The Whiteness of Black Families on 90s Television Shows

It could be just me, I don't know, but, as I got older and started to watch shows I watched growing up in the 90s, I started to notice how..."consumer friendly" shows like Fresh Prince, the Cosby Show, and Family Matters really were. By "consumer friendly," I should say white friendly. It's odd because those shows I mentioned above were centered around African American families and their lives. Why do I find them to be white friendly? Because the people in those shows...well, they were made more accessible to the viewing community. It's like they downplayed the African American-ness at times on these shows. Fresh Prince is a pretty good example of this. They throw in a family-friendly "homeboy" from the streets of Philly and have him live with some upper class family members in Bel Air, CA. These upper class family members...well, their behaviors seem to be more associated with how white people tend to act. Carlton, for example, is a Tom Jones-loving, awkward dancing ivy league student who likes to get down in loafers and sweaters. Hilary Banks is another example too. She's portrayed as a valley girl who shops and gossips with her friends, whom most of them, at least that I've seen on the show, are white. Carlton's friends tend to fall on the nerdy, white side too. Speaking of nerd, let's get into Family Matters. Steve Urkel...what a character he is. He broke lots of ground with a nerdiness that could even surpass some of the nerds in "Revenge of the Nerds." But, you never really saw nerds as African Americans. You tended to see that in white people on shows. The Cosby Show was a pretty groundbreaking show too, for it's time. An African American family with good-mannered kids who could make some bad decisions, at times, with parents who have high class jobs, like doctors and lawyers. That was not seen amongst viewers before: a successful African American family. But, the thing is, with these shows, they make these African American families seem successful, but make them act rather white. Occasionally, they will act like how people would expect of African Americans, but most of the time, their behaviors would deem to be white. Man, as I type this, it seems as if I am coming off racist, but I honestly am not. It's just something I have observed as I have watched these shows with a new light. When have actual African Americans been portrayed as successful? Tyler Perry has done good of that lately. But, it seemed as if back in the day, shows like Sanford and Son, the Jeffersons, Good Times, etc., had actual African Americans with problems that tended to be associated with them in the media (financial problems, crap jobs, trouble, etc.) But, while I think of it, there is African Americans like the ones portrayed in Fresh Prince and Family Matters. There are black people that put aside stereotypes and can be who they want to be. There can be rich families that are African Americans. There can be nerdy African Americans. It just seemed as if, at the time these shows were put out, such things did not exist amongst average viewers. These shows are pretty groundbreaking in that sense. They came and broke down these stereotypes people have associated with African Americans and said, "HEY! We can be like you too."