Is this show politically incorrect? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Yong Fang · 06-18-2012, 06:50 AM

Some examples,

Alcoholism with Otis Campbell. Strangely, especially in the Black and White seasons, booze (moonshine) played center in many episodes. I have read that by the time the show went to color around 1965 that Otis was written out because the network for some reason did not want drunkenness be seen in a humourous light. Hal Smith, who played Otis was a complete non drinker and a church goer. At least in Return to Mayberry he got sober.

Oddly, Otis was the only B&W main recurring character to have a wife (that could not really stand each other). Andy's wife was dead and never heard from again, Barney was Thelma Lou while catting with Juanita on the side, Floyd had at least one son, but was shown to be unmarried or widowed. Aunt Bea was a spinster. I mean, the pastor at the Mayberry "All Souls Church" probably forgot how to do a wedding.

The mentally ill, Ernest T. Bass. Ernest T. was completely insane, and I joke that he was the inventor and the first meth head. The guy did have incredible amounts of energy and was CRAZY. The crazy was played for laughs, but the character was a sad one, alone with a mental disorder and quick to turn violent (he knocked out a guy who was dancing with his sexy Rowena at the hoity toity dance.

Backwards, ignorant, crazy, "hill people". Ernest T. Bass, The Darlings, Raif Hollister. Andy usually took the rifle when he went up the hill. The townspeople were............less dangerous?

Was it OK for the show to have a humourous alcoholic character, a mentally ill maniac with the brain of a child throwing rocks, and was it a fair representation of what Appalachian hill people are like? It seems silly to ask but now is so PC that these charactures would not last.

Any opinions?

icecream · 06-21-2012, 03:58 PM

Political correctness is overrated and unnecessary.

Jaqui-Michel · 06-21-2012, 04:08 PM

Were there any shows back in the day that were "politically correct"?

Mr. Television · 06-21-2012, 04:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaqui-Michel

Were there any shows back in the day that were "politically correct"?

I don't think so. That's why most of them were so good. lol

FanofRetroTV · 06-21-2012, 04:20 PM

politically correctness killed TV, which is why I love the classics

duckie · 06-21-2012, 04:43 PM

Outcast charactors helped make TAGS one of the best shows ever.

rollo's girl · 06-23-2012, 08:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FanofRetroTV

politically correctness killed TV, which is why I love the classics

my friend, you said a mouthful!!!!!

showfan · 07-05-2012, 11:32 AM

Sure, it was politically incorrect by today's standards, I'm not much for political correctness. On another forum i am on, we have a thread about political incorrectness on the show. It's fun to notice things that people get all bent out of shape about today. The show started 50 years ago and things were just different then. Aside from what you mentioned: I can't recall specific episodes in which the following occured, but for the true fans, I'm sure it will ring a bell:

- Andy convinced the Postmaster that his wanted posters were better, all the Sheriff's office got was chicken thieves and wife beaters. Wife beating seemed petty to them.

-Aunt Bee wearing the fur coat around that she won. I'm sure animal lovers would stone her today.

-All the mentions of a "whippin." Andy would probably end up on Dr. Phil today as a bad parent.

-Mr. McBeeve giving Opie a hatchet as a gift. Too innaproprite in today's world.

-Andy having a fit over Ellie running for council because she was a woman. It was obvious they still thought a woman's place was in the home.

-Andy explains to a farmer how he could use his daughter as a tool(not his words) to get a husband to help out on the farm if he would allow her to pretty-up a bit.

- Andy lets a kid handle his gun, and kids played with toy guns.

- Ernest T. Bass being a nut case and them allowing him to be in 5th grade with the other kids. The principal's phone would be ringing off the wall today.

-Briscoe said Charlene had a husband who hardly ever hit her.

There were many more. It was the greatest show ever!!

missy's pop pop · 01-11-2014, 11:33 PM

Probably no more politically incorrect than most sitcoms of that time frame. And keep in mind this is about life in an otherwise-idealized southern small town in the early '60s.

I recall a few Arkansas towns that reminded me of Mayberry during that same time frame (and well into the 1970s as well!)

DroopyVids · 01-12-2014, 03:12 AM

I think PC is way out of reason today. I do miss those small towns where everyone knew everyone else and a visitor was made to feel right at home.

Will Dockery · 01-12-2014, 08:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by showfan

Sure, it was politically incorrect by today's standards, I'm not much for political correctness. On another forum i am on, we have a thread about political incorrectness on the show. It's fun to notice things that people get all bent out of shape about today. The show started 50 years ago and things were just different then. Aside from what you mentioned: I can't recall specific episodes in which the following occured, but for the true fans, I'm sure it will ring a bell:

- Andy convinced the Postmaster that his wanted posters were better, all the Sheriff's office got was chicken thieves and wife beaters. Wife beating seemed petty to them.

-Aunt Bee wearing the fur coat around that she won. I'm sure animal lovers would stone her today.

-All the mentions of a "whippin." Andy would probably end up on Dr. Phil today as a bad parent.

-Mr. McBeeve giving Opie a hatchet as a gift. Too innaproprite in today's world.

-Andy having a fit over Ellie running for council because she was a woman. It was obvious they still thought a woman's place was in the home.

-Andy explains to a farmer how he could use his daughter as a tool(not his words) to get a husband to help out on the farm if he would allow her to pretty-up a bit.

- Andy lets a kid handle his gun, and kids played with toy guns.

- Ernest T. Bass being a nut case and them allowing him to be in 5th grade with the other kids. The principal's phone would be ringing off the wall today.

-Briscoe said Charlene had a husband who hardly ever hit her.

There were many more. It was the greatest show ever!!

Real stand outs here are at least two casual references to violence against women... I would expect these an any others have been deleted along with Andy smoking cigarettes and Barney's mention of reefer?

kramer · 11-21-2015, 11:32 AM

Andy lets Trey sleep in his bed

.

Clyde Pilot · 11-23-2015, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kramer

Andy lets Trey sleep in his bed

.

I noticed that one, too. Red flag!

Some other examples:

- Helen telling her niece, Cynthia, that maybe it's not such a bad thing for girls to let boys feel that they're superior.

- Andy nudging Flora to give up her dreams of being a businesswoman by implying that she'll end up a lonely old maid.

king of comedy · 11-23-2015, 08:29 PM

I never noticed.

Hazel Anyday · 11-23-2015, 09:16 PM

The more politically incorrect it is the more I like it. I hate political correctness, it's just another word for blatant censorship. The more the merrier, that's why they're called the good old days.

06-18-2012, 06:50 AM	#1
Yong Fang Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Aug 04, 2009 Location: Memphis Tennessee Posts: 3,073	Is this show politically incorrect? Some examples, Alcoholism with Otis Campbell. Strangely, especially in the Black and White seasons, booze (moonshine) played center in many episodes. I have read that by the time the show went to color around 1965 that Otis was written out because the network for some reason did not want drunkenness be seen in a humourous light. Hal Smith, who played Otis was a complete non drinker and a church goer. At least in Return to Mayberry he got sober. Oddly, Otis was the only B&W main recurring character to have a wife (that could not really stand each other). Andy's wife was dead and never heard from again, Barney was Thelma Lou while catting with Juanita on the side, Floyd had at least one son, but was shown to be unmarried or widowed. Aunt Bea was a spinster. I mean, the pastor at the Mayberry "All Souls Church" probably forgot how to do a wedding. The mentally ill, Ernest T. Bass. Ernest T. was completely insane, and I joke that he was the inventor and the first meth head. The guy did have incredible amounts of energy and was CRAZY. The crazy was played for laughs, but the character was a sad one, alone with a mental disorder and quick to turn violent (he knocked out a guy who was dancing with his sexy Rowena at the hoity toity dance. Backwards, ignorant, crazy, "hill people". Ernest T. Bass, The Darlings, Raif Hollister. Andy usually took the rifle when he went up the hill. The townspeople were............less dangerous? Was it OK for the show to have a humourous alcoholic character, a mentally ill maniac with the brain of a child throwing rocks, and was it a fair representation of what Appalachian hill people are like? It seems silly to ask but now is so PC that these charactures would not last. Any opinions?

06-21-2012, 03:58 PM	#2
icecream Cat-tastic and Whiskerlicious Forum Celebrity Join Date: Sep 01, 2006 Location: The Catacombs Posts: 20,696	Political correctness is overrated and unnecessary.
	__________________ Top 200 TV Shows https://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards...14#post6225214 Top 150 Movies https://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards...84#post6175384 Top 1100 Scripted TV Characters https://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards...d.php?t=493306 Top Rookie TV Shows by Calendar Year https://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards...d.php?t=365017 Top Movies by Calendar Year https://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards...d.php?t=473533

06-21-2012, 04:08 PM	#3
Jaqui-Michel Brick City Citizen Frequent Poster Join Date: Mar 22, 2006 Location: New Jersey Posts: 355	Were there any shows back in the day that were "politically correct"?
	__________________ Stupidity - The Silent Killer

06-21-2012, 04:43 PM	#6
duckie Member Senior Member Join Date: Dec 13, 2011 Location: south Posts: 1,784	Outcast charactors helped make TAGS one of the best shows ever.
	__________________ SparkyBoy!!!

01-12-2014, 03:12 AM	#10
DroopyVids Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Jun 18, 2013 Location: Colorado Posts: 82	I think PC is way out of reason today. I do miss those small towns where everyone knew everyone else and a visitor was made to feel right at home.
	__________________ DroopyVids is a huge collection of Classic and Public Domain Programming. Right now, we are spending our time adding TV programming but movies are on the horizon.

06-21-2012, 04:20 PM	#5
FanofRetroTV Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Oct 15, 2008 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 292	politically correctness killed TV, which is why I love the classics

07-05-2012, 11:32 AM	#8
showfan Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Jul 24, 2005 Posts: 163	Sure, it was politically incorrect by today's standards, I'm not much for political correctness. On another forum i am on, we have a thread about political incorrectness on the show. It's fun to notice things that people get all bent out of shape about today. The show started 50 years ago and things were just different then. Aside from what you mentioned: I can't recall specific episodes in which the following occured, but for the true fans, I'm sure it will ring a bell: - Andy convinced the Postmaster that his wanted posters were better, all the Sheriff's office got was chicken thieves and wife beaters. Wife beating seemed petty to them. -Aunt Bee wearing the fur coat around that she won. I'm sure animal lovers would stone her today. -All the mentions of a "whippin." Andy would probably end up on Dr. Phil today as a bad parent. -Mr. McBeeve giving Opie a hatchet as a gift. Too innaproprite in today's world. -Andy having a fit over Ellie running for council because she was a woman. It was obvious they still thought a woman's place was in the home. -Andy explains to a farmer how he could use his daughter as a tool(not his words) to get a husband to help out on the farm if he would allow her to pretty-up a bit. - Andy lets a kid handle his gun, and kids played with toy guns. - Ernest T. Bass being a nut case and them allowing him to be in 5th grade with the other kids. The principal's phone would be ringing off the wall today. -Briscoe said Charlene had a husband who hardly ever hit her. There were many more. It was the greatest show ever!!

01-11-2014, 11:33 PM	#9
missy's pop pop Hooray for "Hazel!" Frequent Poster Join Date: Nov 19, 2013 Location: St. Louis Posts: 396	Probably no more politically incorrect than most sitcoms of that time frame. And keep in mind this is about life in an otherwise-idealized southern small town in the early '60s. I recall a few Arkansas towns that reminded me of Mayberry during that same time frame (and well into the 1970s as well!)

11-21-2015, 11:32 AM	#12
kramer Re-gifter Frequent Poster Join Date: Mar 15, 2003 Posts: 255	Andy lets Trey sleep in his bed .
	__________________ Man: Is this going to be in competent hands? Curly: Certainly! We're all incompetent

11-23-2015, 08:29 PM	#14
king of comedy Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Aug 31, 2012 Location: New Jersey Posts: 5,140	I never noticed.

11-23-2015, 09:16 PM	#15
Hazel Anyday Member Senior Member Join Date: Apr 12, 2002 Posts: 2,135	Smile When You Say That The more politically incorrect it is the more I like it. I hate political correctness, it's just another word for blatant censorship. The more the merrier, that's why they're called the good old days.
	__________________ Haaazeelll!!