Racial Stereotyping And Racism In The Cosby Show

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Many people in America like to think that racial stereotyping and racism is a thing of the past, but racial stereotyping is still prominent in America. Although racial stereotyping and racism significantly slowed down, it still remains a major factor in American society. In “The End of Post-Identity Television,” Aymar Jean Christian argues the fact that race is not a major factor in casting characters in a television series or a movie, he reveals that race is not relevant anymore. In Michael Omi’s “In Living Color: Race and American Culture,” he argues how racial stereotyping and racism still exist in America. The Cosby Show seeked to change racial stereotyping in television by portraying an upper-middle class African American family. The Cosby Show attempted to break barriers for African Americans in television and did so by paving the way for other major African American based sitcoms. “The End of Post-Identity …show more content…

It showed an African-American upper-middle class family with the father of the show, Cliff Huxtable, as a doctor and the mother, Clair Huxtable, as a lawyer. The network, NBC finally ordered only six episodes of the show, but soon that changed as The Cosby Show outdid every regular show on television at the time. The Cosby Show reformed the perceptions of African Americans on television and paved the way for other African American based sitcoms. African Americans were often portrayed as maids, butlers, custodians and clowns on television until The Cosby Show was introduced to television. As a result of The Cosby Show breaking barriers for Blacks, the negative views of Blacks were altered. The show features the Huxtable family consisting of Cliff and Clair Huxtable, and their five children; Sondra, Denise, Theo, Vanessa and Rudy. The Cosby Show displayed universal values that many people from different ethnic backgrounds could relate

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