Making Roseanne and Racism Ready for Prime Time
In the long ago, when I was the TV critic for TV Guide, I liked Roseanne. Above, see my credentials.
Now, not so much. I had to force myself to watch Roseanne’s reboot just to see what is being foisted on America by ABC — especially because this network’s parent company, Disney, will soon have as its largest individual shareholder the man who, more than any other single person, ruined our democracy: Rupert Murdoch. You like conspiracy theories? Nevermind Roseanne’s crackpot paranoia about left-wing pedophile rings. Try looking at how Fox and now ABC will conspire as propaganda outlets for Trump.
What’s most disturbing about the new Roseanne is how the network takes a populist movement that at its roots and its head is racist and tries to cleanse it. In the most blatant incident of racial tokenism on TV in memory, an innocent, young, African-American actor is hired to do nothing so much as be black and in the room with Roseanne to demonstrate that the old lady’s not so bad; she doesn’t spit insults at the child — even if, in real life, Roseanne Barr is not above attacking the children of Parkland.
And then, of course, there is the child of fluid gender definition who is also tolerated by the Conner family, nevermind that their hero, Trump, keeps trying to kick transgender patriots out of the U.S. military. I await the goofball and lovable Mexican and Muslim neighbors, whom Roseanne and Dan will also not report to ICE or lynch just to prove that these Trumpists are actually OK. Roseanne says her fondness for Trump is explained solely by his talk about jobs. It has nothing to do with white nationalism and populism, at least not in the fantasy world of the Disney network sitcom.
On the other side, there is the pathetic portrayal of Roseanne’s liberal sister by Laurie Metcalf, an actress I used to respect. Now, in her pink pussy hat and nasty woman T-shirt, she is meant to be nothing but the butt of jokes. Odd how Roseanne is allowed to make a joke at Jackie’s expense about taking a knee during dinner-table grace, but ABC pulled an episode of Blackish about African-American athletes taking a knee to draw attention to racism in this country.
Some critics have tried to compare Roseanne’s character to Archie Bunker but they have it exactly wrong. In this show, sister Jackie is Archie, the buffoon, and Roseanne is Meathead, the sensible one. And the show doesn’t have an ounce of the intelligence and moral value of All in the Family.
If I were still a TV critic, I’d complain about the obvious gags and the lack of higher social awareness the once-upon-a-time Roseanne had when she made a show about class and feminism. The new version is just a collection of stereotypes exploited one way or another to support the stereotyper-in-chief, Trump. The show isn’t worth the dissection. I won’t be watching anymore. I also don’t see much on ABC that interests me anymore.
But I’m proud to say that Roseanne won’t be sending me thank-you notes. I’m dead to her. She blocked me on Twitter.
Below, I’m the one in pink. How times change.
