The writer of this show, Norman Lear, passed away today at the age of 101. He also wrote The Jeffersons. He was able to show us the ignorance of racism through humor. RIP Sir.
@@danbarrasso2253 Well, to give him his full due: "Norman Milton Lear was an American screenwriter and producer who produced, wrote, created or developed over 100 shows...including All in the Family, Maude, Sanford and Son, One Day at a Time, The Jeffersons, and Good Times." He is listed as one of the writers for All in the Family, along with Rob Reiner and 4 others. Teamwork.
How about the ignorance of rap music lyrics the way they call one another the 'N' word that you all like cringe when you hear it? How about when Snoop Dogg and other rappers degrade women in the most vicious of terms and way?? I suppose they all get a free pass !! They're just words, and racism by the way exists in individual hearts (black, white, yellow brown, etc...) individual hearts must be willing to change! Don't let your white guilt get the best of ya!
Talking about things can clear the air. Shining a light on problems is a way to force solutions. Shame on those anxious Greeks writing about sons sleeping with mothers, 'Heroes' who slaughter their whole family because a Deity made him do it. Then again, there are war passages in the Old Testament not suitable for children, yet get screamed from the pulpit. Not to mention Noah and Lot and their sexy daughters wink wink nudge nudge. For fucks sake. Who hates everybody? Not the left. So, can all the white people kill or enslave the world who aren't white? Is that what you want, for hate to go on so you normalize cruelty and the smell of burning bodies? Burn the world? For what? The power to be asshats over everybody else? For some god you allegedly proclaim, whoop de doo it's been done, nobody wants that. I'm not impressed. Nobody would oppress you, if you weren't gerrymandered, and if only the Senate reflected the Population of a State. That's for the future. That y'all think being EQUAL is a psychic insult or some existential threat is a sad state of affairs. I suggest you follow Michael Jordan's advice and Get Some Help.
Racism is a crime of POWER. Those with the upper hand are the racists, not the people who dislike their attitude and are STILL being messed with. Which makes people angry, etc so why push it? Anyway, whoever does dislike or even hate those with the perennial upper-hand over them in society CAN'T BE RACIST BY DEFINITION. Then the words would angry, frustrated, bigoted, prejudiced because racism hangs onto the human race like leprosy, and it will destroy those who have hate and power and are CRUEL. So. Destroy the human race, or join it. ✌️ outtie 👵
He was a very talented actor, no doubt, because in real life, he was nothing like Archie Bunker, but he sure had everyone believing Archie was for real!
Great job, you guys. As an old geezer, it gives me renewed hope for this world when I hear younger folks engage in a thoughtful, intelligent discussion of issues that seem even more delicate today than they did half a century ago when I was your age. Just for the record, Carroll O'Connor, besides being a talented actor, was an extremely loving, liberal, charitable and open-minded man and his goal in accepting the role of Archie Bunker was to help the world see how ignorant and destructive bigotry truly is. And I think he accomplished that goal by showing up in our living rooms every week and making us laugh at Archie's foibles.
I feel the same way about these gentlemen. This is why I might support them-something I don’t usually do; you know online stuff, once I get a new job. All of them give me renewed hope for the future. Also, the other day I saw an old grainy video of Carol O’Connor. He was singing and had an almost full head of hair 😂. The man sure possessed a set of pipes!!
I'm Catholic. I've heard lots of Catholic and otherwise Christian jokes in my presence. It really doesn't offend me. There are may funny things that people can say about Catholics. IMO, people get too offended too easily these days. Perhaps it is because I'm 59 years old. That last 10-15 years or so, many people in general have turned into snowflakes when it comes to being offended. It is sad to see. By the way, this was an excellent episode. I really showcased Carroll O'Conner's acting skills.
This is why Archie was such an interesting character, because once he realizes he was making Jewish jokes in front of his Jewish friend, he thought twice about it and felt bad.
Archie was a character who had so many layers. If you watch enough episodes of AITF you begin feeling like they’re real people. I call this 4-5 dimensional characters, or characters on a higher plane.
Archie Bunker, All in the Family in general, would make you laugh until your stomach hurts...and make you cry or be very emotional. Please check out the episodes with Lionel's Engagement, The Stivics moving, and Edith's death. Those episodes are TV classics...the show is an all-time classic!
Normal Lear's passing today, just underscores how impressive this show was for how it brought serious issues to our homes to discuss while also making us laugh as well.
Stretch Cunningham was played by James Cromwell (Babe) (The Green Mile). Interesting bit of trivia; Michael Clarke Duncan (John Coffey) at 6'5" was not the tallest guy in The Green Mile, nor was David Morse (Brutus/Brutal) at 6'4"". The tallest guy was James Cromwell (the Warden) at 6'7"" hence the character name of Stretch Cunningham. He was the son of famous director John Cromwell and one of his wives was Julie (daughter of Lee J Cobb). Incidentally his son John was 6'8"
I was just a kid when All In The Family premiered on CBS in 1971. The show was groundbreaking with some of the best writing and acting. Carroll O'Connor played Archie Bunker so well.
This was another great episode where you can see Archie having a moment of evolution. This show was really about him being exposed to all the things he was so bigoted about and evolving. You are all right in that when you are in a workplace and you hear someone say something offensive, even if it isn't about you, you have that hard choice of whether to speak up. Depending on the context of what is being said, you should say something. It doesn't have to be a "clutch the pearls moment", but if it is truly derogatory or demeaning, you should at least show some level of disapproval. It may not be directly about you, but you should push back as one of your coworkers may not have the courage to do so. Obviously, if you are in a work environment, you shouldn't be saying things like that anyway. That is common sense. The people who get annoyed that their "fun" is being shut down are people who are not part of any marginalized group who have no understanding of how that impacts someone.
I read that Stretch was played by James Cromwell which is fun to know, but what I wondered is why Stretch had a different name from his father. It would seem he was trying to hide his Jewish identity for what I can only assume were obvious reasons, to avoid bigotry and awkwardness, but why else? Did he have a problem with Jews as a religious group?
Such a great clip. This was quite a controversial show, but the humor with the hidden messages was so great. It opened peoples eyes to the bigotry around them that they really hadn't noticed like the jokes at work or the parties you may go to, not aware of people who may be hurt by these kinda of comments.
RIP Norman Lear! A legend in the television game, producing shows like this one and the Jeffersons, Good Times, Maude, and more! His shows were always hilarious with a serious undertone with views on race, religion, and society as a whole!
I was hoping you'd see this!! This was a great episode. I remember how Carroll O'Connor could make you laugh out from his ignorant, sometimes unknowingly offensive, comments, or even cry from his caring, average man, sincerity. This was a scene hit all on that list.
Thanks for this! Stretch was actually in episodes of the show prior to this one and played by James Cromwell, who was extremely tall, so the "Stretch" nickname was probably because of his height. Cromwell's most famous films are Babe and LA Confidential and also he was on the great early 2000s HBO drama show Six Feet Under. EDIT: Another AITF clip recommendation: "Archie Bunker on Democrats"
I was in my teens when All in the Family was airing. The one thing that stands out as a life lesson is that as a nation, we've lost the ability to laugh at ourselves. People then weren't offended quite as easily. In fact, the Italian kids knew all the Italian jokes, the Polish kids knew all the Polish jokes, etc. Everyone laughed, no one's feelings got hurt. That's not to say slurs intended to insult weren't appropriately addressed (sometimes physically), but we were able to distinguish the difference.
RIP, Mr. Lear!! I heard a quote by him, today, on the subject of passing...and, I'm paraphrasing: "I'm not afraid of dying, I'm afraid of leaving..." Such a WONDERFUL PERSON!!
It's interesting to hear your commentaries. Back in those days, when your buddies or friends made fun of you or your ethnicity, it meant they liked and accepted you. Humor was a bonding agent that allowed us to lightheartedly understand our differences. Today's world is too stiff.
Archie Bunker, The Jeffersons, Sanford and Son etc... These are comedies that were real and raw and we weren't offended. We could all laugh together and move on without getting butt hurt and needing safe spaces. Man I miss those days.
As an Afro-Latina I am often in circles where purple don't think about whether or not I'm black and say derogatory things about Black people, Black cultureand more. I'm not easily offended, but sometimes it has been jaw dropping the things I've heard. I used to try to ignore it because I didn't know what to say but I learned that people who are willing to make racist jokes ARE racist so I do say something. People get embarrassed. If your embarrassed don't say embarrassing, racist crap. Fun and games is fine. We can all make fun of each other's cultures or people sometimes in jest with close friends. But there is a line. People know what that is.
Hi Joe, hi DT, hi Holly, hola Felipe. I thought this episode was hilarious as well. Thank you all for sharing your reactions to All In The Family and other shows that were a big part of my childhood and teen years. Archie and Edith were an absolute riot. Keep those reaction videos coming!:)
I watched this episode in the 1970s, and I have seen it many times. I just realized from this clip that Stretch's widow looks a lot like Stretch. That's funny. Stretch was played by the actor James Cromwell.
This one hit in so many ways....good & bad. I wish more people would be open to watching this show. They had great writers on this show & were blessed with great actors as well. This show was a blessing in & of itself. We need shows like this now....more than ever!
The round table discussion after is wonderfully inciteful. Norman Lear's magic touched off many, many discussions in households across the country. Grew up watching this as a kid in the 70's. Saturday night was the gold standard of tv with All in the Family, M*A*S*H, Mary Tyler Moore and Bob Newhart followed by The Carol Burnett Show. Amazing.
Hey guys everyone has had their Archie Bunker moments, that’s why we forgive others for their offenses. I’m a 70 year old man and you young folks make me proud and give me peace in my heart that everything will be fine, despite the lunacy and the mess that my generation has laid on all of you . The generation of teens who are becoming adults are phenomenal and they are the ones who will save us from our past mistakes. Anyway, I love watching and listening to you all reacting to something that I experienced when I was your age. May God bless all of you and your RU-vid channel too. You guys keep making them and I will keep watching them. Later
I once made a comment about the heritage of someone I worked with and liked very much. The word I used for that partucular group of people was what I had heard my whole life. She didn't get offended. She was so gracious. She just informed me that the term was deragotory. I wanted to crawl in a hole. I apologized profusely to her. I truly thought the word I used was a legitimate name for people of her heritage. She taught me a great lesson that day. I need to put my brain in gear before putting my mouth in motion! Never assume that what you believe to be true is true. Thank you, Jennifer. RIP🙏
Yay!!!! What a great way to start a Friday morning!! One of my all-time favorite episodes of All in the Family!! I am really looking forward to this reaction!! Enjoy you all a lot!!😎😎
Stretch Cunningham was a recurring character played by James Cromwell, who later gained renown for playing the farmer in Babe and Prince Phillip in The Queen.
Carroll O'Connell was hilarious as Archie and was an all out great actor. He played as such a prejudice northern biggot in All in the Family. But then he later stared on IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT having a more serious role as a Southern Law Officer with a black partner. He played such a great role in both characters that unless you done some digging you really couldn't tell if he was actually from the north or from the south lol.. He was truly one of the greats !
Back in the day, we were not as sensitive as people are now. We could laugh at ourselves and our friends because we knew that we all have our "quirks". But now it is all so personal and serious because we are all so insecure. Like the comment about "man-splane" by that chick.
Joke. I see this guy in a Spanish neighborhood outside of this apartment building constantly. So I asked him are you Spanish, do you live here? He said No I am half Polish half Jewish, I am the janitor but I own the building.
Yes, we were just as shocked then as we still are today. We never knew what he was going to say on the show, the counter part show was the Jefferson's. Each week everyone was waiting for the next show of each. It was shocking but we knew there were some people that were like that, and we wanted to see it and be kinda shocked. The thing was, as it is now, those people were just actors playing a part, they were just everyday people making a living as an actor/actress.
Just found your channel today boy do these shows bring me back to my childhood i remember coming home from school and turning on the tv and wed watch all in the family ,good times the jeffersons Another good one is welcome back kotter , also growing pains with mike sever ,happy days, they just don't make tv shows like these anymore.. nice seeing the younger generation enjoying these classic shows. Glad i found your channel
A detail that was kind of thrown away was his original birth name as a character was not Cunnigham. Think about the time the Holocaust had just happened and in the postwar period Jews starting their lives after the war might have felt a need to Anglicize their names and conceal or abandon their Jewishness to pass as Christian or non religious, possibly fearful that Jews might be singled out again. The Cunnigham character probably lived a life of passing much like light skinned blacks or masculine closeted gay men or feminine closeted lesbians. The impact on Archie of the weight of knowing stretch was scared to share his Jewishness with others was there in Carroll O’Connell’s portrayal of Archie. Audiences who knew Jewish survivors knew the pain of Jews who survived the war afraid to be themselves living emotionally isolated existences. A whole generation lived with a bag packed looking over their shoulder even if the closest they got to the camps was as a US GI stationed there fearing Nazi capture.
Serving in WW 2 would have been a universal experience a real life Cunningham would have faced and he would have had a 50/50 chance of going to Europe. He’d have come back shaken to his core and scared to be openly Jewish as we know from Archie’s shock at not knowing.
@@gabrielmcdonnell8699 yep, that was point. Archie never felt the need to hide who he was and saw what it must have been like for stretch that he felt he had to do that.
A few decades ago, when I was young, I used to go clubbing with a bunch of my straight buddies- all of whom had a great sense of humor and nothing was off limits. When I told them I was gay, the first words out of their mouths was sometimes, "Oh my God, I hope I never said anything that offended you." I always told them, "No, everybody loves a good joke. I know you wouldn't offend me intentionally. I know your heart. Don't ever worry about offending me." Those people remained friends for years after - and some are still close friends. People have to be free to be themselves, to play around, to see the humanity in one another but not take anything too seriously. The minute people have to watch what they say to their friends "for fear of offending" is the minute that friendships stop growing. You can never get to know someone well if they feel they have to be careful about what they say. To all people who are being trained to think that courtesy is more important than honesty, love and friendship: Think again. The gift of allowing people to be themselves without fear of hurting you is probably the gift that will come back to you seven-fold. Relax. What is most important is that they be allowed to be themselves.
~ O’Conner was a highly respected film character actor for quite a while before accepting this role. One of the most difficult character portrayals in television history to have successfully pulled off. One of those shows that wouldn’t have worked at all without just the right actor, which they had ~
Social pressure is easy to let go of when You are *very* comfortable with Yourself. *Sometimes* years of experience are required before arriving at that.
Luv watching you guys discuss things through these clips of things I've always loved! You're all very attractive on the eyes as well😉 Btw, LOVE "The Lost Boys" too! Total classic🤗
I would love to see you watch a 70s show called Soap. One of my all time favorites. It is about two families and all the interesting people in it, there is a son in the mob, a son who is gay, a son who lives through his ventriloquist dummy, an old man with dementia, a flighty mom, a dad who things he is invisible, a dad who murdered someone, a sarcastic butler, a possessed baby, and the list goes on. It was easiest to search for it by putting “best of Soap the tv show” otherwise you will just get stuff about different soaps. Lol
I have been watching this show since the 70's. This comedy wouldn't work today. It worked for Archie because he was clueless and didn't know any better. They are people I have met like him still.
I really enjoy watching your reactions to and appreciation of these old shows. I’m so glad you understand that it’s poking fun at racism and talking about it without talking about it. I hope you understand what I mean. It made people think even if they didn’t speak. 🇨🇦🖖🏻
They should have came in early when a relative came to the Bunker's yo ask Archie to say some words at the ceremony. When the family member left, Archie says to Edith "I don't know, I've never delivered the "UROLOGY" before!
over the course of the show, we got to see archie evolve, and we got to see the other characters evolve, for instance we got to see his liberal son in law Mike get a little bit more conservative on some things after he finished school and started working, and archie get more understanding and soften up. The episode where archie beat the butcher up for insulting his housekeeper who was black, that was a great episode, little evolution for Archies character. The episode where archie went after the KKK is another one worth checking out. Archie they threaten to burn a cross in archies neighborhood, and archie threatens them, they call him out on it, he tells them he and his brothers would be down to speak with the KKK then....see archie had surgery in an earlier season and he had blood given to him from a black man so now he's sure he's part black.
Pretty sure Archie's friend didn't tell anyone he was Jewish because he wouldn't have wanted them to look at him differently. To spark prejudice or bias at work. It was (is) a real thing.
Back in the day my friends n I used to diss each other constantly about race in a joking friends way. We never got insulted, it was never malicious. That's missing today cuz jokes like that diffuse tensions & take power away from slurs. The censorship of comedians has made tensions rise & given power back to bad racial words even to the point ppl get offended no matter the context.
@@gabrielmcdonnell8699 well u just used the words to "school" me, even though u had to write them in code, like a child, when u weren't being malicious toward those groups in using them. But way to miss the point while proving it Papi 😘
Having fun with friends is fine as long as we know no one is offended. We do over scrutinize comedians. But they're rarely truly thoughtful or enlightening like say a George Carlin. When something is bad for so long its normal to over correct. People will find a happy medium eventually.
@@Spooklilly-Latina4Freedom Just so that it’s perfectly *clear* I was _NOT_ trying to “school” you. I asked about *context* bc your original comment _implied_ that there were occasions that “bad racial words” were acceptable. Not sure if you meant it that way but that’s how I perceived your post (based on your word usage). _”Back in the day my friends n I used to diss each other constantly about race in a joking friends way”_ Please give an example of a “joking friends way”. Ppl have diff opinions of what’s friendly dissing and what isn’t. Just curious bc it’s mentioned often how ppl, in general, are uptight in the 2020’s and how back in the day they were not. ✌🏽
This show was from the 1970s. The character of stretch had already had changed his last name. Three decades earlier was the holocaust. Maybe he was connected in someway. He was hiding his identity from his coworkers. Maybe he was afraid. It was a different time. Layers in the writing of this show…RIP Norman Lear
With "All in the Family," Norman Lear influenced tens of millions of people to have a more open mind and to realize that we are all the same underneath our skin color. THAT is world-changing influence.
As a millennial, I have noticed that my generation is much more "woke" than previous generations. We get so offended at every single little thing today that we can't even coexist with other people. I'm NOT saying that we need to laugh when someone uses the "n" word to refer to someone who's of African descent, but I AM saying that if a Baby Boomer says something about another racial group or says something that is "sexist" by today's standards that we simply smile awkwardly and let it go. We have to remember that things were very different in the past, and that it's very difficult for some people to accept change. On the flip side of the coin, due to globalization, we now live in a country where many different people from many different countries call the U.S. "home." Consequently, we have to remember that some of those people may not be accustomed to hearing jokes that make fun of other nationalities, religions, etc., and it's always a good idea to refrain from making those types of jokes in their presence.
The whole point of the show is that they weren't coexisting harmoniously. Archie was a bigot who had to learn that other types of purple were ok. Humor is in knowing the reality of a character like that. That outsole like that exist and that hopefully they too can learn and grow. I agree not by shunning or acting "woke" but educating and having real conversations.
This show was from the 1970s. The character of stretch had already had changed his last name. Three decades earlier was the holocaust. Maybe he was connected in someway. He was hiding his identity from his coworkers. Maybe he was afraid. It was a different time.
Hey guys, just a thought. You should watch Archie turn into a southern sheriff as he portrys a tottaly different role. I believe he is one of the greatest charther actors of all time.
Love this show, by the way. Always have. By the way, I apologize if you don't recognize me because of my new account. This is Paul. (Hi Joe, DT, Holly, hola Felipe.) It's always cool seeing how you guys enjoy shows I grew up on. Love the channel.
