The 70s v. "The 70s"

I don’t watch many contemporary sitcoms. I am a big fan of reruns, however; comedies of the 1970s, and ‘80s are my favorites. This is probably why I also quite enjoy That ‘70s Show, a program set in the decade of the 1970s with several differences and similarities to All in the Family.

As That ‘70s Show was set in the same era as All in the Family was filmed (the ‘70s, not the ‘60s, Prof. Straubhaar), these two shows do share certain similarities. For one, there is the cast of characters in the two shows’ respective families: Archie Bunker and Red Forman, the stern, conservative fathers; Edith and Kitty, the kooky mothers; Michael and Eric, the smart-alecky ‘sons’; and finally, Gloria and Laurie, the blonde and beautiful daughters. These characters seem to create and react to various situations in comparable ways. In the episode of All in the Family that we screened on Thursday, Archie perpetually berates Michael for having a “fag” friend; on frequent occasions in episodes of That ‘70s Show, Red makes jokes about gay people, referring to one as a “fruitcake.” Like Michael to Archie in AitF, Eric will frequently stand up or talk to back to Red, who will, in turn, refer to him as something demeaning (Archie: “meathead”; Red: “dumbass”). Throughout these antics, Edith and Kitty are always around to say something silly and perhaps even dimwitted, both in oddly shrill voices that became their trademarks.

Many differences are apparent in these two shows, as well. Dissimilarities between T70sS and AitF in language use are likely quite surprising to the modern, young viewer— perhaps due to standards television is upheld to today that it wasn’t in the 1970s. One shocker is Archie Bunker’s frivolous use of the word “fag” — a word bleeped out on television today. That ‘70s Show does use quite a bit more ‘foul’ language than All in the Family, but “fag” today is largely considered a ‘buzz’ word — something that is simply not allowed on a modern sitcom.  Perhaps in this respect, All in the Family dealt with homophobia in a very straightforward way that That ‘70s Show was not capable of. As I haven’t watched All in the Family much outside of Thursday’s screening, I cannot honestly say whether or not That ‘70s Show tackled issues that All in the Family didn’t, but I would suggest that it is likely, as unlike the older show, T70sS was not considered “edgy” by 1990s-2000s standards, and so would be able to address certain topics without as dramatic a reaction from viewers that AitF likely received at times.

Ultimately, these two shows do seem to follow a basic formula that most sitcoms, past and present, tend to follow. Hilarity ensuing between families in otherwise ‘everyday’ situations is an aspect of sitcoms that gets real-life families to sit down for a half-hour together every night and enjoy. Naturally, the shows are not identical, but they do follow an outline that works. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tj_bgxAkGpU