How did Bill Cosby gained the title of "America's Dad?"

[Samtemdo8]

Before I say more, yes Bill Cosby is convicted "Violently Sexual Predator" and has lost reputation of being "America's dad" I'm just talking about how he gained it.

But why Bill Cosby of all people, I know his show had a major impact on culture, especially with its progressive message of depicting black people as everyday Americas that have the same life struggles and goals as non-black Americans. Especially since I feel there are plenty other celebrities of his generation that can also fit that title.

 

[gorfias]

Before I say more, yes Bill Cosby is convicted "Violently Sexual Predator" and has lost reputation of being "America's dad" I'm just talking about how he gained it.

But why Bill Cosby of all people, I know his show had a major impact on culture, especially with its progressive message of depicting black people as everyday Americas that have the same life struggles and goals as non-black Americans. Especially since I feel there are plenty other celebrities of his generation that can also fit that title.

Cosby's show was number one in the ratings for years until the Simpson's knocked him off. That is a lot more impactful than anything else of which I can think.

 

[happyninja42]

Before I say more, yes Bill Cosby is convicted "Violently Sexual Predator" and has lost reputation of being "America's dad" I'm just talking about how he gained it.

But why Bill Cosby of all people, I know his show had a major impact on culture, especially with its progressive message of depicting black people as everyday Americas that have the same life struggles and goals as non-black Americans. Especially since I feel there are plenty other celebrities of his generation that can also fit that title.

....you kind of answered your own question.

Basically he was a person who wasn't "too black" and offensive for the white audience to enjoy his work, he was black enough for the black audience to relate to most of the stories in the show. He had appeal on both sides of the dynamic. His comedy routines were genuinely funny, had that universal appeal to them, namely they weren't 100% rooted in the black experience, and was just the human experience. Like his bit on going to the dentist, everyone has had something like that. I actually saw one of his live routines when I was about 10 or so. Went with my mom.

He often spouted conservative viewpoints from HIS character's stance, so the republicans liked him (The Wise Father Figure trope and all that shit), but his kids would often spout liberal viewpoints, appealing to the younger crowd. As "The Dad" he would most often be proven write in any opposing viewpoints thanks to the script, but he didn't always completely shit on the liberal/radical viewpoint of whichever kid was opposing him that episode. Very often his "lesson" would boil down to "your aim is a tad bit off on this new radical viewpoint you have. alter your focus a bit back towards conservatism and it would be fine"

The cast was predominantly all super attractive people (why yes phylicia rashad did INDEED help solidify my attraction to hot cougars, thank you for asking!) , with a cast wide enough to give everyone some eye candy they'd enjoy. It basically was a perfect storm of elements when talking about Slice of Life in america at that time.

 

[BrawlMan]

....you kind of answered your own question.

Basically he was a person who wasn't "too black" and offensive for the white audience to enjoy his work, he was black enough for the black audience to relate to most of the stories in the show. He had appeal on both sides of the dynamic. His comedy routines were genuinely funny, had that universal appeal to them, namely they weren't 100% rooted in the black experience, and was just the human experience. Like his bit on going to the dentist, everyone has had something like that. I actually saw one of his live routines when I was about 10 or so. Went with my mom.

He often spouted conservative viewpoints from HIS character's stance, so the republicans liked him (The Wise Father Figure trope and all that shit), but his kids would often spout liberal viewpoints, appealing to the younger crowd. As "The Dad" he would most often be proven write in any opposing viewpoints thanks to the script, but he didn't always completely shit on the liberal/radical viewpoint of whichever kid was opposing him that episode. Very often his "lesson" would boil down to "your aim is a tad bit off on this new radical viewpoint you have. alter your focus a bit back towards conservatism and it would be fine"

The cast was predominantly all super attractive people (why yes phylicia rashad did INDEED help solidify my attraction to hot cougars, thank you for asking!) , with a cast wide enough to give everyone some eye candy they'd enjoy. It basically was a perfect storm of elements when talking about Slice of Life in america at that time.

Yep. Exactly why my parents watched the show, and they still do for old times sake. With that said, even back then, they found some of Cosby views a bit too conservative for them. They did not hate him for that, but a case of different view point. We are all bigger fans of A Different World, Fresh Prince, and Family Matters. Growing up, I was a bigger fan of Carl Winslow (Reginald Johnson) and Phillip Banks (James Avery; RIP in you wonderful man) than Cosby's role as a dad. To me, they're the best dad and uncle figures shown on television.

 

[happyninja42]

yeah I liked those shows too. Never watched Family Matters, but Different World and Fresh Prince were a regular in my house.

 

[Gordon_4]

Yep. Exactly why my parents watched the show, and they still do for old times sake. With that said, even back then, they found some of Cosby views a bit too conservative for them. They did not hate him for that, but a case of different view point. We are all bigger fans of A Different World, Fresh Prince, and Family Matters. Growing up, I was a bigger fan of Carl Winslow (Reginald Johnson) and Phillip Banks (James Avery; RIP in you wonderful man) than Cosby's role as a dad. To me, they're the best dad and uncle figures shown on television.

Uncle Phil was one of television's best dads and I will duel any man who tries to tell me different.

 

[SilentPony]

Because he was a black man who acted white and was in-offensive enough for a still racist 80s White audience to accept.

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

Because he was a black man who acted white and was in-offensive enough for a still racist 80s White audience to accept.

He got bonus points for telling "kids these days" to "pull up your pants and get a job". Even then, it wasn't nearly that easy.

 

[Drathnoxis]

Because he raped enough women to father a not insignificant percentage of America's population.

 

[Xprimentyl]

Because he was a black man who acted white and was in-offensive enough for a still racist 80s White audience to accept.

This over-simplistic and offensive viewpoint was the reason the show existed. Cosby didn't "act white" unless you see "white" as "successful and responsible," which was the opposite of what a lot of black representation on television prior to the Coby show was. Shows like The Jeffersons showed black folks unexpectedly "movin' on up" into affluence; Sanford & Son showed black folks in the lower class getting by on junk. Those shows were about making light of the struggle; Cosby simply showed that "the struggle" needn't be the definitive black experience. He didn't go for cheap laughs caricaturizing stereotypically black behavior; he showed us we could be doctors and lawyers; we could be responsible parents; we could live in nice neighborhoods without it being exceptional. Calling that "acting white," like those kinds of behaviors can't be native to black people, is deeply offensive.

 

[SilentPony]

This over-simplistic and offensive viewpoint was the reason the show existed. Cosby didn't "act white" unless you see "white" as "successful and responsible," which was the opposite of what a lot of black representation on television prior to the Coby show was. Shows like The Jeffersons showed black folks unexpectedly "movin' on up" into affluence; Sanford & Son showed black folks in the lower class getting by on junk. Those shows were about making light of the struggle; Cosby simply showed that "the struggle" needn't be the definitive black experience. He didn't go for cheap laughs caricaturizing stereotypically black behavior; he showed us we could be doctors and lawyers; we could be responsible parents; we could live in nice neighborhoods without it being exceptional. Calling that "acting white," like those kinds of behaviors can't be native to black people, is deeply offensive.

Well no, because he did act white, which in the 80s meant telling black kids to pull up their pants and get a job. Cosby was popular with white folk because he was a black man willing to tell other blacks they're lazy, entitled and need to work. The Cosby show, even at the time, was criticized for down playing racial struggles and what it meant to be black in the 80s and 90s to better appeal to the white demographic. White people didn't want to see a black family struggle, they wanted a black man to give them permission to yell at black teens and act as if racism wasn't a thing anymore and that's exactly what the Cosby show did.
Hell actual articles were written about it at the time:
https://www.jstor.org/stable/41068569
https://www.jstor.org/stable/2784760

How "The Cosby Show" duped America: The sitcom that enabled our ugliest Reagan-era fantasies

In Cosby, Americans mourn the loss of an innocent part of their youths. But there's a problem with that nostalgia

www.salon.com

https://myweb.uiowa.edu/thavens/cosby.pdf

If you're offended people noticed what the Cosby show was, be offended at the producers, writers and Cosby himself. Its not my fault the Cosby show specifically targeted the white demographic by down playing racism and criticizing black American culture.

 

[Agema]

....you kind of answered your own question.

Basically he was a person who wasn't "too black" and offensive for the white audience to enjoy his work, he was black enough for the black audience to relate to most of the stories in the show.

We got the Cosby Show in the UK. I considered it irredeemably dull - the worst sort of middle-of-the-road sitcom.

I preferred a little more acid, which I think was perhaps more the British style of the era compared to the USA.

 

[happyninja42]

We got the Cosby Show in the UK. I considered it irredeemably dull - the worst sort of middle-of-the-road sitcom.

I preferred a little more acid, which I think was perhaps more the British style of the era compared to the USA.

Yeah british sitcoms of the same era were...significantly more irreverent. Just checked google, and right before Cosby came out, The Young Ones was just going off the air. Soooo...yeah, definitely a tonal difference, I agree.

I make no defense for american sitcom quality, as once I was old enough to control my own tv viewing, and not my parents, I rarely watched any of them, and still don't. There are a few exceptions here and there I'm sure, if I sat down and actually went through a listing of shows over the past few decades, but for the most part, sitcoms just aren't my thing.

 

[Xprimentyl]

I make no defense for american sitcom quality, as once I was old enough to control my own tv viewing, and not my parents, I rarely watched any of them, and still don't. There are a few exceptions here and there I'm sure, if I sat down and actually went through a listing of shows over the past few decades, but for the most part, sitcoms just aren't my thing.

Same here with a couple exceptions: The Office and It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, but those humors are markedly different from the crap you find on weekday prime time shows; nothing else has captured my attention in about 25 years. And anything with a laugh track, I'm automatically out on; if they have tell me when to laugh, then it can't be that funny. Guess who's never seen a single episode of Friends?

 

[BrawlMan]

Same here with a couple exceptions: The Office and It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, but those humors are markedly different from the crap you find on weekday prime time shows; nothing else has captured my attention in about 25 years. And anything with a laugh track, I'm automatically out on; if they have tell me when to laugh, then it can't be that funny. Guess who's never seen a single episode of Friends?

Friends and Full House always sucked. Nothing ever happens in these shows. For the latter, it's just one Kodak moment after another. The former is just nothing but boring white people with first world problems. Living Single will always be better. I know I got tired of sitcoms around the early to mid 2000s. They all played the same, and it was just cliched build off of other cliches with rarely anything new or interesting.

 

[Xprimentyl]

I know I got tired of sitcoms around the early to mid 2000s. They all played the same, and it was just cliched build off of other cliches with rarely anything new or interesting.

Pretty much this. Most sitcoms are about modern people getting into everyday situations with a comedic twist, i.e.: new neighbors, relationship issues, work issues, etc. There's only so many gags you can pull off with a bunch of 20-40 somethings' everyday lives before it becomes monotonous. Which I think is why I like It's Always Sunny so much; it very much turns the modern sitcom on its head. It's bunch of horribly atypical narcissists who don't like each other, but suffer from a crippling codependence between them, and they're constantly getting themselves into ridiculous shit with only themselves to blame. The early episodes come off as leaning towards what you'd expect from a typical sitcom with a bit more of an edge, but as it develops, it's clear they knew they wanted to be different, and went with it.

 

[BrawlMan]

Pretty much this. Most sitcoms are about modern people getting into everyday situations with a comedic twist, i.e.: new neighbors, relationship issues, work issues, etc. There's only so many gags you can pull off with a bunch of 20-40 somethings' everyday lives before it becomes monotonous. Which I think is why I like It's Always Sunny so much; it very much turns the modern sitcom on its head. It's bunch of horribly atypical narcissists who don't like each other, but suffer from a crippling codependence between them, and they're constantly getting themselves into ridiculous shit with only themselves to blame. The early episodes come off as leaning towards what you'd expect from a typical sitcom with a bit more of an edge, but as it develops, it's clear they knew they wanted to be different, and went with it.

That show I could never get invested in. I knew the point and I knew they were all jerks, but I couldn't really laugh much of that one. I got a couple last, but by that point I was just done and tired of sitcoms. Even if this one did a lot of things differently or turning cliches on its head. I held no interest. I also didn't like either versions of The Office. Too boring; especially the US version.

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

Friends and Full House always sucked.

You might be interested to know that everyone in the cast of Full House, with the exception of Dave Coulier, hated being on that show by the end of its original run. Bob Saget in particular has never liked how fans of the show (or of America's Funniest Home Videos) went to his comedy acts expecting the "good clean 'n wholesome" Uncle Danny and then complained when they found that his comedy routine was raunchy as fuck.

 

[BrawlMan]

You might be interested to know that everyone in the cast of Full House, with the exception of Dave Coulier, hated being on that show by the end of its original run. Bob Saget in particular has never liked how fans of the show (or of America's Funniest Home Videos) went to his comedy acts expecting the "good clean 'n wholesome" Uncle Danny and then complained when they found that his comedy routine was raunchy as fuck.

Oh, I am more than aware of the behind the scenes involved with that show. I found out around 2002.

 

[Trunkage]

Friends and Full House always sucked. Nothing ever happens in these shows. For the latter, it's just one Kodak moment after another. The former is just nothing but boring white people with first world problems. Living Single will always be better. I know I got tired of sitcoms around the early to mid 2000s. They all played the same, and it was just cliched build off of other cliches with rarely anything new or interesting.

Friends was never funny

I also rewatched Black Books. It's better than Friends but still pretty dull. I used to love that show