stereotypes were created. A new image of African American families was presented in the eightys with the Cosby Show. The Huxtables were a successful African American family with a life similar to the accepted and established Caucasian mainstream. This show was not accepted fully because it failed to represent the full cultural scope of African Americans. The current trend of television shows in the ninetys is a divide between the programs and audiences watching them. Caucasians tend to watch programs with primarily Caucasian casts, and African Americans tend to watch programs with primarily African American casts. Television has the power to influence American culture in many ways. For example, the images, which are presented on television, become what individuals expect in the real world. As negative images, or images misrepresenting African Americans are projected; the mass culture has a greater tendency to accept the false images as the truth. It is important for Americans to examine the basis of the expectations they have from television sitcoms and be careful in accepting its relation to the real world. The conclusions Americans of all races draw from this are important in lowering the stereotypes on television and the interaction between all individuals. With the 1980s came a new portrayal of African Americans on television. Shows such as The Cosby Show depicted African Americans with middle-class lifestyles. Characters were seen as successful doctors, nurses, and lawyers. This idea was not readily accepted. In fact, ABC originally turned down the idea of The Cosby Show because they did not believe America would be able to handle the idea of an average, middle-class African American family. (Johnson, 59) The Cosby Show was completely different from any previous African American show. Before The Cosby Show, African Americans on television were most commonly characterized as singers, dancers, maids, servants, and buffoons. T...
