An Analysis of the Television Sitcom, Different Strokes :: Media

An Analysis of the Television Sitcom, distinguishable StrokesDifferent Strokes a harlequinade sitcom, first aired in 1978, and lasted until 1986. This sitcom consisted of a widowed Manhattan millionaire, Phillip Drummond , who adopt two orphaned brothers. Arnold who was 8 years old and Willis who was 12. The boys mother was Drummonds housekeeper who became very(prenominal) ill, so Drummond made a promise to her that he would take cautiousness of her two sons after she passed away. Drummond treated the two boys like his own. He too workd with his daughter, Kimberly, who was 13 years old, and his current housekeeper. This sitcom showed typical life lessons in growing up, and social problems that were occurring during that time. Some of the aspects of this show were both supportive and negative. confirming Aspects In this sitcom there are several different ship canal in which minorities are compulsively portrayed. For instance, even though Arnold and Willis were two brothers of another(prenominal) ethnic background and race, Drummond who was a Caucasian millionaire still took these boys in. Another typesetters case of positive portrayal is that Drummond also called Arnold and Willis his sons not just his adopted children. He raised them as if they were his own children. The third example of a positive portrayal is that in this sitcom they showed evidence of social problems, such as racial discrimination. They realized that it did exist and that it was a problem. Finally, this sitcom also showed how blacks and whites could live equally and be happy together. These four portrayals are definitely positive and show how two minorities were portrayed in Diffrent Strokes.Negative Aspects Different Strokes, which was first televised November 3, 1978, was one of the better, most influential shows of that time. This show was a absolute example of how minorities were portrayed to be unable to support themselves. The African American family characterized in this sh ow was a single mother family, leading to the tenet that most African American children were without a father in their lives. In agreement with the stereotypes of the time, their income was also low because the mother was a housekeeper. The audience whitethorn presume that she had no other skills than housekeeping which leads to the negative belief that African Americans have no job skills. In addition to these family problems and income issues, the children spoke colloquialism and were even referred to as ghetto.