Black Sitcoms

We recently discussed a few of the older and newer black sitcoms. While the older ones were more typical in type casting with the fathers being either absent or stupid and the "ghetto" women, i.e. Sheneneh on Martin. However points were also made that in newer sitcoms such as Fresh Prince of Bel Air there are still typical characters and on some level that is correct, however i feel that these sitcoms have come a long way. While you have Carolton who is defintaly considered the "white" black man you also have Uncle Phil who is a high powered judge and respected throughout the community. You have the mother, Vivian, who is a well educated Professor. When you step past those characters more of a type cast comes in. Hilary, the eldest daughter is the "airhead" or "dumb blonde" and you have Will who is the "ghetto" nephew from Philly. Even though there are type casts in this sitcom i believe that black comedy has come a long way.

In sitcoms such as Martin, there are contrasting characters which accentuate the negative in the more stereotypical characters. Like Gina and Sheneneh. Gina is light skinned, educated, a lawyer and seemingly very put together. Sheneneh is more wild, a hair dresser, loud, obnoxious and is meant to be uneducated. Now when sitcoms like this typecast i like to beleive that Martin is trying to make fun of the stereotypes, kind of like a satire. Saying that these stereotypes are unfounded and uneducated. While some black people can act like Sheneneh and some are stupid like Martins friend Cole, alot of black people are well educated with decent jobs. Like in the sitcom All of Us. It is about a divorced couple with children and thier new partners. It shows all of them with upstanding jobs, with decency and class. Another show that is a better representation of the black community that i know is The Hughleys. Now while the father is the funniest of the characters he isnt absent, or just plain stupid. He is a hard working man, a loving father and husband and most of all has white and black friends. New shows like this are something i believe can only be good in the portrayl of blacks to the white community.

Now the other type of shows that are popping up right now that are supposedly a representation of the black community are shows like "Baldwin Hills" and "College Hill" on BET. They are the "Black" version of The Real World on MTV. While most of thees people are educated at times they show stereotypical black attributes. So which is really a better representation of the black community? Someone who is black that writes a sitcom or 7 "real" black people being videptaped around the clock, looking for there most unflattering moments. You be the judge.