Dear Ms. Goodman,
Im very disappointed by your interview with Norman Lear, especially your uncritical acceptance of Lears argument that All in the Family challenged rather than reinforced racial and ethnic stereotypes. There is a large body of research on how TV shows, including All in the Family, reinforce prejudice and stereotypes in viewers; and how lovable bigots like Archie Bunker normalize bigotry. (Think about Hitler and Trump.) Are we to assume that Lear was particularly interested in challenging stereotypes about Poles, since they were disproportionately targeted by Archies hateful speech? And that since Jewish people were rarely (never?) the subject of Archie's jokes and slurs, Lear was not interested in challenging stereotypes about Jews (even though he is Jewish)?
A.E. Brody
