Revolution Televised: Prime Time and The Struggle for Black Power

256 Pages·2004·2.83 MB·English

by  Christine Acham

Revolution Televised
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Revolution Televised
Prime Time and the
Struggle for Black Power
Christine Acham
University of Minnesota Press Minneapolis / London
An earlier version of chapter 4 was previously published as “Sanford and Son:
Televising African American Humor,” Spectator: USC Journal of Film and
Television Criticism (Spring/Summer 2000).
Copyright 2004 by the Regents of the University of Minnesota
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written
permission of the publisher.
Published by the University of Minnesota Press
111 Third Avenue South, Suite 290
Minneapolis, MN 55401-2520
http://www.upress.umn.edu
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Acham, Christine.
Revolution televised : prime time and the struggle for Black power /
Christine Acham.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8166-4431-4 (alk. paper)
1. African Americans on television. 2. Television broadcasting—Social
aspects—United States. I. Title.
PN1992.8.A34A28 2004
791.45'652996073—dc22
2004009969
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
The University of Minnesota is an equal-opportunity educator and employer.
12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
This book is dedicated to Ailsa Jeanne Acham
and the memory of John L. Acham
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction xi
1. Reading the Roots of Resistance Television
of the Black Revolution 1
2. Was the Revolution Televised? Network News
and Black Journal 24
3. What You See Is What You Get Soul Train
and The Flip Wilson Show 54
4. This Ain’t No Junk Sanford and Son
and African American Humor 85
5. Respect Yourself! Black Women and Power
in Julia and Good Times 110
6. That Nigger’s Crazy The Rise and Demise
of The Richard Pryor Show 143
Conclusion: Movin’ On Up Contemporary Television
as a Site of Resistance 170
Notes 195
Bibliography 217
Index 229
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Acknowledgments

Revolution Televised: Prime Time and the Struggle for Black Power
began while I was a graduate student at the University of South-
ern California, and I would like to thank my dissertation commit-
tee (Todd Boyd, Tara McPherson, and Darnell Hunt) for support
through the PhD program and in completing the dissertation. I
especially thank Todd for his belief in my abilities and his encour-
agement and guidance throughout the process.
Before I get too far, I must recognize those who got me to
graduate school in the first place: those who helped me through my
somewhat chaotic undergraduate career at Clark University. There
was a chance that I might not have obtained a bachelor’s degree at
Clark because of financial concerns, and for their support I would
like to thank my family: Jeanne, John, Roger, Lee Jay, and Gina-
Marie. I would not have graduated from Clark without the guid-
ance, support, and assistance of the dean of students at that time,
Kevin McKenna. Whether running interference with financial ser-
vices, signing off on forms to allow me to take extra units, or just
giving me a shoulder to lean on, he always managed to be there for
me, and I am forever grateful. I also thank Marvin D’Lugo for his
inspiring classes and for encouraging me to apply to film school.
To get back to the book at hand, I thank Steve Hanson and the
staff of USC School of Cinema-Television Library, the staff of the
UCLA Film and Television Archive, and the Museum of Radio and
Television in Los Angeles. Even while bogged down in her own re-
search, Sharon Sekhon read early versions of this work and helped to
ix