saying "Hey, I think they're making fun of him!"

Colbert is the perfect example.

I think All In The Family was genius! I watch it sometimes on TVLand, I'm very impressed with the issues they faced.

I knew a right-winger who believed Colbert was on his side too.. HIlarious!

the toilet training of exalted religious personalities is not our primary topic of discussion!

Gee, our old La Salle ran great, those were the days

And well-played as such.

But what's all this about copporn?

I don't know the heart and mind of a fictional character. I don't know whether he believed race was the primary predeterminant of human characteristics, or whether he was just obstinately opposed to anything different than himself. There's a difference between bigotry and racism; it is nuanced, but it's real. (I have no use for either bigots or racists, but I believe it's probably easier to change a bigot's heart and mind than it is to change the heart and mind of an entrenched racist, homophobe or sexist, for example.)

the Lone Ranger sent Tonto to town.

For example, when the KKK attempted to recruit him he recoiled in disgust.

Bunker's bigotry was generally written in a soft enough manner that it is possible for him to be used in lessons against the bigotry, which were a staple of the show's plotlines.

Us Do Part", a show whose main character was a racist also.

This indicates that the US does not hold the patent on bigotry, racism, and the like. Other countries have their own issues with these.

both abrasive and lovable at the same time would be hard to pull off from someone who was rooted in that ideology, I think. It also takes a great awareness and familiarity with language and culture to pull off the malapropisms that Bunker was famous for in a believable fashion.