If the new Roseanne reboot on ABC isn’t giving you a gross feeling inside, then you may want to check your humanity level. For those just joining us, Roseanne Barr is a real life Trump supporter who plays a real life Trump supporter on TV—even though ABC would like us to separate that fact, because all the backlash they’re receiving is making them uncomfortable. POOR EXPLOITATIVE ABC, GUYS!
Barr—who used to be progressive in her politics, but took a turn to the dark side—has a recent and terrible history of Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, and promoting crackpot conspiracy theories (which our Ann Romano recaps nicely in this week’s edition of One Day at a Time). And in the latest episode of Roseanne, she doubling-down on her ongoing controversy to disparage minorities with a very problematic joke.
In the scene from this week’s episode, Roseanne Conner and husband Dan have fallen asleep on the couch in front of the TV. Here’s the dialogue:
DAN: What time is it? Did I miss dinner?
ROSEANNE: It’s 11. We slept from Wheel to Kimmel.
DAN: We missed all the shows about Black and Asian families.
ROSEANNE: They’re just like us. There, now you’re all caught up.
The “shows” they presumably missed were ABC’s Blackish and Fresh Off the Boat, which feature Black and Asian characters, respectively. Roseanne’s response to these shows is at the very least dismissive of non-white cultures, and smacks of Trumpist “all lives matter” bullshit which infers that the experiences of other groups aren’t worth listening to. But here to explain it much better than me is this must-read Twitter thread from writer/actor Kelvin Yu:
Here’s why the Roseanne joke about “missing all the shows about Black and Asian families” matters. At the very least, it’s reductive and belittling, as if to say those shows are nothing more than “Black” and “Asian” in their existence. 1/9
— Kelvin Yu (@InternetKelvin) April 5, 2018
But the real kicker is when Roseanne says: “They’re just like us. There, now you’re all caught up.” Which implies that the point of any show about a minority family is simply to normalize them. That’s it. The stories, the humor, the characters… not important. 2/9
— Kelvin Yu (@InternetKelvin) April 5, 2018
Then you take ALLLLLL of that and put it in the mouth of an avowed Trump supporter (not the actress—the CHARACTER of Roseanne) and you have one stinky little shit sandwich of a joke that ABC allowed to be served in their own restaurant. It’s a big deal. 3/9
— Kelvin Yu (@InternetKelvin) April 5, 2018
Do I think the characters Roseanne and Dan watch Blackish or Fresh Off The Boat? Of course not. Do I think they’d say something PC about them? Probably not. But the point is, they didn’t HAVE to say ANYTHING. They didn’t have to write that joke at all. It’s not even a joke. 4/9
— Kelvin Yu (@InternetKelvin) April 5, 2018
Consider what exactly the audience is laughing at. What exactly is the punchline here? I’ll tell you what it is: it’s an endorsement of dismissiveness and disregard. It’s a familiarity and comfort with the culture of objectifying and demeaning people of color. 5/9
— Kelvin Yu (@InternetKelvin) April 5, 2018
Keep in mind, ABC was all too willing to bar Kenya Barris from airing an episode about kneeling during the nat’l anthem because of a fear it would be divisive and alienating. Blackish is one of only a handful of shows about Black families on the air. 6/9
— Kelvin Yu (@InternetKelvin) April 5, 2018
Fresh Off The Boat is the ONLY show about an Asian American family. Meanwhile, Roseanne is currently being touted as the refreshing voice of an underrepresented group (conservative women). 7/9
— Kelvin Yu (@InternetKelvin) April 5, 2018
Here’s my point: they rebooted a beloved 90s sitcom & updated the main character to be a Trump voter under the pretense that it was a realistic portrayal of the the white working class. Then in ep 2, they depict her LITERALLY SLEEPING through stories about people of color. 8/9
— Kelvin Yu (@InternetKelvin) April 5, 2018
I’m not saying it’s inaccurate to have her do this. I actually think it’s TOO accurate (and also not that funny?). Maybe next week, Dan and Roseanne explain to their grandchildrem that Santa and Sandy Hook are both fake and we can all just laugh and laugh. 9/9
— Kelvin Yu (@InternetKelvin) April 5, 2018
As a screenwriter I’m not surprised. Seriously, are people imagining poor, strugling , blue collar (and non blue collar) white people at home talking about world peace and how they should be more culturally sensitive. No they are not. Sorry that gentle line woke you up out of your dreams of talk of equality in poor white households. Honestly, I don’t know who is more stupid , the shows screenwriters’ or the audience now, complaining about the show. The conversation and awareness of screenwriter do actually talk about at home has changed since this show went off air. If I were to reimagine this show, it would be ten times as harsh and deragotory. Not because its right or wrong but because it should reflect reality. The screenwriters are holding white trash up on a pedestal. I would tear it down completely.
Turn off your television.
I watch all three shows regularly. The black, white and asians. The black show just had a whole episode about their annoying white family. They literally said our annoying stupid white family is here, how can we avoid them. In the end they all came together of course. The asian show makes fun of whites too. I thoroughly enjoy all of the shows equally they are all very thought provoking right now. Makes for great convo.
Who was surprised? The show has always been about stupid annoying white trash.
I didn’t hear any news about the food allergy joke at the end of the first episode of the latest season of Roseanne. Peter Rabbit got torn apart for joking about food allergies. Roseanne has always been like this, y’all need to re-watch the first 9 seasons. Seems like people are being a little sensitive about all this, sure makes great press though. They’re already signed up for a second season and they’re loving all your articles. No bad press. Just. Look. At. Trump! I hope Clooney makes an appearance this season, can’t wait, must watch television! You know you all are gonna watch it too. What else would you have to write about?!
OMG did you watch the latest SNL. It was sooo funny! Time for you to write an article about the “black jeopardy” sketch. It was super funny especially the “white people” category! I love 2018 TV, we’re so evolved. Cant wait til 2028 when all TV is banned because everyone is offended by everything. Evolution and progress is awesome!