15 Examples of Pervasive Racism in Television

By Real TV Addict Team on October 29th, 2009

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While we like to think of ourselves as a progressive lot these days, the fact is that racism isn’t as behind us as we’d like it to be. More to the point — we actually keep it at the forefront of everyday life; whether we do it unwittingly or not, racism has become completely pervasive in our culture. These 15 examples show just how deeply rooted racism has become in America, as reflected by what we see on cable TV. Now don’t get too serious, while the subject-matter seems a bit dire, most of these clips are pretty hilarious — just watch objectively and you’ll see.

Merrie Melodies

While there are many examples to choose from when talking about racism in early animation, Speedy Gonzales’ appearances in Merrie Melodies are perhaps the most warmly remembered, as opposed to the absolutely unacceptable. Entire generations have grown up with the words “¡Ándale! ¡Ándale! ¡Arriba! ¡Arriba!” etched into memory for life because of these cartoons. Looking back now, there is much more to these shorts than we ever noticed as children.

All in the Family

A relic from a now distant past, All in the Family showcased race-relations in America as they existed in the chaotic 1970’s. Television was changing dramatically at the time from what everyone perceived as the norm, and overt racism was a big part of that. This clip is especially hilarious because of the drastic changes that the story goes through when it’s told by two parties on opposite sides of the race debate.

American Dad

American Dad, made by the same comedy think tank responsible for Family Guy, revolves heavily around the idea of the stereotypical American. The show’s portrayal of this white, suburban affluent male was taken directly from the archives — 1950’s America — and warped purely for comedic and anecdotal value. The idea’s genius, but the show’s humor fails to reach countless viewers outside its own ironically caucasian demographic.

The Jeffersons

Picking up where All in the Family began leaving off, The Jeffersons confronted racism in America in similar fashion, but from the opposite end of the spectrum. This clip demonstrates perfectly how the same joke can be told from two different perspectives, offering a humorous look at the trendy use of “uncle tom” as a phrase at that time.

Scrubs

Scrubs is interesting in that it attempts to meld many (if not all) races and modern interracial concerns into one comedy-drama. The show succeeds, for the most part, and is wildly popular because of that success. This clip is a good example of the light-hearted look the show takes at the daily minefield of racial sensitivity we all traverse.

South Park

South Park has earned massive critical acclaim for its direct, no holds barred approach towards topics of extreme sensitivity, and racism is a recurring theme on the show. The approach was simple, take every known racial epithet and stereotype in existence, then proceed to portray them as humorously as possible.

In Living Color

Self-deprecating humor began to gain a foothold in the racial sphere when shows like In Living Color started taking their place in the lineup. The humor is meant to be innocent enough, but these skits almost always wind up a double-edged sword. Immature audiences view comedy like this, and apply their own preconceived notions to further the wrong kind of thinking. It’s unfortunate, but in the long run we can only hope that more good is done than harm.

Family Guy

Often wrongly-accused of overtly prejudiced humor, Family Guy is a truly intelligent farce wrapped in guffaw-laden, shallow jokes. The idea of the show is to more or less ridicule the average American for propagating stereotypes by living them out. By calling attention to the often hilariously wrong views and practices of the “average” suburban American, the show manages to break those stereotypes. Unfortunately, the jokes tend to be just a little too good, and many immature individuals get the wrong idea about the show.

Rescue Me

Departing from the norm, Rescue Me doesn’t attempt to gloss over the ugliness of racism. The show takes a decidedly different approach, and portrays it hyper-realistically, going along with the already gritty feel that’s won the acclaim of so many critics. This approach is hugely successful due to the lack of any prefab-feel associated with anything artificially imbued with an overly-positive spin, and the realism doesn’t hurt the level of comedy, either.

Sealab 2021

Late-night comedy animation like Adult Swim’s Sealab 2021 are on the rise in a big way — and for good reason. The fact that we never truly stop loving cartoons can’t be ignored, and networks are realizing that fact now as they allow more adult-oriented animation to air. These shows are perfect vehicles for racial humor, and Sealab is no exception.

Hannity & Colmes

While scripted shows are controlled in every way, they only account for roughly half of what we watch on TV. News, talk shows, and the grey-area in between the two have grown by leaps and bounds in the past several decades. Today, shows like Hannity & Colmes cover niche-topics that more conventional news programs can only touch upon. These shows become hot-beds for racial content, and usually by accident.

The Boondocks

Also a child of Adult Swim, The Boondocks centers its entire theme on racism. While appearing to be very aggressively oriented, the show actually strikes a bit of a bargain — poking at both sides. Popular culture is rife with subtly racial influences and this show takes shots at them in a more artistic manner than most.

The MidNightly News

Taking cues from successful contemporaries like The Daily Show, short-lived and already cancelled The MidNightly News struck out at racism in the popular mockumentary fashion. Wyatt Cenac was actually so good at this, that when the show was cancelled shortly after this airing, he was picked up by The Daily Show to continue in like fashion.

Chappelle Show

Dave Chappelle has grown famous (and rich) off of his ability to expose and exploit racism in everyday life. His gift lies in the hilarious and imaginative ways in which he manages to portray the issue at hand — in this case, it’s making a mockery of the KKK while making a statement about reverse-prejudice.

Fox News

Sometimes even our mainstream news programs find themselves in the middle of a racial gaffe, as Fox News did when Hillary Clinton went off the deep end in a speech about school vouchers. In a rare moment of unscripted ire, the (then) presidential hopeful managed to show her ignorance in the worst way possible. These incidents show that no matter how tightly controlled we make our entertainment, there will always be the chance of exposure.