Top 10 Times The Golden Girls Tackled Serious Issues

[TMC]

"The Golden Girls" tackled a lot of serious issues. For this list, we’ll be looking at times the ladies from this ‘80s sitcom switched out cheesecake on the lanai for a slice of humble pie or just desserts and got real. Our countdown includes grief, unhoused people, the cost of aging, and more! Which serious issues were YOU most surprised “The Golden Girls” tackled?

[Steve_uk]

Originally Posted by TMC

The scriptwriters did their best to tackle controversial issues, however much you can transmit in a half-hour show. I was sorry the episode on interracial marriage portrayed Dorothy as initially hostile, which for an educated lady seemed at odds, especially when compared to her attitude towards anti-Semitism.

[BestTVever]

Originally Posted by Steve_uk

The scriptwriters did their best to tackle controversial issues, however much you can transmit in a half-hour show. I was sorry the episode on interracial marriage portrayed Dorothy as initially hostile, which for an educated lady seemed at odds, especially when compared to her attitude towards anti-Semitism.

Incorrect. Dorothy was not hostile about race with her son's marriage. It was the age of the woman she was concerned with. She was almost twice her son's age. It would be natural for any parent when your child marries someone twice their age. The joke was one family had issue with age while the other side had an issue with race while both opposing the marriage. But the writers made it more comfortable for the audience and it was the black family that had issue with race.
The joke was even taken further when Dorothy is cleaning and the black family assumed Dorothy was the maid. It was a racial stereotype that flipped the script. Really good writing.

[Steve_uk]

Originally Posted by BestTVever

Incorrect. Dorothy was not hostile about race with her son's marriage. It was the age of the woman she was concerned with. She was almost twice her son's age. It would be natural for any parent when your child marries someone twice their age. The joke was one family had issue with age while the other side had an issue with race while both opposing the marriage. But the writers made it more comfortable for the audience and it was the black family that had issue with race.
The joke was even taken further when Dorothy is cleaning and the black family assumed Dorothy was the maid. It was a racial stereotype that flipped the script. Really good writing.

I'm afraid you're the one in the wrong, unless there are two different episodes. Dorothy specifically says "Oh god!" and gives a grimace. It was a shocking piece of writing and should never have seen the light of day. https://youtu.be/ilqeiN2LfMo

[BestTVever]

Originally Posted by Steve_uk

I'm afraid you're the one in the wrong, unless there are two different episodes. Dorothy specifically says "Oh god!" and gives a grimace. It was a shocking piece of writing and should never have seen the light of day. https://youtu.be/ilqeiN2LfMo

Did you watch the video?
Michael says he really loves her and Dorothy says "That's all that matters." She has accepted that she is black. What she does not accept and never does until the end is Loraine is twice his age. She melts down and fights Michael about it.
You are reading too much into the surprise engagement announcement.

[Steve_uk]

Originally Posted by BestTVever

Did you watch the video?
Michael says he really loves her and Dorothy says "That's all that matters." She has accepted that she is black. What she does not accept and never does until the end is Loraine is twice his age. She melts down and fights Michael about it.
You are reading too much into the surprise engagement announcement.

But the damage was already done with the "Oh God!" remark, which revealed Dorothy's raw feelings. As I implied in my original post and will expand a little: had the woman been Jewish and Dorothy had uttered "Oh God!" there would have been uproar, and rightly so.

[BestTVever]

Originally Posted by Steve_uk

But the damage was already done with the "Oh God!" remark, which revealed Dorothy's raw feelings. As I implied in my original post and will expand a little: had the woman been Jewish and Dorothy had uttered "Oh God!" there would have been uproar, and rightly so.

Its sad you cannot appreciate comedy. The black family had a huge issue with Michael being white. Even when Rose and Blanche come into the room with mud on their face, Rose tells the family they are not really black. Sadly in today's woke culture this scene gets cut because people allege it was a black face stunt. Its sad when you have to explain comedy. Everything was a misunderstanding, a reverse racial stereotype and it was funny.
I know you guys laugh over there in the UK. If you find any of this brilliant script offensive, I feel sorry for you. Race should be allowed to be discussed with comedy. It happens all the time in sitcoms in the United States. If you spend less time being offended, you may find yourself laugh once in a while.

[Steve_uk]

Originally Posted by BestTVever

Its sad you cannot appreciate comedy. The black family had a huge issue with Michael being white. Even when Rose and Blanche come into the room with mud on their face, Rose tells the family they are not really black. Sadly in today's woke culture this scene gets cut because people allege it was a black face stunt. Its sad when you have to explain comedy. Everything was a misunderstanding, a reverse racial stereotype and it was funny.
I know you guys laugh over there in the UK. If you find any of this brilliant script offensive, I feel sorry for you. Race should be allowed to be discussed with comedy. It happens all the time in sitcoms in the United States. If you spend less time being offended, you may find yourself laugh once in a while.

I don't necessarily disagree with you. However I'm a middle-class, white, professional guy, house-owner, not rich but not dependent on pleasing others to make a living in the few years I have left until retirement.

It's always difficult to put yourself in another's shoes, as Atticus Finch tells Scout in To Kill A Mockingbird. If you're black, ethnic minority, Jewish, homosexual, disabled, you will have suffered discrimination at some point in your life. I try not to make jokes at a minority's expense. You might well say this had led to the death of comedy as we know it. It's a point of view. But don't feel sorry for me: I'm fine.

[BestTVever]

Originally Posted by Steve_uk

I don't necessarily disagree with you. However I'm a middle-class, white, professional guy, house-owner, not rich but not dependent on pleasing others to make a living in the few years I have left until retirement.

It's always difficult to put yourself in another's shoes, as Atticus Finch tells Scout in To Kill A Mockingbird. If you're black, ethnic minority, Jewish, homosexual, disabled, you will have suffered discrimination at some point in your life. I try not to make jokes at a minority's expense. You might well say this had led to the death of comedy as we know it. It's a point of view. But don't feel sorry for me: I'm fine.

The irony is the episode where Dorothy has a mean friend you defend her because in the end she comes around and sees her friend for the jerk that she is. However the entire episode Dorothy dismissed her best friends. The writer is teaching the viewer things. Comedy will also be used along the way. When All In The Family debuted in the states, some people were outraged because comedy was used to show racism.
The entire script of when Michael gets married is full of racial stereotypes and many of them are in reverse trying to teach the audience a thing or two with laughter. Dorothy was so overwhelmed learning of Michael's engagement. He tried to break the news to her by saying she was kind-a black. It was another joke because then Rose chimed in with Elmilio Estevez being kind-a latin. It was one joke set up after the other.

[Steve_uk]

Originally Posted by BestTVever

The irony is the episode where Dorothy has a mean friend you defend her because in the end she comes around and sees her friend for the jerk that she is. However the entire episode Dorothy dismissed her best friends. The writer is teaching the viewer things. Comedy will also be used along the way. When All In The Family debuted in the states, some people were outraged because comedy was used to show racism.
The entire script of when Michael gets married is full of racial stereotypes and many of them are in reverse trying to teach the audience a thing or two with laughter. Dorothy was so overwhelmed learning of Michael's engagement. He tried to break the news to her by saying she was kind-a black. It was another joke because then Rose chimed in with Elmilio Estevez being kind-a latin. It was one joke set up after the other.

I know the point you're making, but my point is we are viewing the comedy from a position of relative power: we haven't been discriminated against because of some accident of birth, we're not part of a beleaguered minority facing discrimination when we apply for jobs or a bank loan: we lead fairly comfortable lives. Okay it's comedy to some, but if you suffer from achondroplasia you might not care for the Blanche "shrimp" joke when Rose is dating the short guy, or the jokes about old people, or Chinese..in fact several minorities had to take it on the chin during the GG years. They might not appreciate the joke, however subtle (and in this particular case with Dorothy's grimace about generic black people there was no subtlety whatsoever) the scriptwriters perceived themselves to be.

[BestTVever]

Originally Posted by Steve_uk

I know the point you're making, but my point is we are viewing the comedy from a position of relative power: we haven't been discriminated against because of some accident of birth, we're not part of a beleaguered minority facing discrimination when we apply for jobs or a bank loan: we lead fairly comfortable lives. Okay it's comedy to some, but if you suffer from achondroplasia you might not care for the Blanche "shrimp" joke when Rose is dating the short guy, or the jokes about old people, or Chinese..in fact several minorities had to take it on the chin during the GG years. They might not appreciate the joke, however subtle (and in this particular case with Dorothy's grimace about generic black people there was no subtlety whatsoever) the scriptwriters perceived themselves to be.

The black family had more of an issue with race than Dorothy did. It was unexpected and eye opening. It was funny how each family was against the marriage for different and selfish reasons. In the end they see their love and grandchild on the way and realize they were all wrong. There was a moral at the end. All of their differences melted away.

[Steve_uk]

Originally Posted by BestTVever

The black family had more of an issue with race than Dorothy did. It was unexpected and eye opening. It was funny how each family was against the marriage for different and selfish reasons. In the end they see their love and grandchild on the way and realize they were all wrong. There was a moral at the end. All of their differences melted away.

I know, but it was a half-hour show made for entertainment purposes, only skirting the serious issues it sometimes raised. I know we are not allowed to discuss politics so I would just say the issues the GG tackled to raise awareness (and I'm being charitable here) have not been alleviated but have become more intense over the years.

[TVLegend]

The more serious topics were fine the first few seasons, but they came off as a bit underwhelming and unnecessary whenever they did them the last three seasons (Sophia’s friend wanting to kill herself, Blanche’s gay brother coming to visit with his “sassy” fiancé, Blanche’s husband cheating on her years into their marriage, Rose possibly having AIDS, etc.) The only serious issue from the later seasons that I can remember liking off the top of my head was the episode where Blanche’s “mammy” (boy, this term is outdated) comes to visit and reveals that she and Big Daddy were lovers. I used to be offended by this episode because of the great big negative stereotype character they made out of Mammy Watkins, but all in all, it was a decent episode.