MovieChat Forums > Roseanne (1988) Discussion > Should've Played as a reversal of 'Black...

Should've Played as a reversal of 'Black-ish'

posted 8 years ago by BugisStreetAnnie
8 replies | jump to latest

With the sitcom 'Black-ish' it's about a black family living in an upscale, white neighborhood. They should've done Roseanne as the opposite of that, having a working class white family living in a multi-racial neighborhood.

To me, the episode with D.J. having to kiss the black girl seemed unrealistic that the Connor's would have no contact with African-American's other than Anne Marie and Chuck (were they the only two black people in Lanford?). A town that size, with a shopping mall, Rodbell's, I would think Dan and Roseanne's working-class neighborhood would be racially mixed that they would encounter non-white people all the time.

[–] Brainlock2 8 years ago

Cleavant Derricks Jr was one of Dan's poker buddies in the first season. I think he left to do Sliders? Chuck was basically his replacement, but it does show there were other black kids in town besides Chuck, Anne-Marie and DJ's classmate.

There was also a Hispanic poker buddy, but he didn't have many lines and only made a couple appearances. That first poker group was probably the most diverse casting on the show. but there was also a grain of truth that the construction biz also draws one of the most diverse group of workers outside fast food.

Vonda was an early recurring character, too, as well as s2e1 having a black woman looking to hire Roseanne before she admitted she didn't know anything about computers. and then the "congratulations party" also had another Hispanic couple, which the husband didn't speak english, and Roseanne complained to his wife about it.

so, like many Midwestern small towns, they had POC, but not very many.

=-=
#HowardWasRight

[–] BugisStreetAnnie 8 years ago

Vonda was an early recurring character, too, as well as s2e1 having a black woman looking to hire Roseanne before she admitted she didn't know anything about computers. and then the "congratulations party" also had another Hispanic couple, which the husband didn't speak english, and Roseanne complained to his wife about it.

Oh yeah, I had forgotten about Vonda and her husband, and the others. I guess because they were only in a few episodes.

I do understand why they probably wouldn't make their neighborhood more racially diverse because then they would have to deal with more racial issues.

I remember in "Family Ties" the episode called 'Remembrance of Things Past' where Steven's mother was moving out of the house he grew up in after his father died. They would say things like, "the neighborhood is getting worse. I hope she finds a nice place to move into soon." And Steven and his brother were worried about getting a good price for the house because of the neighborhood. This was all code for: Too many black people moving in and high crime, without them actually saying it. That was a great episode(s), though.

[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] VampyrSlayer333 8 years ago

I will be honest about a time in my life that I am not proud of.

I grew up in NYC which as you know is super diverse. However, everyone in my apartment building was white. All of my friends were kids from my apartment building (it wasn't a big apartment building, but there were 7 floors with generally 3 apartments on each floor. When I got into preschool, I had a black classmate. I refused to sit next to her in the beginning. We became friends and ended up going to the same elementary school and continuing our friendship. For years my best friend was black.
I have many black friends (and family) now. But because I didn't have much interaction with any black people before I was 2 (when I started preschool) I guess the "difference" was off-putting for me. Idk. Just saying how this was possible I guess.

AHHHHH! That was scary!

[–] tambourine_man36 8 years ago

Not doubting your story, but I'm having trouble believing you had any kind of social awareness memories before you were 2. Are you sure you were that young? Most people have infantile amnesia until at least 4, and that's because the human brain is a slow developer. Many people don't even recall their first day of kindergarten in specific detail.

[–] VampyrSlayer333 8 years ago

I was told this by my mother. While I do have memories of preschool from the ages 2,3 and 4. This is not one of them.

AHHHHH! That was scary!

[–] tambourine_man36 8 years ago

Ah ok. That would be an extremely vivid memory!

I don't recall my first interactions with race. I had friends who were Native American at a young age, but I have no memory of meeting them!

[–] VampyrSlayer333 8 years ago

hahaha my memories of preschool involve hating naptime and the only way they could make me stay during it by was having my favorite teacher rub my back lol and doing a play where we played monkeys stealing hats and hanging upside down on the monkey bars.

AHHHHH! That was scary!