Watch one of the three 1980s television episodes linked below and write 400 words on the representations of class within Roseanne, LA Law, or COPS. This post will count as two blog posts.
LA LAW, s.1, ep.1
Roseanne, s.1, ep. 1
COPS, pilot (please watch all of the parts on youtube)
In the first episode of Roseanne (1988), various different scenes and details are used to represent the working class, and compare it to the middle/upper class. For example, Roseanne’s home is filled with dated appliances, ugly wallpaper, and a constantly clogged sink—hardly an image of homey stylishness, like other sitcoms from the time contained (i.e. The Cosby Show). Similar to the home we saw in the screening of Thirtysomething, Roseanne’s home is in a state of disrepair, but unlike the wealthy family in Thirtysomething, Roseanne and her family make no mention to moving to a better place, or fixing the home up. Aside from demanding the sink to be fixed, Roseanne accepts her home as it is and makes it work for her family—she isn’t embarrassed or ashamed of her home, like the husband from Thirtysomething; her home is just another part of her life.
Another scene that functions to represent the working class is Roseanne at her job at a plastics company. Roseanne’s job entails some sort of assembly or manufacturing work, not the typical secretary or white-collar job that most women would have on a sitcom. Roseanne is also very matter-of-fact in regards to her work—it’s something the family needs to get by, although it’s probably not something she enjoys, Roseanne does not complain about her work, or wish for a life where she wouldn’t have to work. Like her home, Roseanne makes the best of things, and makes things work for her family.
In one scene in the episode, Roseanne goes to meet with one of her daughter’s teachers, in regards to that daughter’s behavior in class. The teacher is well-dressed, pretty, and thin, assumedly a woman of middle/upper class standing. The teacher is framed as being petty and judgmental, however, as she greatly blows the implications of the daughter’s behavior out of proportion, and is not realistically understanding of Roseanne as a working class woman. The show decidedly sides with Roseanne, mocking this yuppie teacher, and showing that Roseanne is the more practical and down-to-earth character.
At the end of the episode, one of Roseanne’s daughters cuts her hand and starts bleeding profusely. Roseanne and her husband, Dan, work together to fix her up and take her mind of the pain, dispelling any negative feelings the audience might have for the family up to this point (because the majority of the episode is full of Roseanne and the family being crass and loud). Roseanne and Dan work (somewhat) tenderly to soothe their daughter, and display that they are effectual and caring parents who, despite meager economic conditions, are able to make things work as a family. While it is arguable that Roseanne pokes fun at the working class through Roseanne’s characterization as a loud and rude woman, I also think that it positively depicts a poor American family’s everyday life.
In “Roseanne”, Roseanne and the other members of her family are a part of the working class, rather than members of the middle or upper class, which I don’t think many previous sitcoms have focused on, and so it is interesting to see the way they are portrayed. I found the characters and their economic situation to be somewhat comparable to those on “Good Times”, although race also played heavily into “Good Times”, but not so much on “Roseanne”. The first mention of a class related issue in the episode came when Roseanne’s daughter is taking cans from their pantry to her school for a can drive “for poor people”, and Roseanne comments “tell them to drive some of that food over here,” and then saying her daughter can only take two cans. Her first comment is made in a joking manner, but the second one is serious and it is evident that they probably don’t have a lot of food that they are able to spare or to donate. Another situation where their working class status is evident is when Roseanne tells her husband that the sink is clogged, and it had been clogged multiple times before in just the past week, and he says he will use the plunger to unclog it. Presumably if they were having such trouble with their sink they might call a plumber or get a new sink, but neither of those is even mentioned as an option, probably because it isn’t financially feasible for them to spend the money. Also, both Roseanne and her husband work, which contrasts against many sitcoms from the 50s, 60s and even 70s where the woman/wife was a housewife and did not have a job outside the home. For example, in “Thirtysomething” Michael is the breadwinner for the family, and his wife Hope is a stay at home mother. Furthermore, both of them work “blue collar” jobs, Roseanne at a plastics company and her husband seemingly works in construction/contracting. Roseanne makes a joke when she asks to leave work an hour early, and her boss replies she can leave thirty minutes early but it will come out of her paycheck, to which she replies “there goes the Porsche,” indicating that really she won’t be missing out on that much money because she probably doesn’t make a large amount in an hour. These scenes do not serve to make viewers pity these characters, however, but the lives of these characters represent a large number of Americans and their day-to-day lives, making the show easy to relate to. Also, the show demonstrates that despite all of their bickering and issues the family is able to come together when it counts.
Growing up, I've always enjoyed watching “Roseanne” and laughing at her antics. At the time, I didn't pay much attention to the jokes and references regarding class until now. From the beginning of the episode, we are greeted into Roseanne's home which isn't elegant, but suitable for an ordinary family. When her daughter mentions that there is a food drive for poverty citizens, she responds and says “that the food collected should go to her family” indicating that they are poor and cannot afford food.
Small aspects also come into play when referencing to class and socioeconomic status. Instead of driving her children to school, Roseanne's kids take the bus to and from school. She also mentions how difficult raising her children is and how the economy plays a huge role. Being a working family, they must devote time and energy to keep their home and although this is something I can relate to, it definitely sheds some light on the difference between working and middle class.
At her job, we see that Roseanne and her friends and sister work within a plastic company plant. Also if you pay attention to her and her family clothing, it isn't name brand or the nicest material. T-shirts, blue jeans, and button ups are their typical style which indicates comfortable living. Throughout the episode, Roseanne ( and probably in relation to the era of the episode) is seen doing most things for the family. Her husband is currently looking for employment, so her job as a mother is being balanced with raising her kids and keeping the house in order.
I know from experience that Roseanne was a very successful sitcom and continued on for decades. The show earned syndication due to its ratings and the characterizations are what make this show as successful as can be. Roseanne, being the main character, demonstrates her liberalism personality while raising her family in a working class society. Though there are many factors that prevent them from living the most lavish life, they exemplified an example of the “American Dream”. Roseanne owns a home, has a car, is married, and has children. She and her husband have jobs and during the series how children grow up and experience a college education. Class is definitely something to notice here in this series and also the roles of gender. Roseanne can be viewed as the “head” of the household, very similar to Maude. I believe this change in leadership, allowed women throughout the United States to enter the workforce and live under conditions that weren't necessarily by choice.
In the pilot episode of Roseanne, I feel that class is represented more in the behavior of the characters, rather than what they own. First off, Roseanne’s family has a regular family structure consisting of both parents and children that represent different ages (child, pre-teen, and teenager). Although they have this nuclear family structure the first mark of difference in class is that Roseanne is a working mother. Before in the 50s and 60s, the middle class wife/mother was supposed to stay at home and take care of the house. Roseanne takes care of the house as long as working at her job. We see this in how each of the children as her for certain tasks, and she has the answers. Even when Roseanne and Dan are arguing, if one of the children asks her a question she stops to answer them immediately and returns to her argument. This happens even with her husband, and when the children ask Dan something he needs the approval from Roseanne. Something I think Roseanne presents is her attitude about how men are shaped by their wives. She argues with Dan about how she does all of the work and he doesn’t do much. She has to be the one to take care of the housework, kids, and work because they are the middle class and need to do this or nothing will get done. Even after a morning of being gone at work the kitchen table becomes a wreck and DJ is caught eating pie straight from the pan. This shot also juxtaposes how the 40s and 50s commercials would represent how the home should look and how clean it should be. But since times have changed, the wife doesn’t have time to always be there to take care of the home. Being middle class, something that Roseanne can’t really afford to think about is any type of luxury. When her sister is talking about the seminar she had visited, Roseanne jokes about it and thinks that she is crazy. One critical scene in the episode is when Roseanne has to meet her daughter’s history teacher. Although Roseanne is late to their meeting, she had to struggle and sacrifice some of her pay to be there. The teacher, who is obviously of the higher class because of her attire and mannerisms, doesn’t appreciate this and can’t even sympathize with Roseanne’s struggles. Yet, even though Roseanne and Dan are very busy, when they need to attend to something urgent they get it done. When Darlene cuts her finger, Roseanne and Dan stop their arguing and take care of her. These are people that have been put into stressful situations because of their class, and know how to deal with it.
Throughout my life I have always watched Roseanne. It was always a funny comical show that my family would get together and watch from time to time. Roseanne's family is represented as middle to lower class family trying to take care of their families and provide good lives for them. The opening credits of Roseanne suggest a family of lower class with a bunch of people gathered around the dinner table with family members making gross gestures and fighting over food. All of this suggests a family living in a lower income household. The house itself is not tidy or clean and seems very clustered to suggest they don't have time to clean the house themselves because they are working and caring for their family. They also do not have enough money for a maid so the house remains a mess until they find time as well as not having enough money to afford a big house so the rooms in the house seem clustered. Another reason this suggests that Roseanne's and her family are of lower class is because of her place of work. She works in the factory for a plastic company called Wellman Plastics. This type of jobs suggests someone of lower class who is not qualified for a higher paying job. Roseanne's intelligence is put to the test when she meets with her daughter’s teacher and does not understand the big words the teacher is using. This suggests that Roseanne is not intelligent enough to understand what the teacher is talking about and therefore is of lower class. The way in which Rosanne and her husband act are not of high class either. Roseanne is often seen ripping the bread with her hands and shoving it into her mouth while chewing with her mouth open. All of these gestures are not ones done by that of a lady, which they suggest Roseanne not to be. Ladies are women of higher class and Roseanne is not that as well. Her husband grabs a beer after work and plots himself down on top of the counter. When he gets off the counter he approaches the chair from behind as to not sit down like a normal gentleman. He too has gestures of one that would not be of high class especially if he was a businessman he would know not to act in this manner. Although Roseanne and her family are portrayed in the lower class they are still represented as a nice family that can get through their problems as long as they have each other.
The representation of blacks specifically in Cops is appalling. The pilot episode is filled with associating police men and law bringers with this sense of whiteness. Blackness, conversely, is associated with drugs, breaking the law and being oppositional to justice. Racially, this show captures the moment in the 1980s, a tumultous time for the United States. Reagan had declared a war on drugs, and contextually, that is where Cops arose from. Of the many problematic occurances in Cops, the one that was most obvious was the racialization of the police force. The police force identifies as white, and even talks to a white criminals on the basis of “we” and refers to the black in the neighborhood as “they”. This completely leads the viewer to identify with the white law enforcers as correct and good and the black drug dealers as in the wrong. That brings up the second main issue. The racialization of the drug war is extremely apparent in Cops. 90% of the criminals in Cops are black. Blackness and urban environments are by the nature of the show seen as unlawful. Reagan instilled a strict no drug policy, and along with that, war on urban communities where drugs circulated and thrived. Subsequently, this racialized the war on drugs, creating a dichotomy between the white middle class and their designated counterparts, the urban African American. Cops perfectly reflects the societal standpoint on drugs and blackness. Whites are there to police and control the blacks. How does this come to be? The producers of Cops were almost certainly white, making way to the production and editting of the show. Most of the cases that were documented probably were not in urban areas, or focused on black drugs and violence cases. However, it was the choice of the creators of the show to pick and choose what goes in. This opens a whole new can of worms and adds another level of depth to the white vs. black dichotomy that has been presented. Not only is the topic racist in itself, but now the producers are picking and choosing what they want being presented to the vast audience that watched television in the 80s. Cops can be seen as a kind of “white propaganda”. Although highly racialized, Cops continued to air on television sets until even today. As time progressed, the target changed from primarily blacks in the 80s, to most minorities in the later years. With time also comes progress. Especially in recent seasons, the police force representation has expanded, allowing races other than caucasian to wear the badge.
The first episode of Rosanne paints a picture of working class Americans within a twenty-five minute time frame. The show clearly assigns roles to each member of the family. First of all, there is the mother. She works, takes care of the family, and keeps up with the housework. She is more responsible and intelligent compared to the father. For example, at breakfast Rosanne comments that she never misses a day of making coffee for her husband. He then asks if there is toast as if he expects it. When their son asks if he can have pie for breakfast, Rosanne tells her husband he has to answer no. The father is the handy man. Rosanne asks Dan to fix the sink so she can return her child’s backpack to the store. Dan picks up low-end construction jobs suggesting his lack of schooling. The couple is depicted as a working class couple taking care of their family. The way family is casted suggests working class families don’t take care of themselves. They are a larger-set couple; Rosanne is seen eating a donut at work; and Dan comes home and immediately cracks a beer can open. Additionally, the episode depicts working class families as having minimal control over their kids. Rosanna must meet with Darlene’s teacher because she has been barking in class. There are multiple instances in which the kids are arguing with each other. Also, DJ, a young boy about 7 years old, is seen home alone sitting at the kitchen table with food all over the kitchen. Moreover, Rosanne’s attitude makes it seem as if the working class is stuck in their social class. After she is told her early leave from work will be coming out of her paycheck, Rosanna makes a sarcastic comment, saying, “There goes the Porsche.” Her sister also comments on a life-changing seminar she attended where she learned anyone can obtain anything. Rosanne downplays the idea by calling her sister crazy. It is as if wealth is unreachable. The show uses humor to illustrate the status of Rosanne and her family. In addition to the Porsche comment, Rosanne makes a sly joke after Becky grabs canned goods from their pantry. Becky claims that the cans are for a food drive for the poor. Rosanne responds, “Food drive for poor people? Send them here.” While it comes off as humorous, the consistent comments reveal the social class of Rosanne and her family. The show uses Rosanne and her family to generalize and cast stereotypes onto the working poor.
Roseanne is a show whose initial hook lays almost entirely on its unique depictions of living within the lower spectrum of the working class. The pilot of this multi-camera comedy goes out of its way over and over again to hammer home the point that this family, while not struggling in the most primal sense of the word, is making do with what they have. Roseanne works a factory job for 8 hours a day, while her husband is currently unemployed. She has three kids, who are at least all young enough that college tuition costs don’t affect the family. Roseanne’s peers at the factory are all working-class women who appear to share the same worldview as her; bitter to a point, feeling somewhat trapped, but not desperate to rise above their current socioeconomic status. Many of the problems the characters talk about are ones that would never arise in a show that focuses exclusively on the upper-class, such as Dallas or Dynasty. The kids complain about broken backpacks and holes in their shoes. To gain insight into the characters, the writers choose to have Roseanne and her husband talk about bread crumbs on butter; this metaphor is what most implicitly conveys these peoples worldviews. Going off of the metaphor, much of the episode centers around food, and consequentially, paints this lower spectrum of the working middle class as obsessed with food. Roseanne and her husband are both very overweight. The show only makes one fat joke directed at Roseanne (when she meets with daughter Darlene’s teacher, who tells her to sit in a student’s desk, Roseanne looks over and the laugh track immediately kicks in as we are supposed to laugh at Roseanne for not being able to fit in this child-sized desk; her solution is to sit on top of the desk). Most of the show takes place in the kitchen and the fridge is painted red, in stark contrast to the rest of the show’s bland brown color palatte. Many programs with overweight protagonists make far more jokes at their character’s expense (a recent example, Super Fun Night, drew attention to star Rebel Wilson’s weight at least once every couple of minutes). Roseanne doesn’t judge its primary character for being overweight, but it does start an interesting dialogue in relating class to weight (it fits the stereotype that the lower class you are, the fatter you are).
COPS is a non-fiction police show that focuses on documenting the arrest of various criminals throughout the country and the background of the arresting officers. The show normally has a focus on poorer, low class people. The show generally depicts the criminals as unintelligent and low class. The comments that they make and the stupidity shown as they often run off from the arresting officers highlight the subjects in a very poor light, emphasizing their low-class qualities. These people serve as entertainment for the viewers. Their lack of class is what gives the show its entertainment value. In this particular episode, the scene is introduced as taking place in Broward County. This is a county in Florida that is the subject of various other police reality shows. It is a fairly low income area which is prone to criminal activity. This knowledge alone creates bias against the location of the show, which automatically makes the viewers think less of the subjects portrayed. This episode also deals with another subject line that is not frequently discussed in COPS, police death in the line of work. The main character of the beginning of the show is discussing having been to too many police funerals. The show further depicts this as classless people killing the police officers senselessly, which also creates a negative bias towards the alleged criminals portrayed and the area in which the policemen are working. When the cops enter the car of an alleged criminal on the show, the man who is pulled from the vehicle is of African-American descent and is dressed cheaply in a wife beater. He is not cooperating and being hostile towards the arresting officer. The men are in possession of concealed weapons and drugs. These are not things commonly found amongst the high class. The officer even accuses the man of having stolen the car and asks for proof of paper work that the car does indeed belong to the driver. Had this been a well to do white man who was dressed in more formal attire, the chances of this hostility from the officers would have been greatly lessened. The show portrays several criminals in short segments, but they are all generally of much lower class than the officers. Although the show constantly reiterates the fact that all arrested suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a formal court of law, it does focus mainly on the low class, causing the show to be constantly dealing with the unfair bias that people of color or who are from low income areas are automatically low class and therefore suspicious.
Roseanne was an American sitcom that was broadcasted on the ABC network from 1988-1997. Created by Rosanne Barr and also featuring her as the main character, as well as the famous John Goodman, this sitcom was about the lives of a working-class family from Illinois called the Conners. The content of the program was respected by many viewers and critics as material that truly represented real life events, circumstances, and dynamics within a working-class family.
In the first episode of the series, the show did a great job of clearly depicting the situation and dynamic of the Conner family in regards to representations of class. With the opening of the show, the love in their family is displayed as they are all sitting around a table together talking and laughing. Then we able to gage the class of the family from the way they are dressed, the setup of the house, and the from the bluegrass music playing that is somewhat of a metaphor representing where they live and possibly how they speak. Roseanne, the mom, clearly wears the pants as she has s job, does the housework, and is always taking care of her family. Dan, the father, though unemployed and a bit lazy, has this charm that makes him likeable regardless. They have three kids that all attend school and altogether they are a very outspoken family.
There are definitely specific aspects of the first episode that display the class of the family. The beginning gives a clear view of what their home looks like and how the family sounds- a very modest and clean home, educated and but not necessarily proper characters in terms of speech (Roseanne’s misused grammar, the kids saying shut up, and everyone’s normal genuine tone for their ages), outspoken actions (like throwing the shoe), and everyone dressed simply but also clean and put together. This shows that they are an established family and have the physical attributions of simplicity. Financially, you can understand that they are a working-class family from the way the house looks, from when they limit how many cans to give to the homeless drive, and saving the detergent coupon.
A significant part of the episode that really juxtaposed and highlighted the Conner family’s class was when Roseanne has to go talk to daughter’s teacher. Roseanne, very casual and relaxed, and the teacher, very uptight and condescending, talk about the daughters “barking” behavior in class. When Roseanne gets there she is a bit late and the teacher says she can’t have the conversation then because she has to go play squash. Roseanne’s reply is that she had to leave work early and lose pay for it. Right there, there is a clear contrast in what they each have to worry about, which further enforces the working class description of the Conner family and how it is stressful but also creates a loving and comfortable environment within the house between the family.
Roseanne depicts a working class family living in 1980s-1990s Chicago. One can tell that the Conner family is representative of a working class family by details found throughout the pilot of the show. One example is the extra effort the family puts in to save and earn money. In one scene, Roseanne asks her husband, Dan, to cut out a coupon from the newspaper. Coupons are a common money saver for working class families who are looking to save as much money as possible, even if it is only a dollar or two. The Conner family also adheres by a DIY (do it yourself) attitude to save extra money. This approach can be seen when Roseanne asks Dan to fix the sink or when Roseanne and Dan heal Darlene’s finger. By attempting to fix and maintain household deeds on their own, the Conner family uses another method to save money that wealthier families may have spent on professionals instead. Finally, both Roseanne and Dan are either working or attempting to find work in the show. Working class families typically involve both parents working, since the financial earnings of one working parent is usually not enough to support the entire family.
Another way to tell the Conner family is working class is by the mannerisms they portray throughout the show. For example, when Dan comes home from job hunting his first instinct is to grab a beer and relax. Furthermore, Dan is drinking a Bud Light, which is a cheaper beer that is popular among people who cannot afford the more exotic and better tasting beers. The Conner family also fondly reminisces at one point about a Demolition Derby they attended together. Events like a Demolition Derby or something similar like a Monster Truck Rally appeal to lower class citizens, as they are cheap, fun, and unsophisticated events that take one’s mind off the harsh economic problems that are always affecting a working class family. A final example of working class mannerisms by the Conner family is the aggressive parenting that Roseanne exhibits. Roseanne is often verbally abusive to her children throughout the show, albeit always in a sarcastic tone. She comments on how she should change the locks when her kids leave for school, tells her daughter that she sold her English book, and tells her son to wear loafers when he asks her to get a knot out of his shoes. Although Roseanne is often teasing her children, this attitude is more often seen in working class parents who are always rushing around trying to get work done and do not have time to deal with their children’s issues. Roseanne is not necessarily a bad parent, she is just a parent who is stressed by real world problems and lets these problems affect her attitude when speaking to her children.
The family structure of “Roseanne” is depicted as being part of the middle/working class. In the very first scene, we are introduced to the entire family: Roseanne is the mother who has a job at a plastics company; Dan is the father who is a drywall contractor but is currently looking for a job; Darlene, Rebecca, and David are three of their children who simply go to school. Their house setting is very simplistic: they don’t have any fancy decorations around the house. Their simple, plain clothes make it seem that they are just average. One thing that stood out to me was the opening scene when Becky tells her parents that her school is holding a food drive for the poor and hungry people. Roseanne replies back saying that “well tell them to drive some of that food over here.” She also tells Becky afterwards, “two cans, that’s it.” These lines reveal to the audience that they are not at all wealthy and that they are in need of possibly more food or money, something that working class families struggle with. Another example of a working class struggle is the issue with household products. In this case, the sink is clogged, which prompted Roseanne to tell Dan to fix it. If this problem were addressed to an upper class family, they would have simply called a plumber to fix the problem, regardless of the cost. However, as a working class, Roseanne and her family have to fix it themselves since the cost of hiring someone to do it would be too much. One interesting fact about Roseanne’s family is that both Roseanne and Dan work. At the time, it was seen as very uncommon for the wife of the family to work but because of financial difficulties, Roseanne must work in order to keep her family alive. In addition, another scene that comes to mind is when Roseanne meets Darlene’s history teacher. There are definitely moments in which Roseanne is completely lost in the teacher’s eloquent words. This simply shows that the working class is just not as intelligent as the higher classes, which could also show a reason why they can only work at simple working jobs. In general, Roseanne does bring up interesting things regarding the working class. Even though the show portrays many working class stereotypes, it was able to connect to the audience due to its realistic portrayal of American families.
Cops is a very popular 80’s show that is usually not seen as combatting or enforcing class values, however if you look close enough you can see that there are many class ideals to analyze. As I watched it was evident that there were many class issues woven into the storyline of the pilot. They emphasized the differences between the cops and the criminals quite a bit. The cops were made out to be middle class do gooders who were extremely strict and laid down the law. I saw it as they were being characterized as the yuppies and they were often looking down on the lower class criminals. They were rude and overbearing to these criminals. They would yell at them and pin them onto the ground with no remorse. They talked to them in such a way as to belittle them and make them feel awful. It was a perfect metaphor for yuppie guilt. The criminals represented the pre yuppie feelings, while the cops were the very identity of the new materialistic, rule following middle class baby boomer. . However, there was times when they were arresting other middle class yuppies like themselves trying to buy drugs in a place "they did not belong". This, to me, reminded me of the idea that yuppies have guilt of leaving their old selves, and views and these parts were to explain the reverting of pre yuppie ideals, drugs and looser morals. The police men were often shown in their homes, indicating they were middle class and lived comfortable with their wives and sometimes kids, a nice yuppie set up. Though the cops themselves did not show much yuppie guilt, they were there more as the enforcers of yuppie values. In another view, they could be seen as non yuppies and instead they were there to enforce the ideals of the older generation, who did not feel the same way the baby boom generation did. They were the opposite of the yuppie guilt idea. Overall, I thought that COPS really showcased the idea of class and yuppie guilt. Though, there was not explicit yuppie guilt, it could be seen in between the lines of the show. Also, instead of seeing it displayed in one person, like in Thirtysomething it was spread out amongst many people in the show, giving it more than one identity. Television in the 80’s often centered around this common theme of class and worked to explain the ongoing guilt felt by many middle class baby boomers of the decade.
After viewing the pilot episode of L.A. Law, it's clear that there were a lot of instances where class comes into discussion. However it was at the very end of the episode that a real dialogue about it comes up and viewers have it laid out for them to understand exactly what the moral issue at play is in this episode, and probably future episodes. Michael is assigned to defend a wealthy man who is accused of raping a woman with cancer along with three other men.
Even though the episode makes it very clear that the man is guilty, he can afford Michael who is a very talented lawyer. Michael takes the job very seriously, but has some moral issues with the entire case. When the trial comes at the end of the episode, the woman who was raped is brought to the stand to testify and Michael complete destroys her credibility and puts her through an emotional ringer. As a poor woman she is unable to afford any sort of defense herself and is made to look like the bad guy. When Michael apologizes to her later he defends himself by saying he has to abide by the system, but she says back "what about me?"
It's an interesting point, how rich people who are guilty of crimes can avoid punishment by paying better lawyers to help them, whereas poor people who are innocent that can't afford nice lawyers are frequently charged for crimes they didn't commit. Why is it that class comes into play in the law, when the law is supposed to weed out injustice?
Earlier in the episode, class is commented on again when one of the lawyers of the firm goes into a rant about how she works to bring in the money to the firm and makes them all rich and is only paid a fraction of the price. She stands that she will not give up just to get the firm more money, and that's another interesting point. Why is it that people work so hard for others to reap the benefits? Most of the people at the head of the firm hardly do any work and they get the most money out of it, and yet she gets barely anything.
It's clear that L.A. Law takes the time to bring these aspects of class to light, as both of them are presented through big and dramatic monologues by the two women victimized the most, and it's very difficult to miss.
In the first episode of Roseanne (1988), various different scenes and details are used to represent the working class, and compare it to the middle/upper class. For example, Roseanne’s home is filled with dated appliances, ugly wallpaper, and a constantly clogged sink—hardly an image of homey stylishness, like other sitcoms from the time contained (i.e. The Cosby Show). Similar to the home we saw in the screening of Thirtysomething, Roseanne’s home is in a state of disrepair, but unlike the wealthy family in Thirtysomething, Roseanne and her family make no mention to moving to a better place, or fixing the home up. Aside from demanding the sink to be fixed, Roseanne accepts her home as it is and makes it work for her family—she isn’t embarrassed or ashamed of her home, like the husband from Thirtysomething; her home is just another part of her life.
ReplyDeleteAnother scene that functions to represent the working class is Roseanne at her job at a plastics company. Roseanne’s job entails some sort of assembly or manufacturing work, not the typical secretary or white-collar job that most women would have on a sitcom. Roseanne is also very matter-of-fact in regards to her work—it’s something the family needs to get by, although it’s probably not something she enjoys, Roseanne does not complain about her work, or wish for a life where she wouldn’t have to work. Like her home, Roseanne makes the best of things, and makes things work for her family.
In one scene in the episode, Roseanne goes to meet with one of her daughter’s teachers, in regards to that daughter’s behavior in class. The teacher is well-dressed, pretty, and thin, assumedly a woman of middle/upper class standing. The teacher is framed as being petty and judgmental, however, as she greatly blows the implications of the daughter’s behavior out of proportion, and is not realistically understanding of Roseanne as a working class woman. The show decidedly sides with Roseanne, mocking this yuppie teacher, and showing that Roseanne is the more practical and down-to-earth character.
At the end of the episode, one of Roseanne’s daughters cuts her hand and starts bleeding profusely. Roseanne and her husband, Dan, work together to fix her up and take her mind of the pain, dispelling any negative feelings the audience might have for the family up to this point (because the majority of the episode is full of Roseanne and the family being crass and loud). Roseanne and Dan work (somewhat) tenderly to soothe their daughter, and display that they are effectual and caring parents who, despite meager economic conditions, are able to make things work as a family. While it is arguable that Roseanne pokes fun at the working class through Roseanne’s characterization as a loud and rude woman, I also think that it positively depicts a poor American family’s everyday life.
In “Roseanne”, Roseanne and the other members of her family are a part of the working class, rather than members of the middle or upper class, which I don’t think many previous sitcoms have focused on, and so it is interesting to see the way they are portrayed. I found the characters and their economic situation to be somewhat comparable to those on “Good Times”, although race also played heavily into “Good Times”, but not so much on “Roseanne”.
ReplyDeleteThe first mention of a class related issue in the episode came when Roseanne’s daughter is taking cans from their pantry to her school for a can drive “for poor people”, and Roseanne comments “tell them to drive some of that food over here,” and then saying her daughter can only take two cans. Her first comment is made in a joking manner, but the second one is serious and it is evident that they probably don’t have a lot of food that they are able to spare or to donate.
Another situation where their working class status is evident is when Roseanne tells her husband that the sink is clogged, and it had been clogged multiple times before in just the past week, and he says he will use the plunger to unclog it. Presumably if they were having such trouble with their sink they might call a plumber or get a new sink, but neither of those is even mentioned as an option, probably because it isn’t financially feasible for them to spend the money.
Also, both Roseanne and her husband work, which contrasts against many sitcoms from the 50s, 60s and even 70s where the woman/wife was a housewife and did not have a job outside the home. For example, in “Thirtysomething” Michael is the breadwinner for the family, and his wife Hope is a stay at home mother. Furthermore, both of them work “blue collar” jobs, Roseanne at a plastics company and her husband seemingly works in construction/contracting. Roseanne makes a joke when she asks to leave work an hour early, and her boss replies she can leave thirty minutes early but it will come out of her paycheck, to which she replies “there goes the Porsche,” indicating that really she won’t be missing out on that much money because she probably doesn’t make a large amount in an hour.
These scenes do not serve to make viewers pity these characters, however, but the lives of these characters represent a large number of Americans and their day-to-day lives, making the show easy to relate to. Also, the show demonstrates that despite all of their bickering and issues the family is able to come together when it counts.
Growing up, I've always enjoyed watching “Roseanne” and laughing at her antics. At the time, I didn't pay much attention to the jokes and references regarding class until now. From the beginning of the episode, we are greeted into Roseanne's home which isn't elegant, but suitable for an ordinary family. When her daughter mentions that there is a food drive for poverty citizens, she responds and says “that the food collected should go to her family” indicating that they are poor and cannot afford food.
ReplyDeleteSmall aspects also come into play when referencing to class and socioeconomic status. Instead of driving her children to school, Roseanne's kids take the bus to and from school. She also mentions how difficult raising her children is and how the economy plays a huge role. Being a working family, they must devote time and energy to keep their home and although this is something I can relate to, it definitely sheds some light on the difference between working and middle class.
At her job, we see that Roseanne and her friends and sister work within a plastic company plant. Also if you pay attention to her and her family clothing, it isn't name brand or the nicest material. T-shirts, blue jeans, and button ups are their typical style which indicates comfortable living. Throughout the episode, Roseanne ( and probably in relation to the era of the episode) is seen doing most things for the family. Her husband is currently looking for employment, so her job as a mother is being balanced with raising her kids and keeping the house in order.
I know from experience that Roseanne was a very successful sitcom and continued on for decades. The show earned syndication due to its ratings and the characterizations are what make this show as successful as can be. Roseanne, being the main character, demonstrates her liberalism personality while raising her family in a working class society. Though there are many factors that prevent them from living the most lavish life, they exemplified an example of the “American Dream”. Roseanne owns a home, has a car, is married, and has children. She and her husband have jobs and during the series how children grow up and experience a college education. Class is definitely something to notice here in this series and also the roles of gender. Roseanne can be viewed as the “head” of the household, very similar to Maude. I believe this change in leadership, allowed women throughout the United States to enter the workforce and live under conditions that weren't necessarily by choice.
In the pilot episode of Roseanne, I feel that class is represented more in the behavior of the characters, rather than what they own. First off, Roseanne’s family has a regular family structure consisting of both parents and children that represent different ages (child, pre-teen, and teenager). Although they have this nuclear family structure the first mark of difference in class is that Roseanne is a working mother. Before in the 50s and 60s, the middle class wife/mother was supposed to stay at home and take care of the house. Roseanne takes care of the house as long as working at her job. We see this in how each of the children as her for certain tasks, and she has the answers. Even when Roseanne and Dan are arguing, if one of the children asks her a question she stops to answer them immediately and returns to her argument. This happens even with her husband, and when the children ask Dan something he needs the approval from Roseanne.
ReplyDeleteSomething I think Roseanne presents is her attitude about how men are shaped by their wives. She argues with Dan about how she does all of the work and he doesn’t do much. She has to be the one to take care of the housework, kids, and work because they are the middle class and need to do this or nothing will get done. Even after a morning of being gone at work the kitchen table becomes a wreck and DJ is caught eating pie straight from the pan. This shot also juxtaposes how the 40s and 50s commercials would represent how the home should look and how clean it should be. But since times have changed, the wife doesn’t have time to always be there to take care of the home.
Being middle class, something that Roseanne can’t really afford to think about is any type of luxury. When her sister is talking about the seminar she had visited, Roseanne jokes about it and thinks that she is crazy.
One critical scene in the episode is when Roseanne has to meet her daughter’s history teacher. Although Roseanne is late to their meeting, she had to struggle and sacrifice some of her pay to be there. The teacher, who is obviously of the higher class because of her attire and mannerisms, doesn’t appreciate this and can’t even sympathize with Roseanne’s struggles.
Yet, even though Roseanne and Dan are very busy, when they need to attend to something urgent they get it done. When Darlene cuts her finger, Roseanne and Dan stop their arguing and take care of her. These are people that have been put into stressful situations because of their class, and know how to deal with it.
Throughout my life I have always watched Roseanne. It was always a funny comical show that my family would get together and watch from time to time. Roseanne's family is represented as middle to lower class family trying to take care of their families and provide good lives for them.
ReplyDeleteThe opening credits of Roseanne suggest a family of lower class with a bunch of people gathered around the dinner table with family members making gross gestures and fighting over food. All of this suggests a family living in a lower income household. The house itself is not tidy or clean and seems very clustered to suggest they don't have time to clean the house themselves because they are working and caring for their family. They also do not have enough money for a maid so the house remains a mess until they find time as well as not having enough money to afford a big house so the rooms in the house seem clustered.
Another reason this suggests that Roseanne's and her family are of lower class is because of her place of work. She works in the factory for a plastic company called Wellman Plastics. This type of jobs suggests someone of lower class who is not qualified for a higher paying job. Roseanne's intelligence is put to the test when she meets with her daughter’s teacher and does not understand the big words the teacher is using. This suggests that Roseanne is not intelligent enough to understand what the teacher is talking about and therefore is of lower class. The way in which Rosanne and her husband act are not of high class either. Roseanne is often seen ripping the bread with her hands and shoving it into her mouth while chewing with her mouth open. All of these gestures are not ones done by that of a lady, which they suggest Roseanne not to be. Ladies are women of higher class and Roseanne is not that as well. Her husband grabs a beer after work and plots himself down on top of the counter. When he gets off the counter he approaches the chair from behind as to not sit down like a normal gentleman. He too has gestures of one that would not be of high class especially if he was a businessman he would know not to act in this manner.
Although Roseanne and her family are portrayed in the lower class they are still represented as a nice family that can get through their problems as long as they have each other.
The representation of blacks specifically in Cops is appalling. The pilot episode is filled with associating police men and law bringers with this sense of whiteness. Blackness, conversely, is associated with drugs, breaking the law and being oppositional to justice. Racially, this show captures the moment in the 1980s, a tumultous time for the United States. Reagan had declared a war on drugs, and contextually, that is where Cops arose from.
ReplyDeleteOf the many problematic occurances in Cops, the one that was most obvious was the racialization of the police force. The police force identifies as white, and even talks to a white criminals on the basis of “we” and refers to the black in the neighborhood as “they”. This completely leads the viewer to identify with the white law enforcers as correct and good and the black drug dealers as in the wrong.
That brings up the second main issue. The racialization of the drug war is extremely apparent in Cops. 90% of the criminals in Cops are black. Blackness and urban environments are by the nature of the show seen as unlawful. Reagan instilled a strict no drug policy, and along with that, war on urban communities where drugs circulated and thrived. Subsequently, this racialized the war on drugs, creating a dichotomy between the white middle class and their designated counterparts, the urban African American. Cops perfectly reflects the societal standpoint on drugs and blackness. Whites are there to police and control the blacks.
How does this come to be? The producers of Cops were almost certainly white, making way to the production and editting of the show. Most of the cases that were documented probably were not in urban areas, or focused on black drugs and violence cases. However, it was the choice of the creators of the show to pick and choose what goes in. This opens a whole new can of worms and adds another level of depth to the white vs. black dichotomy that has been presented. Not only is the topic racist in itself, but now the producers are picking and choosing what they want being presented to the vast audience that watched television in the 80s. Cops can be seen as a kind of “white propaganda”.
Although highly racialized, Cops continued to air on television sets until even today. As time progressed, the target changed from primarily blacks in the 80s, to most minorities in the later years. With time also comes progress. Especially in recent seasons, the police force representation has expanded, allowing races other than caucasian to wear the badge.
The first episode of Rosanne paints a picture of working class Americans within a twenty-five minute time frame. The show clearly assigns roles to each member of the family. First of all, there is the mother. She works, takes care of the family, and keeps up with the housework. She is more responsible and intelligent compared to the father. For example, at breakfast Rosanne comments that she never misses a day of making coffee for her husband. He then asks if there is toast as if he expects it. When their son asks if he can have pie for breakfast, Rosanne tells her husband he has to answer no. The father is the handy man. Rosanne asks Dan to fix the sink so she can return her child’s backpack to the store. Dan picks up low-end construction jobs suggesting his lack of schooling. The couple is depicted as a working class couple taking care of their family. The way family is casted suggests working class families don’t take care of themselves. They are a larger-set couple; Rosanne is seen eating a donut at work; and Dan comes home and immediately cracks a beer can open. Additionally, the episode depicts working class families as having minimal control over their kids. Rosanna must meet with Darlene’s teacher because she has been barking in class. There are multiple instances in which the kids are arguing with each other. Also, DJ, a young boy about 7 years old, is seen home alone sitting at the kitchen table with food all over the kitchen. Moreover, Rosanne’s attitude makes it seem as if the working class is stuck in their social class. After she is told her early leave from work will be coming out of her paycheck, Rosanna makes a sarcastic comment, saying, “There goes the Porsche.” Her sister also comments on a life-changing seminar she attended where she learned anyone can obtain anything. Rosanne downplays the idea by calling her sister crazy. It is as if wealth is unreachable. The show uses humor to illustrate the status of Rosanne and her family. In addition to the Porsche comment, Rosanne makes a sly joke after Becky grabs canned goods from their pantry. Becky claims that the cans are for a food drive for the poor. Rosanne responds, “Food drive for poor people? Send them here.” While it comes off as humorous, the consistent comments reveal the social class of Rosanne and her family. The show uses Rosanne and her family to generalize and cast stereotypes onto the working poor.
ReplyDeleteRoseanne is a show whose initial hook lays almost entirely on its unique depictions of living within the lower spectrum of the working class. The pilot of this multi-camera comedy goes out of its way over and over again to hammer home the point that this family, while not struggling in the most primal sense of the word, is making do with what they have. Roseanne works a factory job for 8 hours a day, while her husband is currently unemployed. She has three kids, who are at least all young enough that college tuition costs don’t affect the family. Roseanne’s peers at the factory are all working-class women who appear to share the same worldview as her; bitter to a point, feeling somewhat trapped, but not desperate to rise above their current socioeconomic status.
ReplyDeleteMany of the problems the characters talk about are ones that would never arise in a show that focuses exclusively on the upper-class, such as Dallas or Dynasty. The kids complain about broken backpacks and holes in their shoes. To gain insight into the characters, the writers choose to have Roseanne and her husband talk about bread crumbs on butter; this metaphor is what most implicitly conveys these peoples worldviews.
Going off of the metaphor, much of the episode centers around food, and consequentially, paints this lower spectrum of the working middle class as obsessed with food. Roseanne and her husband are both very overweight. The show only makes one fat joke directed at Roseanne (when she meets with daughter Darlene’s teacher, who tells her to sit in a student’s desk, Roseanne looks over and the laugh track immediately kicks in as we are supposed to laugh at Roseanne for not being able to fit in this child-sized desk; her solution is to sit on top of the desk). Most of the show takes place in the kitchen and the fridge is painted red, in stark contrast to the rest of the show’s bland brown color palatte. Many programs with overweight protagonists make far more jokes at their character’s expense (a recent example, Super Fun Night, drew attention to star Rebel Wilson’s weight at least once every couple of minutes). Roseanne doesn’t judge its primary character for being overweight, but it does start an interesting dialogue in relating class to weight (it fits the stereotype that the lower class you are, the fatter you are).
COPS is a non-fiction police show that focuses on documenting the arrest of various criminals throughout the country and the background of the arresting officers. The show normally has a focus on poorer, low class people. The show generally depicts the criminals as unintelligent and low class. The comments that they make and the stupidity shown as they often run off from the arresting officers highlight the subjects in a very poor light, emphasizing their low-class qualities. These people serve as entertainment for the viewers. Their lack of class is what gives the show its entertainment value.
ReplyDeleteIn this particular episode, the scene is introduced as taking place in Broward County. This is a county in Florida that is the subject of various other police reality shows. It is a fairly low income area which is prone to criminal activity. This knowledge alone creates bias against the location of the show, which automatically makes the viewers think less of the subjects portrayed.
This episode also deals with another subject line that is not frequently discussed in COPS, police death in the line of work. The main character of the beginning of the show is discussing having been to too many police funerals. The show further depicts this as classless people killing the police officers senselessly, which also creates a negative bias towards the alleged criminals portrayed and the area in which the policemen are working.
When the cops enter the car of an alleged criminal on the show, the man who is pulled from the vehicle is of African-American descent and is dressed cheaply in a wife beater. He is not cooperating and being hostile towards the arresting officer. The men are in possession of concealed weapons and drugs. These are not things commonly found amongst the high class. The officer even accuses the man of having stolen the car and asks for proof of paper work that the car does indeed belong to the driver. Had this been a well to do white man who was dressed in more formal attire, the chances of this hostility from the officers would have been greatly lessened. The show portrays several criminals in short segments, but they are all generally of much lower class than the officers. Although the show constantly reiterates the fact that all arrested suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a formal court of law, it does focus mainly on the low class, causing the show to be constantly dealing with the unfair bias that people of color or who are from low income areas are automatically low class and therefore suspicious.
Roseanne was an American sitcom that was broadcasted on the ABC network from 1988-1997. Created by Rosanne Barr and also featuring her as the main character, as well as the famous John Goodman, this sitcom was about the lives of a working-class family from Illinois called the Conners. The content of the program was respected by many viewers and critics as material that truly represented real life events, circumstances, and dynamics within a working-class family.
ReplyDeleteIn the first episode of the series, the show did a great job of clearly depicting the situation and dynamic of the Conner family in regards to representations of class. With the opening of the show, the love in their family is displayed as they are all sitting around a table together talking and laughing. Then we able to gage the class of the family from the way they are dressed, the setup of the house, and the from the bluegrass music playing that is somewhat of a metaphor representing where they live and possibly how they speak. Roseanne, the mom, clearly wears the pants as she has s job, does the housework, and is always taking care of her family. Dan, the father, though unemployed and a bit lazy, has this charm that makes him likeable regardless. They have three kids that all attend school and altogether they are a very outspoken family.
There are definitely specific aspects of the first episode that display the class of the family. The beginning gives a clear view of what their home looks like and how the family sounds- a very modest and clean home, educated and but not necessarily proper characters in terms of speech (Roseanne’s misused grammar, the kids saying shut up, and everyone’s normal genuine tone for their ages), outspoken actions (like throwing the shoe), and everyone dressed simply but also clean and put together. This shows that they are an established family and have the physical attributions of simplicity. Financially, you can understand that they are a working-class family from the way the house looks, from when they limit how many cans to give to the homeless drive, and saving the detergent coupon.
A significant part of the episode that really juxtaposed and highlighted the Conner family’s class was when Roseanne has to go talk to daughter’s teacher. Roseanne, very casual and relaxed, and the teacher, very uptight and condescending, talk about the daughters “barking” behavior in class. When Roseanne gets there she is a bit late and the teacher says she can’t have the conversation then because she has to go play squash. Roseanne’s reply is that she had to leave work early and lose pay for it. Right there, there is a clear contrast in what they each have to worry about, which further enforces the working class description of the Conner family and how it is stressful but also creates a loving and comfortable environment within the house between the family.
Roseanne depicts a working class family living in 1980s-1990s Chicago. One can tell that the Conner family is representative of a working class family by details found throughout the pilot of the show. One example is the extra effort the family puts in to save and earn money. In one scene, Roseanne asks her husband, Dan, to cut out a coupon from the newspaper. Coupons are a common money saver for working class families who are looking to save as much money as possible, even if it is only a dollar or two. The Conner family also adheres by a DIY (do it yourself) attitude to save extra money. This approach can be seen when Roseanne asks Dan to fix the sink or when Roseanne and Dan heal Darlene’s finger. By attempting to fix and maintain household deeds on their own, the Conner family uses another method to save money that wealthier families may have spent on professionals instead. Finally, both Roseanne and Dan are either working or attempting to find work in the show. Working class families typically involve both parents working, since the financial earnings of one working parent is usually not enough to support the entire family.
ReplyDeleteAnother way to tell the Conner family is working class is by the mannerisms they portray throughout the show. For example, when Dan comes home from job hunting his first instinct is to grab a beer and relax. Furthermore, Dan is drinking a Bud Light, which is a cheaper beer that is popular among people who cannot afford the more exotic and better tasting beers. The Conner family also fondly reminisces at one point about a Demolition Derby they attended together. Events like a Demolition Derby or something similar like a Monster Truck Rally appeal to lower class citizens, as they are cheap, fun, and unsophisticated events that take one’s mind off the harsh economic problems that are always affecting a working class family. A final example of working class mannerisms by the Conner family is the aggressive parenting that Roseanne exhibits. Roseanne is often verbally abusive to her children throughout the show, albeit always in a sarcastic tone. She comments on how she should change the locks when her kids leave for school, tells her daughter that she sold her English book, and tells her son to wear loafers when he asks her to get a knot out of his shoes. Although Roseanne is often teasing her children, this attitude is more often seen in working class parents who are always rushing around trying to get work done and do not have time to deal with their children’s issues. Roseanne is not necessarily a bad parent, she is just a parent who is stressed by real world problems and lets these problems affect her attitude when speaking to her children.
The family structure of “Roseanne” is depicted as being part of the middle/working class. In the very first scene, we are introduced to the entire family: Roseanne is the mother who has a job at a plastics company; Dan is the father who is a drywall contractor but is currently looking for a job; Darlene, Rebecca, and David are three of their children who simply go to school. Their house setting is very simplistic: they don’t have any fancy decorations around the house. Their simple, plain clothes make it seem that they are just average. One thing that stood out to me was the opening scene when Becky tells her parents that her school is holding a food drive for the poor and hungry people. Roseanne replies back saying that “well tell them to drive some of that food over here.” She also tells Becky afterwards, “two cans, that’s it.” These lines reveal to the audience that they are not at all wealthy and that they are in need of possibly more food or money, something that working class families struggle with. Another example of a working class struggle is the issue with household products. In this case, the sink is clogged, which prompted Roseanne to tell Dan to fix it. If this problem were addressed to an upper class family, they would have simply called a plumber to fix the problem, regardless of the cost. However, as a working class, Roseanne and her family have to fix it themselves since the cost of hiring someone to do it would be too much.
ReplyDeleteOne interesting fact about Roseanne’s family is that both Roseanne and Dan work. At the time, it was seen as very uncommon for the wife of the family to work but because of financial difficulties, Roseanne must work in order to keep her family alive. In addition, another scene that comes to mind is when Roseanne meets Darlene’s history teacher. There are definitely moments in which Roseanne is completely lost in the teacher’s eloquent words. This simply shows that the working class is just not as intelligent as the higher classes, which could also show a reason why they can only work at simple working jobs.
In general, Roseanne does bring up interesting things regarding the working class. Even though the show portrays many working class stereotypes, it was able to connect to the audience due to its realistic portrayal of American families.
Cops is a very popular 80’s show that is usually not seen as combatting or enforcing class values, however if you look close enough you can see that there are many class ideals to analyze. As I watched it was evident that there were many class issues woven into the storyline of the pilot. They emphasized the differences between the cops and the criminals quite a bit. The cops were made out to be middle class do gooders who were extremely strict and laid down the law. I saw it as they were being characterized as the yuppies and they were often looking down on the lower class criminals. They were rude and overbearing to these criminals. They would yell at them and pin them onto the ground with no remorse. They talked to them in such a way as to belittle them and make them feel awful. It was a perfect metaphor for yuppie guilt. The criminals represented the pre yuppie feelings, while the cops were the very identity of the new materialistic, rule following middle class baby boomer. . However, there was times when they were arresting other middle class yuppies like themselves trying to buy drugs in a place "they did not belong". This, to me, reminded me of the idea that yuppies have guilt of leaving their old selves, and views and these parts were to explain the reverting of pre yuppie ideals, drugs and looser morals. The police men were often shown in their homes, indicating they were middle class and lived comfortable with their wives and sometimes kids, a nice yuppie set up. Though the cops themselves did not show much yuppie guilt, they were there more as the enforcers of yuppie values. In another view, they could be seen as non yuppies and instead they were there to enforce the ideals of the older generation, who did not feel the same way the baby boom generation did. They were the opposite of the yuppie guilt idea.
ReplyDeleteOverall, I thought that COPS really showcased the idea of class and yuppie guilt. Though, there was not explicit yuppie guilt, it could be seen in between the lines of the show. Also, instead of seeing it displayed in one person, like in Thirtysomething it was spread out amongst many people in the show, giving it more than one identity. Television in the 80’s often centered around this common theme of class and worked to explain the ongoing guilt felt by many middle class baby boomers of the decade.
After viewing the pilot episode of L.A. Law, it's clear that there were a lot of instances where class comes into discussion. However it was at the very end of the episode that a real dialogue about it comes up and viewers have it laid out for them to understand exactly what the moral issue at play is in this episode, and probably future episodes. Michael is assigned to defend a wealthy man who is accused of raping a woman with cancer along with three other men.
ReplyDeleteEven though the episode makes it very clear that the man is guilty, he can afford Michael who is a very talented lawyer. Michael takes the job very seriously, but has some moral issues with the entire case. When the trial comes at the end of the episode, the woman who was raped is brought to the stand to testify and Michael complete destroys her credibility and puts her through an emotional ringer. As a poor woman she is unable to afford any sort of defense herself and is made to look like the bad guy. When Michael apologizes to her later he defends himself by saying he has to abide by the system, but she says back "what about me?"
It's an interesting point, how rich people who are guilty of crimes can avoid punishment by paying better lawyers to help them, whereas poor people who are innocent that can't afford nice lawyers are frequently charged for crimes they didn't commit. Why is it that class comes into play in the law, when the law is supposed to weed out injustice?
Earlier in the episode, class is commented on again when one of the lawyers of the firm goes into a rant about how she works to bring in the money to the firm and makes them all rich and is only paid a fraction of the price. She stands that she will not give up just to get the firm more money, and that's another interesting point. Why is it that people work so hard for others to reap the benefits? Most of the people at the head of the firm hardly do any work and they get the most money out of it, and yet she gets barely anything.
It's clear that L.A. Law takes the time to bring these aspects of class to light, as both of them are presented through big and dramatic monologues by the two women victimized the most, and it's very difficult to miss.