Aplogies in advance for the tag-team posting, and not to drag this thread too far off-topic, but:
I too agree with Mavericker's statement...sort of. I personally would rather see more sitcoms starring African-Americans as opposed to more African-American sitcoms. There's a difference.
My definition of a 'black sitcom' is the kind of stuff we typically got on UPN or BET, which leaves a very bad taste in my mouth. A sitcom starring blacks, one where the fact that the central character(s) are people of color is NOT the central theme of the show, there's no endless string of "You so fat!" jokes and "You so stupid!" jokes, the soundtrack isn't "funkified" with a whole lot of saxophone music, record scratching or gospel singers, and the whole thing doesn't take place in the 'hood, is a extremely rare thing, and that's what I think we need more of.
I yearn for the day that non-whites are allowed the same neutrality that Caucasians get to enjoy. When I see a show like Chuck, My Name is Earl, The Office or The Big Bang Theory which stars people of color, but doesn't constantly force its' audience to acknowledge the fact that the stars are people of color, and every single line, scene and joke doesn't scream, "THEY'RE ETHNIC! YOU WON'T LIKE THIS AND YOU WON'T GET THIS IF YOU'RE NOT THIS PARTICULAR COLOR!", then I'll feel like some progress has been made. If "more African-American sitcoms" means more dreck like The Parkers and Tyler Perry's House of Payne, then I'll pass.
Getting back to The Cleveland Show, I agree with Blackstar that we shouldn't be trying to saddle Seth MacFarlane with the job of making this show the next Cosby Show. After all, is Family Guy the new Family Ties? No, it isn't; it's a wacky, irreverent comedy. So why should we expect The Cleveland Show, which is from the same creator as FG and stars one of the characters from FG, to be anything else other than another zany, irreverent comedy? It's not Seth's job to portray an ultra-positive portrayal of the African-American race, his job is to entertain us, period.
I've said it before, but the best non-white characters and shows in my opinion are the ones where they're characters first and ethnicities second. Every show starring African-Americans doesn't have to be The Boondocks or Fat Albert (mind you, I have nothing against either show, but somebody has to just deliver the funny and not wear a social conscience on its' chest). The Cleveland Show doesn't have to be a Peabody-worthy portrayal of African-Americans for me; it just has to be funny and original enough to not just come off like a Family Guy clone to be worth my while.
I too agree with Mavericker's statement...sort of. I personally would rather see more sitcoms starring African-Americans as opposed to more African-American sitcoms. There's a difference.
My definition of a 'black sitcom' is the kind of stuff we typically got on UPN or BET, which leaves a very bad taste in my mouth. A sitcom starring blacks, one where the fact that the central character(s) are people of color is NOT the central theme of the show, there's no endless string of "You so fat!" jokes and "You so stupid!" jokes, the soundtrack isn't "funkified" with a whole lot of saxophone music, record scratching or gospel singers, and the whole thing doesn't take place in the 'hood, is a extremely rare thing, and that's what I think we need more of.
I yearn for the day that non-whites are allowed the same neutrality that Caucasians get to enjoy. When I see a show like Chuck, My Name is Earl, The Office or The Big Bang Theory which stars people of color, but doesn't constantly force its' audience to acknowledge the fact that the stars are people of color, and every single line, scene and joke doesn't scream, "THEY'RE ETHNIC! YOU WON'T LIKE THIS AND YOU WON'T GET THIS IF YOU'RE NOT THIS PARTICULAR COLOR!", then I'll feel like some progress has been made. If "more African-American sitcoms" means more dreck like The Parkers and Tyler Perry's House of Payne, then I'll pass.
Getting back to The Cleveland Show, I agree with Blackstar that we shouldn't be trying to saddle Seth MacFarlane with the job of making this show the next Cosby Show. After all, is Family Guy the new Family Ties? No, it isn't; it's a wacky, irreverent comedy. So why should we expect The Cleveland Show, which is from the same creator as FG and stars one of the characters from FG, to be anything else other than another zany, irreverent comedy? It's not Seth's job to portray an ultra-positive portrayal of the African-American race, his job is to entertain us, period.
I've said it before, but the best non-white characters and shows in my opinion are the ones where they're characters first and ethnicities second. Every show starring African-Americans doesn't have to be The Boondocks or Fat Albert (mind you, I have nothing against either show, but somebody has to just deliver the funny and not wear a social conscience on its' chest). The Cleveland Show doesn't have to be a Peabody-worthy portrayal of African-Americans for me; it just has to be funny and original enough to not just come off like a Family Guy clone to be worth my while.