Based on the British sitcom “Til Death Us Do Part,” Norman Lear’s American sitcom “All in the Family” has managed to live on for decades as one of the most volatile and controversial American television series of all time. Even decades after its premiered, “All in the Family” continues to live on as a series that examined many themes about the world that are still relevant, and still widely examined by the greatest minds. In its nine season run, “All in the Family” explored themes of homosexuality, capital punishment, abortion, religion, the Vietnam war, feminism, civil rights, rape, racial stereotypes, sexual dynamics, homophobia, terrorism, gun control, and so much more.
“All in the Family” did so with a fearlessness that signaled a series that was willing to tackle such issues with a sincerity that made it very popular, while also making audiences laugh non-stop. With relatable down to Earth characters, “All in the Family” went to live on television for nine seasons, and conceived five spin offs of varying success. Norman Lear examined the themes deemed incredibly taboo in the seventies with a comedic dynamic that used its characters to become the catalysts for such arguments and dissections of what was troubling the world in the seventies, and what’s going to continue troubling the world.
I love how Steven Spielberg continues to skirt expectations from his core fanbase by providing them with films that are mature and often times thought provoking. Where in “Lincoln” could have been another hollow biography about one of the greatest presidents of the United States, he transforms it in to an intellectual exercise and exploration in to the most important event in American history. “Lincoln” is a beat by beat relaying of the events before and during the passing of the Emancipation Proclamation and how the passing would come to affect everyone within the inner circle of Abraham Lincoln. “Lincoln” is mostly a look in to the seething fear of the American status quo whom spent most of their time worrying how freeing the slaves would affect their own luxuries and lot in life. The irony of the conflict is that most of the men featured were against the bill passed because they worried the African Americans would soon become an equal voice in America thus turning the white man in to a minority.
