Why did Roseanne take an "unnecessary jab" at Black-ish and Fresh Off the Boat?

[TMC]

https://shadowandact.com/this-weeks-...-off-the-boat/

Last night's episode contained what one critic called a "snide dismissal" of Roseanne's fellow ABC comedies, which Dan Conner called "shows about black and Asian families." As the Shadow and Act blog notes, "in an effort to represent 'middle America,' the network has completely missed the mark, and seemingly the writers room as well, for this not only unnecessary jab, but one that has the audacity to compare what the show represents to the plight of black and brown families." Asked about the remark, Roseanne co-showrunner Bruce Helford said the show was "commenting on the fact that all sitcoms really want everybody to feel included of all diversities and it's kind of a funny thing. That's all. When we did the George Lopez show, we didn't want anybody to feel excluded because it was about a Mexican-American family. And I don't think anybody wants to be excluded because it's (a show about) either a black family or an Asian-American family."

[QTMcWhiskers]

So if an American emigrates to Mexico, are they Mexican or American-Mexican? Or leaving for the UK, is one then American-British or just British? Ditto for any other country.

I only get the show online so waiting a week to see what the furore is about is going to be grating. Dan said what he had but, and I hadn't read the article yet either, but how was (or if?) his quip retorted by Roseanne or anyone else?

"Roseanne" has shown black family members, could the issue be because these other shows aren't mixing colors in the palette?

And that article's youtube vid implying only blacks were slaves, as if there were no white slaves or black slaveowners is also of interest, since white slaves had existed and black slaveowners had existed and those facts destroy incorrect narratives and it's trivializing the issue of slavery to ignore all who were slaves.

If slavery is wrong then unless it was 100% against one group of people, which it wasn't, it becomes racist to set things up as if only one skin color was taken advantage of by another (on top of every other nuance and I don't mean just female slaveowners (black or white or otherwise, just ask Disley Pope, Madame LaLaurie, Mistress L Horry, or others) who bought or had slaves)... Nat Butler was a real piece of work too...

[TMC]

Bob's Burgers writer: Here's why Roseanne's joke about Fresh Off the Boat and Black-ish was so offensive
Kelvin Yu addressed the controversy over Tuesday's episode in a nine-tweet thread. "At the very least, it's reductive and belittling, as if to say those shows are nothing more than 'Black' and 'Asian' in their existence," he wrote. He said Tuesday's joke "implies that the point of any show about a minority family is simply to normalize them. That's it. The stories, the humor, the characters... not important."

Asian-American Bob's Burgers writer shares the aftermath of criticizing a Roseanne joke
Kelvin Yu, who also appears on Master of None, went viral with his tweets slamming Roseanne for a joke taking a shot at Black-ish and Fresh Off the Boat. "Many of the comments I received were supportive — retweets, likes and the always flattering fist emoji," he writes in The New York Times. "However, I have to admit that the loudest voices to me were the ones that were vitriolic and shockingly mean," including racially disparaging remarks. Yu writes that he found it "so galling that a show celebrating ostensibly marginalized Americans would consider shows about even more marginalized Americans a punch line, tossed off between two yawns and a meh, followed by a roomful of people laughing. And although, admittedly, I have no idea what it means to be white or working class, there are at least a half-dozen shows out there through which I can experience it vicariously. Meanwhile, white working-class people have one — and only one — current network show to help them understand the lives of Asian-Americans (hint: it rhymes with Shmesh Off the Shmoat)."

ALSO:

• Even the haters should appreciate Roseanne: "When a TV show — or any pop culture artifact — is drawing that kind of a mass audience, it has something to tell us about ourselves and the times in which we live"
  Here's your first look at Roseanne's mom Bev's return next week
  Seth Meyers has Roseanne "fans" explain to him why they love the show so much

[Impressions]

The comment surprised me a little bit. I found it to be racist. The show has never really done racial jokes. It seems like the writers are trying to paint the Conners as racist "hillbillies" (to quote Harris). Just 'cause they're from the Midwest doesn't mean they're "hillbillies," and just because they're conservative doesn't mean they have to be racist. On legacy Roseanne, they made fun of hillbillies and mocked them, but it seems like the writers are trying to fit them into this box with this new season.

[TMC]

Roseanne's jab at Black-ish and Fresh Off the Boat was "a dog whistle so strong that it might have brought Lassie back from the dead"
According to Emily Nussbaum, that one controversial joke about "all the shows about black and Asian families" explains Roseanne. Nussbaum says the joke was a racial dog whistle. If it wasn't, why not target shows about white families like The Middle or Speechless? Is it because those shows are "just like them"? "The jab," says Nussbaum, "was clearly aimed at Black-ish and Fresh Off the Boat, comedies that share ABC’s Tuesday schedule with Roseanne. The line establishes a few things. One is that the Conners don’t live in the same America as the Johnsons, from Black-ish, or the Huangs, from Fresh Off the Boat. There will never be a crossover episode—no fun clash, say, between an aging Jessica Huang and Roseanne, on a Conner trip to Florida. Instead, the Conners are themselves bored, alienated ABC viewers, unable even to remember titles, just that these are the 'black and Asian' shows."

ALSO:

• ABC having the No. 1 show with Roseanne hasn't happened since Who Wants to be a Millionaire in 2000
  What is the point of Mary Conner? The one black Roseanne family member is nearly invisible
  Johnny Galecki's return was a perfect metaphor for the revival's messiness
  David being back only made sense in an alternate universe
  Did Barbara Bush actually call Roseanne Barr "brave," as Barr claimed? Not exactly
  90-year-old Estelle Parsons looked really good in her return as Bev

[JamesG]

ABC Boss Defends "Roseanne" Joke about Black and Asian Families
by James Hibberd
May 15, 2018


While on a conference call with reporters, ABC entertainment president Channing Dungey defended a controversial joke on "Roseanne" from a few weeks back that mocked ABC’s diverse comedies like "black-ish" and "Fresh off the Boat".

“I was a little surprised, to be honest, by the reaction to that line,” Dungey said, noting that she supported the "Roseanne" writers in this incident.

“We felt writers were looking to tip a hat to those shows. It certainly wasn’t meant to offend. I do stand by the Roseanne writers. I think they were expressing the point of view of the Connors, and what they would have actually said. We do similar things on our other shows. We’re very clear on black-ish about how many opinions are voiced by Dre Johnson.”

http://ew.com/tv/2018/05/15/roseanne-abc-family/

[cleverfun3000]

[tlc38tlc38]

When did a joke become a jab?

For the sake of comedy, people need to grow some thicker skin.

[stevea]

Some live to be offended, and then complain on the cesspool known as Twitter. I'd say this is much ado about nothing.

[Babalu]

Originally Posted by TMC

Here's why Roseanne's joke about Fresh Off the Boat and Black-ish was so offensive

Because it didn't insult straight white men, the only people in America that you are allowed to insult.

[JSP]

It’s stupid that people are still talking about this.