Parisi takes this American obsession and discusses how it became a commodity to the black culture. How placing a black Bart Simpson on a t-shirt, was more than supporting the show, it was taking a whole culture and letting them relate to it. The Cosby show has the same underlying theme, while not exactly taking merchandise and manipulating it, but taking a stereotype and applying it to their own culture.
The Cosby Show is about an African-American family who reside in a brownstone apartment in the upscale district of the city. They do not play the typical role of an African-American family during this time period but rather that of a white family from the upper east side of Manhattan. Bill Cosby, the main character, brings his special comic genius to the role of Cliff Huxtable, a warm family man, who along with his lovely wife Clair handles, his family of five kids with a combination of warmth, humanity and humor. Cliff being a doctor and Clair a lawyer do not have the typical stereotypical jobs of blacks during this time period. Cliff and Clair's love for the kids is matched only by their wisdom in dealing with the youngsters" clever schemes to achieve adolescent independence.
The reason that the Cosby" relate to this essay at hand is because in a sense, the characters on the Cosby Show are playing roles that were at the time uncommon to the black culture. . While not intentionally taking a stereotypical tone, the fact of the matter was that this show broke the barrier of the role of African Americans on television. While most Americans, presumably would not have placed "the Huxtables" in a brown stone in an upscale city neighborhood. This show takes an affluent family, the mother being a lawyer, and the father a doctor and places them in an upscale neighborhood of a city environment. During the time the show was running, this was not considered the norm, but perhaps just a small population that black culture as a whole was not aware of.
