All In The Family- "Archie Bunker calls Mother Jefferson Mammy" *REACTION* 

"All in the Family" called out every important social issue of the day and, by use of Archie's racism and ignorance, they were able to be this blunt and in your face about it. It was a great way to spark conversation in the real world, both then and now.

You’re right. It wouldn’t fly today but at the time it was understood that Archie Bunker was an ignorant racist and George Jefferson was equally racist the other way. It was comedy that had a purpose. That purpose was to illustrate the ignorance of racism regardless of who it was. Carroll O’Conner was not racist in real life and he really played up the ignorance bit. One thing about Archie Bunker; he despised everyone equally.

Carroll O'Connor (Archie) was completely opposite from his character. The show was pretty much holding a mirror up to American society of the day and calling it out in a comedic way. It was pretty controversial. Archie's chair is even in the Smithsonian

For the younger generations that have not seen any of these hysterical classic tv shows, it can be a shock of the things that were said in all the episodes. The Jeffersons, All in the Family, Sanford and Son, the characters were black, white, Hispanics, etc and the one liners were just plain hysterical because we were able to laugh at each other and our differences. Miss those times so much !!!

Back when stick and stones may break my bones but words want hurt me. It's sad what we live in today.

You can't go wrong with watching Archie screwing up with women, blacks, and politics. He made everyone see who we were by making us laugh at our behavior. Great program.

The days when we all laughed at each other and everyone. Mamma Jefferson was a treasure.

One of the funniest show on tv back in the 70's and nobody was offended cause the slurs came from both sides.🤣😅

The very first episode of All in the family. The TV station was flooded with phone calls. So many it shut the system down. People wanted it taken off the air. But it ended up being a number 1 show. People saw what the show was really about.

This was a time when we could have laugh together!! It brought people together but we all laughed together. Miss that, we all got together black or white and laughed together

Dude!! Your reactions are funnier than the TV show!! LOL!

Archie said it, like he felt it. He didn't hold back. 😂

I grew up with All in the Family. It was a satire and was always funny and my favorite tv show of all time

That whole scene is terrific. This show was amazing, as was the spin off, The Jeffersons. Both shows dealt with racism, bigotry, sexism and homophobia in a very honest way.

This needs to fly today.

Whoever posted that cut out the rest of the scene where George meets Jenny's interracial parents. Believe it or not the scene gets even better!!

THIS is why Archie was the best! His show broke down barriers is a manner that had everyone laughing until they cried and then understanding that we really are all the same.

Dude last night's Vlog was lit!! I'm still watching again. 👍🏻

We could talk to each other back then and joke too.

That show is hilarious, I still watch these shows

Barney Miller, Sanford and Son, All In the Family, The Jeffersons, Maude, Good Times, Mary Tyler Moore, so many good shows back then, most of which could never be made today.

A great, intelligent comedy that confronts racism and bigotry is way more preferable than putting blunt discussion of race off-limits. We’ve regressed since the 1970s.

My husband and I are re-watching that show, and we were thinking the same thing. Now, Archie bunker is a racist in every sense of the word. But here’s the thing, he usually got what he deserved at the end of the show, and he was a very loving person. That’s hard to explain. You would have to watch the show from the beginning to realize that he’s not a bad guy just very very dumb and ignorant. His wife is the poster child for naïveté and innocence. She’s amazing and hilarious. His son-in-law and daughter oh my goodness!

This wouldn't fly today? You would be shocked at Netflix.

He said "White of ya" I believe...which is meant as a good thing lol

Norman Lear was a Television Franchise Genius.. I had the honor and privilege to watch these FIRST run.

It was comedy when I was a kid no one was offended. We all watched together and laughed.

The idea behind this sitcom was to open a dialogue about racism and our differences through comedy. Only in this show, the joke is on Archie, who is mirroring back the racism in ourselves among other important social issues. Also, this was the first show ever in TV history to be the first to hear the flush of a toilet, something that was taboo before the seventies. It's a great show.

I hope you go down the rabbit hole of All in the family I hope a lot of people give you a lot of ideas 💡💡💡💡 can you please do the one where Sammy Davis Junior sits. In. Archie Bunker's chair😂😂😂😂😂

It's such a shame that everyone is such a delicate flower today that words can so hurt them. We are less free today because so many are raised as snowflakes.

I grew up watching this and MANY other programs, cartoons, movies on tv. It was the way things were in the world at the time. Today everyone is so stuckup, paranoid, sensative. Thank God I lived in the yrs. I did. Today the world has become a pussywopped, brady bunch version of itself. so sensative to any little thing. Grow a pair. You will never know what it was really like being a teen in the 70's. It was great!!!

When TV didn't offend everyone. I love your reactions. Jefferson and Bunker were both racist but so freaking amazing together. Thanks for your reactions. We grew up with these shows and I'm glad you enjoy them. ❤😂

Calling a BW a mammy today. Man that’ll star WW20 frfr lol

I'm in my 60s It was the number 1 national TV show for years. This groundbreaking show, dealt honestly with every social issue of the day. The American TV viewer Got the joke and laughed. Your generation are afraid to laugh. My generation is free. Yours are locked in moral prison. You don't understand, there is no perfect world no matter how hard you wish! You are dealing with human beings, flaws and all. We all got em, why not laugh??? (Most importantly they made sure Archie was the loser of the episode! Exposing ignorance and bigotry as always failing!!!)

I was in my 20's when this show was in its heyday and it was a different world back then. Nobody cared if you got offended, there were no "safe zones" and politically correct hadn't been invented yet. They funny thing is that the more "enlightened" and "progressive" we've become as a society, the worse the polarization of the races has become. The suspicion, ignorance and hatred that used to fuel fringe extremists on both sides has now spread to the general population. Racial harmony was a work in progress back then...now it's a thing of the past.

Archie said to George Jefferson "That's very 'white' of you". This show was extremely popular and funny for its time. We didn't laugh WITH Archie, we laughed AT him.

The show was ahead of its time and still relevant today. They made fun if Archie for his racism and brought up important topics like the Vietnam War, poverty, racism, sexism, and hot political topics!!!

Today that would go over like a pot of beans on a bus trip.😮

This was one of the first shows to directly confront racism and racial issues head on, with all the warts, and scars hit head on. Archie typified many of the racial attitudes of working class whites, and Jefferson was upper class college educated black. The two of them brought a lot of issues which were discussed only whispers in the shadows, in to the glaring light of day full voice, and forced a lot of people to confront racial stereotypes. BTW, Archie was equally offensive towards his Polack sun in law.

When he mentions Al Jolsen calling his mother Mammy, you may not know that Al Jolsen was white and did black face. Best part of that show.

See, George was his mom’s baby, she loved him and hated his wife with a passion and she was nasty. George could do no wrong in her eyes, lol.

The whole scene! Fantastic show!

bruddah, das one of TV's greatest comedy shows ever! and, you gotta watch the WHOLE episode! EPIC!! AB = Archie Bunker and Al Bundy!!🤙

Ya gotta watch "unwanted kiss". Its hysterical 😂😅

If you thought that wouldn’t be shown on TV today try watching the end of the scene

I agree with you I don’t think it would fly. But remember this was the early 1970s and there was still a lot of ignorance and bigotry (more than today and it’s still a problem now) but the creators of this show purposely made Archie Bunker a stereotypical working class white bigot. The whole point of the show was to shine light on his attitudes and lampoon and make fun of the stupid ignorant things he said. The message was good but to deliver it things were said that were controversial then and down right out of bounds now.

7:25PM7/9 I'm 65 and thankfully this show removed the filters. It helped me for life.

If you didn't know,Al Jolson was a white man who performed in blackface

Even in that time, it was unbelievable. Norman Lear had an imagination.

Welcome to All in the family😂😂😂😂😂😂

Television is so boring today.This is the era when comedy television was great!! Nobody was offended by this. Your facial expressions are priceless!!😂

Excellent in current and past relation. Push this forward.

Imagine a show like All in the Family with all it's racist undertones, black and white, hispanics, jews, Italians, gays etc. and nobody was offended. We ALL laughed. We all laughed at our own ignorance and what the show did was create tolerance. Who can ever forget Beverly Lasalle, the cross dressing (transvestite as it was called in the day) who came to Archie's house and how insulted he was when he found out she was a man. When Beverly was killed on the street, Archie was heartbroken. Great writing, superb comedic actors. You're right a show like this could never be shown today. The WOKE left would tear it apart. Too bad because I think the world need more laughter. But then again I don't think any other actors today could pull off a performance like Caroll O'conner or Sherman Hemsley

I grew up watching all these shows: All in the family, the Jeffersons, Sanford and Son… they were all great - Archie was a flawed character for sure but the show was very progressive in a way. Archie as a character had personal growth. The Jeffersons was a great show that tackled a lot of heavy concepts and for a kid growing up in the 70s - they did it with humor and compassion. When I think ‘they couldn’t make a show like that today’ it’s probably true - but those shows had heart, humor and compassion - maybe they should make shows like that again - beats the hell out of the junk that’s being made now.

Great show same with the Jefferson’s

archie wasnt intending to be racist he was telling George not to speak to mother Jefferson like he did.

many miss that last bit about al jolson. make sure to look that up bc it makes the joke even funnier.

It wouldn’t fly today because people are way too sensitive and can’t just appreciate humor and social commentary.

Oh no!! lol.. All I know is to address ANYONE"S mother as Ma'am.. until they tell you differently.. like, call me mama, or call me Dorothy.. whatever.. never make the mistake of disrespect via ignorance. xo... love you!!!

as it moved on a little more Jefferson found out his son Fiance's parents were black and white, then the racism went the other way

Anorher hilarious episode is when he takes tbe maid grocery shopping 😂❤

These clips are so funny. I grew up with this , used to watch this in my living room with my v liberal mother, and my v patrical grandfather. This show tried and succed in bridiging the gap at a very trangient time, which reminds me of how things are now with Lgbt+ that we are navigating.

Coloured was actually considered polite and politically correct as a term in those days (50s and 60s).

I think the shows broke barriers. It was so funny everybody had to get along. Lol it’s just a joke.

There is a longer version.. you have to see it.. it is really good..

I actually found this show incredibly painful to watch as a child. I had relatives who actually talked/thought like Archie Bunker did, but without the underlying humor that makes Archie so hilarious. As a child, I was utterly horrified by the things Archie said, and even more horrified by the fact that the audience was laughing when he said them. I was too little to understand that they were laughing AT him for being so ignorant, not laughing WITH him because they thought his bigoted comments were funny. Now that I'm an adult, I can appreciate how brilliant the show really was. The closest thing we have to a character like that on television today is Eric Cartman from South Park (who was very deliberately modeled on Archie Bunker when the writers came up with the theory that it might be possible to have a character like that on television again IF he was a child).

5:25 That was an extra who likely didn't follow instructions, possibly inexperienced. Unless he had dialog, he shouldn't have turned around.

Now you’re going to have to watch the one with Sammy Davis Jr.

Man..I’m glad I wasn’t drinking anything when I saw this, it would have come out my nostrils..lol I remember this though when it came out

It was a great show because both of them were racist, but in a fun way. And when it really came down, they liked each other. I'm 55 and white. Surprisingly, I was not allowed to watch "All in the Family", but I was allowed to watch "The Jeffersons".

this episiode goes even farther if you watch it through to the end

Watch the rest of that episode-it's really good.

"That's very white of you" is an expression that was originally intended as a compliment, meaning a person had done the right thing. By the 1970's it's intent often became (in Bostonese) "sah-cas-tic" and in this case it was used to make well-intentioned Archie the butt of the joke. Archie was not portrayed as much as a racist (he NEVER said the N-word) but as a middle-aged, high school educated, WWII veteran, blue collar worker living in a time where the world was changing in ways he could not comprehend (fifty years later I can relate), and over the course of the show's run actor Carroll O'Connor and showrunner Norman Lear (recently turned 100) transformed Archie into a sympathetic character who was still all bluster and just as funny, but capable of growing and evolving. BTW George and "Weezy" Jefferson were spun off into the long-running sitcom "The Jeffersons" where successful businessman George was depicted as "movin' on up" to a "dee-luxe apartment in the sky" per the show's memorable theme song. Sadly the popular elderly actress who played Mother Jefferson passed away shorty after "The Jeffersons" premiered.

They went toe to toe😂

That show could never be on the air today

It's a shame we can't laugh at ourselves like we used to. Archie was over the top. That was the point. When you can laugh at a situation, you automatically rob it of gravitas. When racial terms become nonsensical, and saying them means nothing, then we will have achieved equality. And laughing at them is the first step. There's no growth without laughter.

Archie didn't mean any disrespect. He was trying to stand up for George's mother. Talking to these people is like walking through a minefield.

yes, i know it was a TV show with actors - but the SCRIPT was decades ahead of its time !! ... and will NEVER be done again EVER !!

Bro! It's comedy, you laughing!😂

Archie said "Listen that a formal invitation you sent by your wife. I think that was very white of you."

PC wasn't as strong back in the early 70s as it properly is now. Working on a heavy Freight dock up through the mid 1980s, well there was definitely sparse PC going on back then.😮

🤘🏽⚜️🤘🏽

Man, you haven't heard nothing yet!🤣😂

isobel Sanford who played George’s wife was in reality 20 years older than him

'very white of you' was the script

The show was super popular because it was hilarious and at the same time showed racism and bigotry as ignorant. Old Archie had a good heart deep down. He was just ignorant.

We didn't take it personally. We made fun of each other.

In lot of way society has regressed and now people are afraid to even acknowledge the differences, or be able to ask questions to understand. It’s a bit self righteous to cancel people and yes some do deserve it, but remember everyone is ignorant of something. It feels like the younger generations are too afraid to have the discussions with continues the cycle of ignorance. I’d also saw the younger generations wouldn’t have to historical context or life experiences to understand the context of the show is meant to be satirical.

Hard to watch these children miss the point because they can't get past their fear of words

He said "very white of you." Also, some of your younger people may not even know the reference, but Al Jolson was a white actor who worked in blackface. He was not black.

Then again... WHO is deciding what 'flies'?

the rest of this clip or show goes south with jeffersons son marrying a girl from mixed black ad white parents

Have you heard of Don Rickles?

El joseph used to do black face back in the day...

If you hear an Irishman call his mum mammy it's cuz that's how it always been alot of people here say mammy ma mummy mum but mammy is said alot in Republic of Ireland. Just incase anyone hears an Irish person say it they ain't referring to anyone other than their mother. Norman Lear who wrote this show is still alive and just celebrated his 100th birthday this year

He didn't say "Whitely". He said "that was very white of you".

Bunker referenced Al Jolson to justify the use of the word “Mamie”. Al Jolson is not black. He’s a white actor known for black face. The fact that Bunker used Jolson as an excuse shows how ignorant he was.

Back in that day we could take a joke

Al Jolson? OMG! I watched a lot of All in the Family back in the day, when I could stand to listen to Archie (mainly) but Archie not understanding that Al Jolson was white is just about too much. Did I somehow miss this episode?

i am gonna watch this show just to learn more words for collllofffred folk. junnnnnnnngle bunnnnnnnnnies? haahahahahahaahhahahaha