Roseanne Is Back! And This Time I Am Not Tuning In
Folks are quick to say that The Cosby Show was the most important half hour of television for this little Black chubby queer boy growing up in the 80s and 90s. However, it was not.
I don’t mean to bash The Cosby Show and it’s cultural relevance, however, it is imperative that we critically think on the Black stories that get told- generally the ones rooted in respectability.
I saw people who looked like me living a complex life as an upper middle class Black family- inhabiting an expensive brownstone in Brooklyn Heights; however, I did not feel the Huxtables lived like me.
As a poor Black fat queer boy, I felt more seen in the television show Roseanne than The Cosby Show.
Roseanne engaged the intersections of my Black body- my queerness, my low socio-economic status, my fatness, and all of the complexities of engaging life from those intersections.
I remember the episode Roseanne taught home economics for Darlene’s class. They all went shopping at the local grocery store, as they were charged with creating a menu, developing a shopping list, purchasing all of the ingredients, and then eventually cooking the meal at the Connor’s residence. While shopping, some of the children in the class placed expensive meats and name brand items into the shopping cart; Roseanne quickly explained to the class that they were on a tight budget. Roseanne pointed out that the Connor family lives off ground beef, as it is the cheapest meat to purchase and it stretches for a large family. The aforementioned was my childhood. We shopped the same way, as it was connected to our survival. We had ground beef prepared in every way- meatloaf, spaghetti and meatballs, ground beef and potatoes, chili, tacos, nachos, etc. This episode alone created intimacy between the Connors and me.
Roseanne wasn’t perfect in how they engaged a variety of socially informed conversations; however, it was one of the few places I could go to when fire and brimstones seemed to be an inevitable end to this queer life.
I remember my friends’ parents wouldn’t allow them to watch Roseanne because of it’s radical content at the time. To me this implies that something quite fragile was being poked and prodded. My hunch is that the uncomfortable conversations around race, gender, sexual orientation, and the adventures of being poor was not fitting dinner conversation for the more affluent and respectable.
And let’s be clear, although Roseanne boldly addressed social issues, the story was still told through the lens of cisgender straight white folks; and I fully understand the implications of this.
I will not be tuning in to the new reboot of the Roseanne show airing next week — primarily because Roseanne Barr has vocalized support of 45, for whatever foolish reasons- reasons that certainly overlook people and their humanity, in hopes of proving a wayward point. <whispers> A point that has still managed to elude me.
Roseanne, the person, is anti-trans, anti-Black, anti-anything to do with liberation. She is the epitome of white privilege- allowed to pick and choose what she shows up for, and when she shows up for them.
And, I am appreciative of some of the work produced on the show (before the lottery) and what it did for this little Black husky queer boy. A few of these episodes added days onto my life. This is why I am so disappointed with the person Roseanne has allowed herself to become, or perhaps the person she always was.
Below are five imperfect episodes that boldly attempted to explore truth(s), and allowed me to see myself. And not just see myself on the screen, but also see myself in ways Eunice Louisiana and the Baptist church would never allow.
Crime and Punishment- Season 5, Episode 13
Darlene walks in on Jackie in the bathroom and notices bruises on her body. Darlene then asks Roseanne what happened to Jackie, which spurs Roseanne to confront Jackie on these mysterious bruises. Angrily, Jackie tells Roseanne to drop it, but Roseanne continues to push. It is soon revealed that Fisher, Jackie’s boyfriend, has been physically and emotionally abusing her.
A Stash From the Past- Season 6, Episode 4
Perhaps my favorite episode of the series is about marijuana.
Roseanne finds a stash of pot in David’s room. Thinking that David brought the pot into their home, she is furious. Roseanne tells Dan and Jackie about the stash, and in a hilarious turn of events Dan remembers that this pot belonged to both him and Roseanne almost 20 years earlier. After this revelation, they all decide to toke up in the bathroom. This was a daring conversation to have on primetime television in the early 90s.
Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell- Season 6, Episode 18
Jackie and Roseanne meet Sharon, Nancy’s new girlfriend, for the first time. In support of the new relationship, Jackie and Roseanne agree to go to a gay bar with the couple. Jackie is consumed with being mistaken for a lesbian, while Roseanne is committed to making her even more uncomfortable. Later in the evening, Sharon kisses Roseanne on the lips in a fairly romantic way. Roseanne was surprised. This is one of the first times a lesbian kiss was broadcasted on primetime television.
White Men Can’t Kiss — Season 7, Episode 9
D.J. doesn’t want to participate in the school play, and Roseanne is committed to figuring out why. After some prodding, Roseanne soon finds out that D.J. doesn’t want to participate in the play because it requires him to kiss a Black girl. This disclosure sends Roseanne and Dan into a well-intentioned white people tailspin.
Thanksgiving 1994- Season 7, Episode 10
Roseanne receives stressful news about her baby from the doctor’s office. Already a stressful Thanksgiving with the presence of family, Roseanne struggles to get through the day. Nana Mary casually mentions the two abortions she had in the past. This announcement sends the entire family into a frenzy. Again, talking about abortion so openly in the early 90s was a daring topic for a sitcom to address.
This is the work of Cody Charles; claiming my work does not make me selfish or ego-driven, instead radical and in solidarity with the folk who came before me and have been betrayed by history books and storytellers. Historically, their words have been stolen and reworked without consent. This is the work of Cody Charles. Please discuss, share, and cite properly.
Bio:
Cody Charles is the author of Mudbound: Uncovering The Parts Of Ourselves We Sacrifice In Order To Survive, Our Favorite Blackity Black Quotes In Black Cinema, Engaging My Black Fat Body, Black Up The Cast: Re-imagining Iconic Horror Films, I’m Fearful of White People and Whiteness, Re-Imagining Black Love, You Can’t Outdo Black People, Black Joy, We Deserve It, The Night The Moonlight Caught My Eye: Not a Review but a Testimony on the Film Moonlight, 5 Tips For White Folks, As They Engage Jordan Peele’s Get Out. (No Spoilers), and What Growing Up Black And Poor Taught Me About Resiliency. Join him for more conversation on Twitter (@_codykeith_) and Facebook (Follow Cody Charles). Please visit his blog, Reclaiming Anger, to learn more about him.
