Reply to Malcolm-Jamal Warner dead at 54

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I am surprised by how many see him as an icon and have such strong attachment to him. I do remember him from the Cosby show but haven’t heard or seen of him since. We had a few shows we watched regularly as kids but I haven’t heard anything about most of those actors / actresses in decades and they definitely weren’t central to my life or childhood memories. [/quote]  I also think part of it is people don't understand what the Cosby Show meant to black people. [b]For a lot of Black families, The Cosby Show wasn’t just a popular sitcom; it was one of the first times they saw a successful, loving Black family portrayed on TV in a positive and aspirational way.[/b] That representation had a big emotional and cultural impact, especially in the '80s and '90s when that kind of visibility was rare.[/quote]

Agree, but this was [i]also[/i] true for a lot of white families. It seemed like everyone's familiy was watching the Cosby Show for several years then, and yes it had a huge impact.[/quote]

This.

Go back and search racial demographics in the USA when the show aired.

[b]Hint: the black population was very small. [/b]

The reason the show was so successful was because everyone watched it—including most white families. The show was well written and well acted.

The show was important in many ways, particularly since it introduced many people who otherwise weren’t interacting closely with black people to a highly functional black family who was endearing and impressive.

The Cosby show was transformative in terms of the impact it made on Americans. Seriously. [/quote]  I'm not really sure what this has to do with the discussion, but the black population has not changed much since the 80s. The U.S. was significantly more White, but the black population has remained pretty consistent as a share of the total.[/quote]

The black population was 25-28M in 1985 when the show first aired and it’s closer to 50M now.

There has been a lot written about how segregated communities were when the show first aired simply because the black population was relatively small and so many communities simply lacked any really diversity. Point being: lots of people weren’t really interacting with black families and the show broke down barriers since everyone essentially watched the Huxtables every week for many, many years. Remember: most homes didn’t have cable tv in 1985; weeks only had a handful of channels and everyone basically watched the Cosby show.

It was transformative. It was beloved.

And Theo was a fan favorite who made an impression on an entire generation (and beyond).

[b]The point is MJW’s impact transcended the black community. We all loved him. Theo was awesome.[/b] [/quote]

Except for the PP who said that his death is overshadowed by Ozzy’s because no one knows MJW.

I can assure you that Ozzy isn’t overshadowing MJW with Black folks.[/quote]

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