Do you think the Cosby Show offered a positive view of African American families?

Week 6 Portrayals of African American families in 1985-1986Questions and DiscussionsHere is the article that presents this information:Portrayals of African American Families in 1985-86This research article is a good representation of how academics and researchers study cultural products like TV shows. The TV shows are the “primary texts” and the papers by academic researchers are secondary texts, written usually NOT for the public but for other academics because the findings are published in “scholarly journals,” not in newspapers or general magazines. This particular research study’s purposes are to see if there are any trends in the representations of black families and to assess how those representations will affect black children.Social Learning Theory – what is it? It is a theory that suggests that we humans learn from watching people around us. That’s how we learn what is right and wrong, correct or clumsy in our interactions and behaviors. When TV became popular in the 1950s, researchers wanted to know if viewers were a) copying the behaviors they saw on TV; b) making assumptions about the world based upon what they saw on TV; c) learned to be violent or antisocial because of what they saw on TV.Thousands of research studies have looked at these questions, and for the most part, the answers to a) and b) are yes; while there is a qualified “maybe” to c). In any case, the way children learn about family is primarily through interactions with their family. However, children gain expectations, stereotypical characterizations, and language and communication training from watching TV shows. Children are particularly susceptible to believing that what they see on TV is true. They often cannot distinguish between a fictional story and a story about something that really happened. To them, it is all “social” knowledge.493 – Summary of previous research on this topic.493-494 tells you the methods the researchers used to analyze the representation of black families in 1985-1986.—How many different shows did they analyze?494-497 – Discussion of the findings of the studies.–In comparison with the 1970s shows analyzed in previous studies, how much conflict was there in the families in the 1985-86 study?–Do the couples presented in these shows from the 1980s engage in a positive manner with each other?497-498 – DiscussionDid the researchers found a positive or negative trend in the portrayal of African American families in 1985-86? 499 – ReferencesDo you know what style of citations is used in this research paper? Do you know why the authors chose this style?Thought questions for you about representation:Do you think the Cosby Show offered a positive view of African American families? What values and behaviors did the show encourage? How was the family identified as “black” in the show – in other words, what makes them different from The Brady Bunch? Which TV shows today are showing positive African American families 35 years after this study.Why do you think the shows’ portrayals provide good representations of African Americans? Are there TV shows that you think should be taken off because their portrayals of people are negatively stereotypical? Is it OK for African Americans to make fun of African American stereotypes? (For example, for certain Caucasians, the “You MAY be a redneck” line of comedic points is hilarious and very true).Comparing TV shows about black familiesWho decides what a “good” family looks like or how it behaves? Where are those standards written down? In other words, how did the researchers for this study on black TV family decide what the measure of good interactions are?If you have children, what shows do you NOT let them watch and why?