Presenter Information

Angela NelsonFollow

Presentation Type

Paper

Abstract

The situation comedy Good Times broadcast on the CBS network from February 8, 1974 to August 1, 1979, is a television milestone because it was the first series to feature a recurring, intact Black two-parent nuclear family, the Evanses, on American primetime television. In the conventions of seventies “TV World,” the “intact Black nuclear family” is a married, heterosexual, two-parent African American family with children all living in a single dwelling at the same time. David Marc in Demographic Vistas notes the focus of American situation comedies up to 1974: “The sitcom is a representational form, and its subject is American culture: It dramatizes national types, styles, customs, issues, and language” (13). Before February 8, 1974, 293 sitcoms appeared on American television—the majority of which were white, middle class, and suburban/urban. Of that number, eight were Black sitcoms. Between 1950 and 1973, 16 “white” sitcoms featured African Americans in recurring roles. No situation comedy featured an intact Black nuclear family prior to February 1974. Through scholarly and popular press articles, interviews, cast and producer autobiographies, and close analyses of two episodes, “God’s Business is Good Business” and “The Rent Party,” I will show that Good Times displayed notions of Black culture and community that challenged the televisual image of American culture and community described by Marc. Episodes “God’s Business is Good Business” and “The Rent Party” are of particular interest because they provide insight into Black-focused culture and community surrounding the Evans family through religion, ritual, and creative expression.

Keywords

Good Times, African Americans, culture, community, situation comedy, 1970s


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Black Culture and Community in Good Times

The situation comedy Good Times broadcast on the CBS network from February 8, 1974 to August 1, 1979, is a television milestone because it was the first series to feature a recurring, intact Black two-parent nuclear family, the Evanses, on American primetime television. In the conventions of seventies “TV World,” the “intact Black nuclear family” is a married, heterosexual, two-parent African American family with children all living in a single dwelling at the same time. David Marc in Demographic Vistas notes the focus of American situation comedies up to 1974: “The sitcom is a representational form, and its subject is American culture: It dramatizes national types, styles, customs, issues, and language” (13). Before February 8, 1974, 293 sitcoms appeared on American television—the majority of which were white, middle class, and suburban/urban. Of that number, eight were Black sitcoms. Between 1950 and 1973, 16 “white” sitcoms featured African Americans in recurring roles. No situation comedy featured an intact Black nuclear family prior to February 1974. Through scholarly and popular press articles, interviews, cast and producer autobiographies, and close analyses of two episodes, “God’s Business is Good Business” and “The Rent Party,” I will show that Good Times displayed notions of Black culture and community that challenged the televisual image of American culture and community described by Marc. Episodes “God’s Business is Good Business” and “The Rent Party” are of particular interest because they provide insight into Black-focused culture and community surrounding the Evans family through religion, ritual, and creative expression.