asner: i ll tell you about the golden age of television. this period in time will be looked upon as the platinum age. lear: our obligation is to entertain, and if we ve left something to think about, so much the better. kunta. kunta kinte. television should not be just entertainment. charges were leveled at the commercial television network. congress has no right interfere with the media. well, excuse me! we have a responsibility to give the audience what it tuned in to see. the years of the 60s, which end in a few hours, have a bad reputation that is not entirely justified. some things got worse, obviously, but tv and other news coverage is better, not worse. we simply developed more demanding standards. when i think of tv, i think of the 70s. what is this world coming to? the american public was hungry for more. what was allowed that hadn t been before? it was the last decade where it was a campfire television, where there was one in the living room. i want to watch an al
Because after the last incident, i had children bussed in. When i think about the history of black television, i think about when black folks watch, we watch to zero in on us. Instead of making us celebrate your holidays, why dont you celebrate some of ours . What about tupacs birthday . And when you have so little, it means everything. All of those shows, they all matter so much. It feels like theres been more of an ebb and flow and an evolution. It is so important for us to have true authenticity. Why we always the only black people here . Thats why representation matters, black stories told by black people. Im trying to tell you something. [man] we set the pace for sit comedy. You hear that, elizabeth . Im coming to join ya, honey . From Sanford And Son to the other black shows. What is this . Loved The Jeffersons. Monogrammed shirt, brand new silk tie. Is that a tie . I thought your tongue was hanging out. Good times is one of my favorite sitcoms because you could not tell me that
because after the last incident, i had children bussed in. - when i think about the history of black television, i think about when black folks watch, we watch to zero in on us. - instead of making us celebrate your holidays, why don t you celebrate some of ours? what about tupac s birthday? - and when you have so little, it means everything. all of those shows, they all matter so much. - it feels like there s been more of an ebb and flow and an evolution. - it is so important for us to have true authenticity. - why we always the only black people here? - that s why representation matters, black stories told by black people. - i m trying to tell you something. - [man] we set the pace for sit comedy. - you hear that, elizabeth? i m coming to join ya, honey? - from sanford and son to the other black shows. - what is this? - loved the jeffersons. - monogrammed shirt, brand new silk tie. - is that a tie? i thought your tongue was hanging out. - good times is one of my favori
run, yasmine! run like the wind! ental music) - do you feel that there is not enough representation? because after the last incident, i had children bussed in. - when i think about the history of black television, i think about when black folks watch, we watch to zero in on us. - instead of making us celebrate your holidays, why don t you celebrate some of ours? what about tupac s birthday? - and when you have so little, it means everything. all of those shows, they all matter so much. - it feels like there s been more of an ebb and flow and an evolution. - it is so important for us to have true authenticity. - why we always the only black people here? - that s why representation matters, black stories told by black people. - i m trying to tell you something. - [man] we set the pace for sit comedy. - you hear that, elizabeth? i m coming to join ya, honey? - from sanford and son to the other black shows. - what is this? - loved the jeffersons. - monogrammed shirt, brand new
- just to get that chance to prove yes, we deserve to be here. i think eric monte and mike evans proved that. - dy-no-mite! (upbeat funky music) (audience laughs) dy-no-mite. i know might i did a little tiny dynamite just in rehearsal. john rich, our director, says, i love that dy-no-mite thing. here s how you do it. dy-no-mite! i said, john, please, people will never go for this. - then jimmy walker s character takes over, and instead of good times, you end up with the dy-no-mite hour. - good times was a microcosm of what it is to produce black television. - eric monte and mike evans were forced to partner with a white show runner. that reflected a dynamic that we see throughout the history of black tv, which is having black creatives needing the co-sign of a white person in order to make their thing, even though it s based in the stories they know. - by season two of good times, john amos was complaining about how his character was not being written in a very authentic way.