Under scrutiny again, ‘The Cosby Show’ raises problems ‘bigger than Cosby’

 

Bill Cosby prepares to film a new opening for “The Cosby Show” in August 1990.

There has been quite a bit of talk about Bill Cosby since the beginning of “We Need to Talk About Cosby”.

W. Kamau Bell’s documentary series details how Cosby’s charisma, family-friendly personality, and status as a cultural icon masked his darker side—including he sexually preyed on dozens of women — has received rave reviews from critics and viewers since its debut at the Sundance Film Festival last month.

The latest chapter of the project, now airing on Showtime, examines “The Cosby Show,” the blockbuster comedy that ran from 1984 to 1992 and cemented Cosby’s reputation as “The Father of America”.

The episode intertwines two themes: the sitcom’s important place in popular culture history, especially black history, and interviews with two of the show’s guest actors, who who accused Cosby of sexual assault. One, Eden Tirl, alleged that Cosby forced her to have sex and touched her inappropriately in the dressing room; the other, Lili Bernard, claimed that Cosby drugged and raped her, then berated her during rehearsals when she refused to be alone with him. The episode also detailed elements of “The Cosby Show” that caused discomfort over the allegations, such as the fact that Cosby’s Dr. Cliff Huxtable was an obstetrician-gynecologist whose office was in the basement of his home. he.

At the core of the docuseries is an attempt to grapple with the connection between Cosby’s outsized place in culture and his now tarnished reputation, and what that means for understanding of us about the work he created. Aside from Tirl saying she hasn’t watched “The Cosby Show” since her experience on set, “We Need to Talk About Cosby” doesn’t explicitly address the real question it raises here. : Should we continue to watch “The Cosby Show,” or have Cosby’s alleged sex crimes cast an inevitable cloud over its legacy?

A panel of 6 photos of Bill Cosby in a pink sweater with different faces

The docuseries, along with Cosby’s recent release from prison after overturning his 2018 conviction for sexual assault, have brought a new focus to “The Cosby Show.” Although reruns of the series were discontinued in 2014 as allegations against the actor gained momentum, the comedy is now part of the channel’s weekday afternoon programming basic cable TV One, which also includes “A Different World,” a spinoff of “The Cosby Show.” set at a fictional historically black university. (Network executives did not respond to repeated questions about the programming of “The Cosby Show.”) Episodes of the series are also available on streaming platforms like Philo (for for subscribers) and Amazon (for on-demand rental/purchase).

Although Cosby himself has recently become persona non grata in Hollywood, especially since the rise of the #MeToo movement, the sitcom itself remains a point of fierce cultural debate.

Turns out we really need to talk about “The Cosby Show.”

A group photo of a family.
Clockwise from top left: Tempestt Bledsoe as Vanessa Huxtable, Malcolm-Jamal Warner as Theodore “Theo” Huxtable, Lisa Bonet as Denise Huxtable, Phylicia Rashad as Clair Hanks Huxtable, Keshia Knight Pulliam as Rudy Huxtable, Bill Cosby as Dr. Heathcliff “Cliff ” Huxtable.
“Cancel culture and #MeToo require people to pay for their sins for the right reasons,” said Lanita Jacobs, associate professor of American studies, ethnicity and anthropology at USC. and sometimes in completely different ways.”

“But Black audiences — who are not a monolith — can’t always afford to ‘cancel’ our legendary heroes and stars, especially when they bring something beautiful to look at, desire, and laugh at when we need it,” Jacobs continued. “We can do other things, including looking at them a little differently while keeping them tender, fragile or no more.”

“From the perspective of what ‘The Cosby Show’ means and what it means for Black people to see two successful African-American professionals on television raising a family, [it’s] huge. And we need to see that structure — it is possible,” said comedian Guy Torry, executive producer of Prime Video “Tuesday Play,” a documentary series showcasing black comedians Black at Hollywood’s Comedy Store starting in the mid-1990s. “It’s unfortunate what happened to those