Purely Commentary
Toned
Down 'Family' Program .
Admonition to Arabs . . .
Slawson's Proposal for
By Philip
SiOMOVitZ
the sublimation of aggression or group hostility, pent-up frustration
could blow the lid and produce havoc. However, the danger of these
destructive consequences can be allayed not by sublimation but by
substitution."
Archie Bunker continues to be a subject for debate regarding the
We already have a good idea of Dr. Slawson's view on this chal-
impressions he leaves with his portrayals in All in the Family" CBS
lenging question. His proposals for a correction of a vital problem are
TV programs.
as interesting as they are pragmatic. Dr. Slawson concludes his
Does he inspire hatred? Is he responsible for laughter at the expense analysis with a plan of action for retention of the humorous and
of the minorities he alludes to or are his performances creating ridi- satirical program with emendations. He proposes:
cule for those who spread bigotry?
"From a social point of view it is immaterial whether bigotry
Of the many analyses of the Archie Bunker approaches the one by
stems from frustration, insecurity or fear. It can be a consequence
Dr. John Slawson, executive vice president emeritus of the American
of any one of these or a combination of several factors. The result
Jewish Committee, is among the most thorough.
is the same. From a psychological standpoint the treatment may be
Dr. Slawson (he will be remembered as a former executive director
different, but it is incumbent upon the bigot to rid himself of these
of Detroit's Jewish Welfare Federation and Allied Jewish Campaign in
fears, frustrations or insecurities by whatever means he can muster.
the early 1930s) prepared his study for publication in Educational
His bigotry cannot be condoned, regardless of how stupid, how in-
Broadcasting Review under the title "How Funny Can Bigotry Be?
ferior, how ignorant or how fearful he may be.
Archie Bunker—Laughed At or Laughed With?" Quite properly, he
"As citizens it is our responsibility to curb the influences that
asked if the program has any importance in relation to social conse-
produce bigoted attitudes and discriminatory behavior, but we should
quences and at the outset he admonishes that exposure of unacceptable
not condone their expression even if it be by implication. And this is
tendencies does not sublimate such impulses and he points to the find-
what 'All in the Family' unwittingly does. It has the potential of
ings of the 1969 National Commission on Crime and Prevention of
producing a 'halo effect.' It's in our blood. We all seem to have it in
Violence which came to the conclusion that "such exposure tends to
one form or another; so what?'
stimulate violent behavior. rather than divert aggressive impulses to
'The program is so funny and the script so clever and the actors
harmless channels."
so superb that, for the millions who seem to enjoy the type of humor
Regarding Archie's characterizations—"Spies" "Coon," "Bebe,"
the program produces, the ethnic factor as a source of ridicule does
not really appear to be necessary. I believe Norman Lear, John Rich
"dumb Pollack"—Dr. Slawson develops his theme by pointing out:
and their associates ought to try to eliminate the ethnic ridicule motif.
In the case in point, in the fan-
and thereby Wile the plaudits and appreciation of all concerned Ameri-
tastically popular program "All in and steadfastly asserts it.
cans, regardless of class, who have chosen 'to remember the past;
the Fa mily." Archie Bunker in-
In Archie's vocabulary the
so that they would not be fated to relive it." This is particularly
dulges in the behavior of a bigot crooked lawyer is a Jew. The dumb
imperative today when Americans are experiencing unprecedented
in his actions and expressions person is a Pole. The burglar is a
polarization, confusion, anxiety and even hopelessness."
toward Blacks. Jews, Poles and black man: also, as - the one near-
most other ethnic groups. What est the jungle, he "hurts less," ex-
With a vast audience—and a most appreciative one—the "All in
Archie says and does is funny. in- hibits "animalistic" prowess in the Family" humor can be retained but it needs a clinical treatment.
deed Although his education is pursuits requiring brawn and sav- The proposed toning down can be achieved. It is too popular a program
obviously meager, his social out- age drive and therefore excels in to be trifled with and the needed corrections are attainable. Dr. Slaw-
look extremely limited, and his athletics.
son's probe into the entire matter of humor that borders on exploration
manner crude, he appears to he a
A typical program scene shows of bigotry was done with great skill and objectivity. It does not attack:
'guy' not difficult to like, especially a group of neighbors coming to it pleads for correction. The changes are attainable and if the pro-
by members of his social class . pay their respects to a dead rela- ducers—and actors—will cooperate, we can achieve a triumph for
His characterizations — "Spic." tive of the Bunkers. All are white, good public relations. Dr. Slawson has made a notable contribution
"Coon." "fiche." "dumb Polack," with the exception of one black toward such an accomplishment in the field of genuine good will
—and the stereotypes they project woman neighbor who arrives early. and wholesome communication between actors and producers and a
come from the head of a middle Archie turns to his wife and whis- public that must be kept from unwholesome influences.
American family: a practical man pers: "Throw an apron around her
who earns a modest livelihood suf- and they will think she is the
Another Admonition to Arabs: End Illiteracy
ficient to support his family in maid." (Laughter).
Perhaps it will help to continue to plead with the Arab potentates
average comfort: a good family
Of course the ethnic digs made
to
strive for advancement of the standards of their people and to end
man who has a great affection for by Archie Bunker are funny, and
illiteracy,
rather than continue the war against Israel. Cooperation
his daughter, and a true "he man" of course the millions of viewers
in relation to his wife, to whom he laugh. However, these derogatory with Israel will assist in elevation of standards; using all available
offers paternalistic protection and thrusts, enjoyable as they seem, funds for warfare won't help the peoples involved and will divert funds
for whom he has a conventional do not sublimate prejudicial im- from education and welfare.
Proof of existing conditions among the Arab masses was provided
sentimental attachment. pulses toward the "other" group
Ile is a staunch believer in law and thus help relieve suppressed by the quarterly magazine Al Arabi published in Kuwait. In a chart
and order and is patriotic to the hostility toward it. As a matter of resulting from a study conducted by UNESCO, these illiteracy rates
extreme, Archie Bunker even fi- fact, there is every indication that existing in Arab countries were revealed:
Archie Bunker and the 'Family'—Reflections on
Popular Program: Dr. John Slawson's Analyses of
Criticisms and Proposals for Wholesome Corrections
Illiteracy Rate
nancially supports through college the laughter is a sadistic response,
Illiteracy Rate
his liberal son-in-law Mike — a vocally expressed, and sympto- Country
Percentage
Country
Percentage
young man for whom, in all proba- matic of submerged hostile atti-
Saudi
Arabia
97
Egypt
70
bility, most of Archie's compeers tudes. The laughter is a response
Morocco
89
Jordan
69.7
have contempt as an impractical to ridicule of an ethnic group. The
86.5
Tunisia
68.7
"egghead." It is Mike, the edu- viewers are not laughing at Archie, Sudan
Libya
84
Syria
60.8
cated. "impractical" liberal, who but at what this "almost lovable"
81
Kuwait
47.7
is the deviate. It is Archie, the man is saying. The "belly laugh" Iraq
81
Lebanon
40
bigot, who is the average, "nor- here is not one of insight, sensi- Algeria
mal" person. Mike vehemently op- tivity, or recognition of incongru-
The average percentage of illiteracy for all Arab countries is 73.
poses bigotry; Archie staunchly ity. (And I wonder how many of It is an appalling situation, and-it is no wonder that the editor of
Kuwait's Al Arabi should have expressed bitterness over the indif-
us feel guilty when we laugh?)
Dr. Slawson's very serious approach to the Archie Bunker problem ference shown by Arab leaders on this vital issue.
Let it be noted that because of the large influx of Jews from
takes into account the tragic Jewish experiences in the Nazi era and
the reactions to the program of children who are not familiar with the Moslem countries, illiteracy in Israel totaled 12.6 per cent of the
population in 1961, but it dropped to 9 per cent this year. (Illiteracy
intimacies of the unspeakable terrors. To quote Dr. Slawson again:
"In the experience of enjoyment of sadistic ridicule as a form of among non-Jews in Israel now is 33 per cent, compared with 46 per
humor, there is apt to be a continuum from the mild to the brutal. It cent in 1961).
The lesson provided in the quoted figures is implicit. It calls for
is only a short time ago (1938) that well-dressed Jewish residents of
Berlin were forced to scrub the sidewalks of Kurfurstendam on their realism on the part of Arabs who have great opportunities for gain
knees. Standing around were SS guards, Gestapo agents and residents for all in the Middle East, if saber-rattling will end.
There are hopeful signs of uninterrupted advancement in assuring
of Berlin, all laughing at this grotesque sight. It is only a short time
ago, in the light of history, that the miseries inflicted on blacks— butter relations with Arabs as a result of cultural activities and a
desire for mutual understanding. Israel Minister of Education and
lynching and rape—were also sources of amusement to some.
Culture Yigal Allon has announced that Arabic will be a compulsory
- I can see no constructive purpose served by conveying the im-
pression to millions of Americans that the terms 'Spic,"Coon,"Dago' language in all schools. At the same time, Mayor Mohammad al
and 'Bebe' are acceptable American expressions. Nor do I see the Azazah od Deir al Balah in the Gaza Strip has made a double request
social value of transmitting derogatory images as if they prevail in of Defense Minister Moshe Dayan: that Hebrew be taught in elemen-
our land. As already stated, the audience can include children of kinder- tary schools in the Gaza Strip, and that local teachers be trained to
garten age, and the Eisenhower Commission says: 'TV enters power• do the teaching. These are normal approaches for normal people
under normal conditions. and if they continue we'll have greater hope
fully into the learning process of children . .
"It is conceivable that the producers of 'All in the Family' were for a workable peace.
of the opinion that bigotry might be dealt a severe blow through satire.
However. effective satire would require holding up to censure the
bigotry of Archie Banker by means of ridicule. derision and irons. 1
fear it is instead tho• nieniber of the ethnic group who is ridiculed and
satirized.
"It is instructive' to note the report in Newsweek (11 , 29/71) that
Carroll O'Connor, who portrass Archie Bunker the bigot, confided to
his friends that he despises bring approached in the street by bigoted
fans who congratulate him 'for telling the truth for a change.'
- The program achieses the revers• of what Jonathan Swift accom-
plished in qteilliser's Travels.' Even assuming that the producers of
• %it in the l'a mils' were capable of Jonathan Swift's artistic skill, it
is highly probable that it might prose a boomerang with the vast
majority of the millions of listeners—and then there are the children,
of course, who might easily miss the subtleties of satire..
"T here are these' who maintain that without a cathartic channel for
2—Friday, July 21, 1972
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Student Protests
Debated by Jewish
S African Leaders
.
JOHANNESBURG (JTA)—Keen
discussion is still taking place
among South African Jews on the
student demonstrations here which
were recently checked by police
action and which have now been
banned from public places by min-
isterial proclamation.
Reform rabbis supported the stu-
dent protest; Orthodox rabbis were
more temperate in their replies to
requests for support of the stu-
dent demonstrations.
Recently 15Z Jewish students at
the University of Cape Town
signed a letter to the South Afri-
can Jewish Times in which they
criticized Cape Town rabbis by
name for refusing to give them
support.
Meanwhil e, Johannesburg
Chief Rabbi B. M. Casper sent
a letter to the archbishop of
Cape Town expressing sympathy
over the incident which took
place outside St. Georges Cath-
edral in Cape Town, when po-
lice forcibly dispersed the stu-
dent demonstration there.
But, he added "I cannot think
that this was anything other than
an unfortunate error of judgment
and overzealousness on the part
of the police involved in that un-
happy event." He upheld the con-
cept of peaceful protest on mat-
ters of public importance and said
it was the duty of spiritual lead-
ers to urge this on the govern-
ment.
At the monthly meeting of the
South African Jewish Board of De-
puties in Johannesburg, the chair-
man, David Mann, referred to
the controversy over the student
protests and said that, without
wishing to express any opinion on
them, he wanted to make clear
that the student protests were not
a Jewish issue, but a matter in-
volving students of all denomina-
tions.
Hebrew U. Scientist
Gets U.S. Grant to
Study Gland Secretion
JERUSALEM — The process of
glands which
secretion of the
regulate the physiology of the body
is under study at the Hebrew Uni-
versity's Institute of Life Sciences.
Prof. Michael Schramm of the de-
partment of biological chemistry
has just been awarded a new grant
of IL 450,000 ($112,500) by the U.S.
National Institutes of Health to
continue this research, which they
have supported for the past 10
years.
A coordinated investigation of
structure and function is Prof.
Schramm's approach. The cell
structures both in the cell and iso-
lated from it by various separation
techniques, are studied in the elec-
tron microscope while their func-
tion is investigated by biochemical
methods.
Did Israel Plan Capture of Cairo in the Six-Day War?
J F;Bt'SA M (JTA)—" N o com-
ment - was the response of Naftali
Lavie, a spokesman for Defense
Minister Moshe Dayan, when ques-
tioned about a report that Gen
Dayan had intended to order Israeli
troops to seize Cairo and Damascus
durin the Six-Da;: War hm
charmed his mind under intense
pressure from the U.S.
The JTA raised the question after
the magazine Ha m parts published
an article containing the allegation.
The writer. who used the pseudo-
nyin Peek and was described as a
former analyst for the National
Security Agency, said Dayan's al-
leged plans were learned by the
l'.5 Navy's electronics intelligence
ship Liberty V. hieh was ern:sin:4
off the Sinai coast in early June,
1907 under orders to intereept de-
tails of Israeli military intentions.
The Liherty Was attacked by
Israeli fighter planes on June 8.
1917, killing 34 American sailors
and wounding 75. The incident
was described officially as an
error and Israel paid compensa-
tion to the victims' families.
It was after that, according to
Peck, that President L y nd o n
Johnson brought intense pressure
to bear on Israel to halt further
troop movements. Peck stated that
Johnson also warned Soviet Pre-
mier Alexei Kosygin via the - hot
line" against what appeared to be
an imminent Soviet air-borne oper-
ation against Israel from bases in
Bulgaria.
7