The TV show JULIA ran on air from September 1968 until March 1971. In ran for 86 episodes on NBC. The show was considered a comedy in which did not have a laugh track throughout the series. The show starring, actress and singer Diahann Carroll played widow singled mother Julia Baker who was a nurse in a doctors office. Her husband was apparently shotdown in Vietnam. Julia is remembered for being groundbreaking, but critics has have insulted it saying that it was to political and unrealistic. Critics claimed that she did not portray the "typical" black woman. It was initial controversy for the non traditional black role; she wasn't somebody's maid like most other characters. The liberal white press and young militant blacks criticized and finally denounced the tv show as false and distorted.
Please share with me your views on the show. I will share an episode that I really thought was interesting.
I think she wasn't accepted because this type of imagery was before its time. During this time period, all blacks were good at were labor jobs in the eyesight of others, we were not though of as professionals. In reality there were black professionals but so very few that it did not represent the majority, therefore, other's thought it did not portray the correct image during that time.
ReplyDeleteI am appreciative of this particular sitcom because it illustrated a depiction of African American women in a manner in which the world had never seen in this time. It not only lets the world know that African American women are more than mamie's, but we are those take charge that the media does not want us to be.
ReplyDeleteI did find the show somewhat comical. She is a very pretty Black successful woman so naturally she received bad critics during that era of time. I found it interesting how her social status was higher than the white woman who played the servant role. I also found it interesting how her advise was equivalent to the white boys mother. Equality was underlined a lot in this serious.
ReplyDeleteThe show was ahead of this time and different from the stereotypical images of television and black explotation films of the period. Sadly,the audience was simply not ready for a show like this at that time.
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