The N word being used on the show - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

GARFIELDKOOL · 08-15-2005, 08:41 PM

Let me just start out saying that I am black. I hate it when blacks use the word and call each other it. It is the most degrading word in the world. But, on Sanford and Son it was funny when it was used because it was a different time, and when it was used, it it wasn't offensive and the line came out of nowhere.

Episode "Here Comes the Bride, There Goes the Bride."
Fred: "It was her ol' uppity family. Bunch of jive ni ggas."

Episode "Jealousy"
Fred: "This ni gga's crazy!" (pointing to Donna's patient)

Episode "Sanford and Son and Sister Makes Three"
Fred: "Well, you better get your headlight fixed, because they're dead on a ni gga without a light!"

Episode "Mama's Baby, Papa's Maybe"
Esther: "What did you say, ni gga!"

Episode "Legal Eagle"
Fred: "Look at all these ni ggas in here!" (In the courtroom)

Episode "The Surprise Party"
Fred: "Zip zam zoom, somebody get this ni gga out my room!"

mooseface · 08-16-2005, 09:30 AM

[QUOTE=GARFIELDKOOL]Let me just start out saying that I am black. I hate it when blacks use the word and call each other it. It is the most degrading word in the world. But, on Sanford and Son it was funny when it was used because it was a different time, and when it was used, it it wasn't offensive and the line came out of nowhere.

I agree completely. A slur is a slur, regardless of who is using it. There should be no double standard.

I also agree with your point regarding its use on S&S. My favorite was in Legal Eagle:

"There's enough ni ggas in here to make a Tarzan movie."

TripperFan · 08-16-2005, 09:43 AM

Yep - we've discussed this topic on another thread and I totally agree.

I'm white, and hate hearing it from ANYBODY - black, white or in between, but I think even MORE SO from blacks themselves.

I don't understand why they would disrespect themselves like that.

The word cuts like a knife. Lead by example guys!!

Vince 887 · 08-16-2005, 05:56 PM

I totally agree the N word and ANY racial slur that could offend even just the few shouldn't be used ..But there are the Mike Stivics of the world that only think African Americans can be offended and they would probably be the first to say that wasn't true. Offending any Race by slurs to me should cut like a knife... That said I never tire of Fred saying.." here I come Elizabeth" LOL

TVFactFan · 08-16-2005, 06:50 PM

Yeah the N-Word was used on all Norman Lear shows except Maude and One Day at a Time. It was used on All in the Family once.

FredFan55 · 08-17-2005, 03:26 PM

Gents and ladies-
I'm a white male, age 50 (hence the FredFan55 handle), born in 1955.

I offer one person's view of such language on television, and have offered it before here.

It wasn't long before S&S came on that unless you were watching a Tarzan movie, you simply wouldn't see black people on television. Racial bias and exclusion was rampant on network TV, and in my humble opinion, tended to perpetuate segregation in a sort of "out of sight, out of mind" fashion.

So, when black athletes became commonplace in professional, then finally, college sports, when Richard Pryor, Little Richard, and many, many soul and R&B performers recorded hits, and when Madison Avenue and the networks finally discovered that black people do, in fact, represent an economic force to cater to, we finally started seeing black people on network TV regularly, even whole shows focused on the black community, like S&S.

Were these sitcoms 100% accurate in portrayals of the life and times of black people in the 60s and 70s? Of course not. Neither was Ozzie & Harriet and the Dick Van Dyke show in the case of white suburbanites. But, for a kid who didn't even share a classroom with black kids until 9th grade (1968), shows like S&S represented the first glimpse ever into the mores, dress, behavior, and language--even the foul, insulting language, that was used in those times.

Like it or not, the word was used, and in my experience, was used in contexts exactly like S&S scripts used it. Hearing it used on S&S was an important link to some realities of life and outlook for some of the more underpriviledged blacks of the times, and I'd like to think it was helpful, not harmful, for us to have a more accurate depiction of their lives.

FredFan55

FredFan55 · 08-17-2005, 03:35 PM

Gents and ladies-
I'm a white male, age 50 (hence the FredFan55 handle), born in 1955.

I offer one person's view of such language on television, and have offered it before here.

It wasn't long before S&S came on that unless you were watching a Tarzan movie, you simply wouldn't see black people on television. Racial bias and exclusion was rampant on network TV, and in my humble opinion, tended to perpetuate segregation in a sort of "out of sight, out of mind" fashion.

So, when black athletes became commonplace in professional, then finally, college sports, when Richard Pryor, Little Richard, and many, many soul and R&B performers recorded hits, and when Madison Avenue and the networks finally discovered that black people do, in fact, represent an economic force to cater to, we finally started seeing black people on network TV regularly, even whole shows focused on the black community, like S&S.

Were these sitcoms 100% accurate in portrayals of the life and times of black people in the 60s and 70s? Of course not. Neither was Ozzie & Harriet and the Dick Van Dyke show in the case of white suburbanites. But, for a kid who didn't even share a classroom with black kids until 9th grade (1968), shows like S&S represented the first glimpse ever into the mores, dress, behavior, and language--even the foul, insulting language, that was used in those times.

Like it or not, the word was used, and in my experience, was used in contexts exactly like S&S scripts used it. Hearing it used on S&S was an important link to some realities of life and outlook for some of the more underpriviledged blacks of the times, and I'd like to think it was helpful, not harmful, for us to have a more accurate depiction of their lives.

FredFan55

James"Thunder"Early · 08-17-2005, 06:26 PM

Most of the Norman Lear shows used it at sometime or other, mostly on Sanford and Son and the The Jeffersons. On Good Times, James only used it once and Willona had her own version of saying it with "Negro, please". I'm black and I wasn't necessarily offended by it, because these we're the relevance sitcoms and they we're trying to show reality. It is reality that blacks do use the word a lot, because one of my uncles uses it frequently. The word has the distinction of being an insult and a term of endearment.

nlearfan · 08-17-2005, 08:32 PM

Sammy said it on All in the Family, and he didnt call anyone a nigg r.

Brian Damage · 08-20-2005, 12:23 PM

Fred Sanford also said something along the lines of, "...And take this fa ggity jacket with you."

08-15-2005, 08:41 PM	#1
GARFIELDKOOL Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Sep 02, 2004 Location: Rochester, NY Posts: 7,204	The N word being used on the show Let me just start out saying that I am black. I hate it when blacks use the word and call each other it. It is the most degrading word in the world. But, on Sanford and Son it was funny when it was used because it was a different time, and when it was used, it it wasn't offensive and the line came out of nowhere. Episode "Here Comes the Bride, There Goes the Bride." Fred: "It was her ol' uppity family. Bunch of jive ni ggas." Episode "Jealousy" Fred: "This ni gga's crazy!" (pointing to Donna's patient) Episode "Sanford and Son and Sister Makes Three" Fred: "Well, you better get your headlight fixed, because they're dead on a ni gga without a light!" Episode "Mama's Baby, Papa's Maybe" Esther: "What did you say, ni gga!" Episode "Legal Eagle" Fred: "Look at all these ni ggas in here!" (In the courtroom) Episode "The Surprise Party" Fred: "Zip zam zoom, somebody get this ni gga out my room!"
	Last edited by GARFIELDKOOL; 08-16-2005 at 10:11 AM.

08-16-2005, 09:43 AM	#3
TripperFan In God's Arms Now Forum Star Join Date: Sep 14, 2003 Location: Heartbreak Ridge Posts: 12,086	Yep - we've discussed this topic on another thread and I totally agree. I'm white, and hate hearing it from ANYBODY - black, white or in between, but I think even MORE SO from blacks themselves. I don't understand why they would disrespect themselves like that. The word cuts like a knife. Lead by example guys!!
	__________________ If I don't see you in this world, I'll meet you in the next one.....don't be late James Marshall Hendrix Voodoo Chile The Forum Legend formerly known as TripperFan "religion is for people who are afraid of hell--spirituality is for people who have been through hell"---anonymous

08-17-2005, 03:26 PM	#6
FredFan55 Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Oct 16, 2003 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 48	The N word, in the context of the times.......... Gents and ladies- I'm a white male, age 50 (hence the FredFan55 handle), born in 1955. I offer one person's view of such language on television, and have offered it before here. It wasn't long before S&S came on that unless you were watching a Tarzan movie, you simply wouldn't see black people on television. Racial bias and exclusion was rampant on network TV, and in my humble opinion, tended to perpetuate segregation in a sort of "out of sight, out of mind" fashion. So, when black athletes became commonplace in professional, then finally, college sports, when Richard Pryor, Little Richard, and many, many soul and R&B performers recorded hits, and when Madison Avenue and the networks finally discovered that black people do, in fact, represent an economic force to cater to, we finally started seeing black people on network TV regularly, even whole shows focused on the black community, like S&S. Were these sitcoms 100% accurate in portrayals of the life and times of black people in the 60s and 70s? Of course not. Neither was Ozzie & Harriet and the Dick Van Dyke show in the case of white suburbanites. But, for a kid who didn't even share a classroom with black kids until 9th grade (1968), shows like S&S represented the first glimpse ever into the mores, dress, behavior, and language--even the foul, insulting language, that was used in those times. Like it or not, the word was used, and in my experience, was used in contexts exactly like S&S scripts used it. Hearing it used on S&S was an important link to some realities of life and outlook for some of the more underpriviledged blacks of the times, and I'd like to think it was helpful, not harmful, for us to have a more accurate depiction of their lives. FredFan55

08-17-2005, 03:35 PM	#7
FredFan55 Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Oct 16, 2003 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 48	The N word, in the context of the times.......... Gents and ladies- I'm a white male, age 50 (hence the FredFan55 handle), born in 1955. I offer one person's view of such language on television, and have offered it before here. It wasn't long before S&S came on that unless you were watching a Tarzan movie, you simply wouldn't see black people on television. Racial bias and exclusion was rampant on network TV, and in my humble opinion, tended to perpetuate segregation in a sort of "out of sight, out of mind" fashion. So, when black athletes became commonplace in professional, then finally, college sports, when Richard Pryor, Little Richard, and many, many soul and R&B performers recorded hits, and when Madison Avenue and the networks finally discovered that black people do, in fact, represent an economic force to cater to, we finally started seeing black people on network TV regularly, even whole shows focused on the black community, like S&S. Were these sitcoms 100% accurate in portrayals of the life and times of black people in the 60s and 70s? Of course not. Neither was Ozzie & Harriet and the Dick Van Dyke show in the case of white suburbanites. But, for a kid who didn't even share a classroom with black kids until 9th grade (1968), shows like S&S represented the first glimpse ever into the mores, dress, behavior, and language--even the foul, insulting language, that was used in those times. Like it or not, the word was used, and in my experience, was used in contexts exactly like S&S scripts used it. Hearing it used on S&S was an important link to some realities of life and outlook for some of the more underpriviledged blacks of the times, and I'd like to think it was helpful, not harmful, for us to have a more accurate depiction of their lives. FredFan55

08-17-2005, 06:26 PM	#8
James"Thunder"Early Whoever's In New England Forum Veteran Join Date: Feb 23, 2004 Location: The Apollo Posts: 7,088	Most of the Norman Lear shows used it at sometime or other, mostly on Sanford and Son and the The Jeffersons. On Good Times, James only used it once and Willona had her own version of saying it with "Negro, please". I'm black and I wasn't necessarily offended by it, because these we're the relevance sitcoms and they we're trying to show reality. It is reality that blacks do use the word a lot, because one of my uncles uses it frequently. The word has the distinction of being an insult and a term of endearment.
	__________________ Esther Anderson: Get thee behind me, Satan, but I'm gon' get behind you, 'cause I'm gonna put my foot in your--- Peggy Mitchell: Get outta my pub! You better pray you get the last laugh, it's a kick in the teeth when you don't get it.

08-16-2005, 09:30 AM	#2
mooseface Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Dec 05, 2003 Location: The Magic Fingers Massage Parlor at Manchester and Main Posts: 262	[QUOTE=GARFIELDKOOL]Let me just start out saying that I am black. I hate it when blacks use the word and call each other it. It is the most degrading word in the world. But, on Sanford and Son it was funny when it was used because it was a different time, and when it was used, it it wasn't offensive and the line came out of nowhere. I agree completely. A slur is a slur, regardless of who is using it. There should be no double standard. I also agree with your point regarding its use on S&S. My favorite was in Legal Eagle: "There's enough ni ggas in here to make a Tarzan movie."

08-16-2005, 05:56 PM	#4
Vince 887 Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Jul 29, 2005 Posts: 110	I totally agree the N word and ANY racial slur that could offend even just the few shouldn't be used ..But there are the Mike Stivics of the world that only think African Americans can be offended and they would probably be the first to say that wasn't true. Offending any Race by slurs to me should cut like a knife... That said I never tire of Fred saying.." here I come Elizabeth" LOL

08-16-2005, 06:50 PM	#5
TVFactFan Member Forum Junkie Join Date: Aug 17, 2002 Posts: 99,117	Yeah the N-Word was used on all Norman Lear shows except Maude and One Day at a Time. It was used on All in the Family once.

08-17-2005, 08:32 PM	#9
nlearfan Member Frequent Poster Join Date: May 01, 2005 Location: New Jersey Posts: 230	Sammy said it on All in the Family, and he didnt call anyone a nigg r.

08-20-2005, 12:23 PM	#10
Brian Damage I'm Rich Bitch Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 03, 2002 Location: What Ain't No Country I Ever Heard Of...They Speak English in What? Posts: 63,107	Fred Sanford also said something along the lines of, "...And take this fa ggity jacket with you."