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(Tukachinsky). As displayed in The Beulah Show similar tropes have a way of resurfacing.
However, when exploring other representations of Blacks in television one can easily discover a
repeating of narratives. Tukachinsky argued that
Ample research indicates that ethnic portrayals in entertainment
media (including fictional, scripted media such as dramas and
sitcoms) are integrated into consumers’ mental representations of
these groups. For example, exposure to situation comedies (but not
dramas) has been found to be related to viewers’ perceptions of
Blacks’ educational attainment and income levels.
While these shows often possessed an upbeat and light-hearted spirit the truth they were
digressing from was rigid and unrelenting. The use of television to massage the psyche of White
America has proven to be detrimental to African Americans as the erasure is immense.
The Beulah Show displayed a clearly recognizable film archetype that viewers could
easily connect to. However, series like Good Times incorporated racial stereotypes cleverly
leaving them often undetected even by Black audiences. The show dealt with racial issues and
centered an inner city Black Family. Similar issues seen in other representations of Blacks
eventually arose. Henry Gates points out how
Good Times represented the greatest potential and also in my
opinion the greatest failure. It was great potential because it was an
inner city family. It was nuclear, it was solid. They would talk
about real world issues and how an actual black family deals with
those real world issues of racism and economic discrimination. But
what happened? They elevated JJ’s role which had been one of