ABSTRACT
The most prevalent critical reaction, particularly during the first few years of the show, was to applaud Bill Cosby's creation as not only a witty and thoughtful sitcom but also an enlightened step forward in race relations. The Cosby Show, however, portrays comedic black characters with dignity and humanity. The social vision of "Cosby," however, reflecting the miniscule integration of blacks into the upper middle class, reassuringly throws the blame for black poverty back onto the impoverished. The seriousness with which The Cosby Show approaches the issue of cultural representation has invited critical scrutiny of the series. Few would argue that The Cosby Show presents a realistic view of the lives and experiences of typical black Americans. The success of The Cosby Show, according to Henry Louis Gates, has led to a curious divergence between media images and social realities. The only requirement that all interviewees met was that they were either frequent or occasional viewers of The Cosby Show.
