Shut Up, You Meathead, You!

40 years ago today a very controversial, very political show premiered on CBS. It wasn't a news show, or a documentary, it was a comedy, or some would call it today a dramedy. Dictionary.com defines a dramedy as a television program or series using both serious and comic subjects, usu. without relying on conventional plots, laugh tracks, etc. This show certainly fit that description. The title of the show was All in the Family . It was one of the first shows of its kind that was filmed before a live studio audience. It revolved around a family named Bunker. Archie, the patriarch of the family, played masterfully by Carroll O'Connor, Edith, his wife, played by Jean Stapleton with just the right amount of sensitivity and strength, their daughter, Gloria, or as Archie called her "little girl" played by Sally Struthers, and Mike, the son-in-law, who was always going head to head (or head to meathead) with Archie played by Rob Reiner. The series was created by Norman Lear and tackled every subject of the day. All in the Family gave us dingbat and meathead, Archie's  favorite commentary, the Bronx cheer, a raspberry, and a huge string of words that only Archie could pronounce in his own special way. The shows focused on everything from menopause and baptism to the very serious subjects of rape and the Viet Nam war. I was 7 when the show debuted, but I remember learning a lot from that show. All kinds of issues were debated in that living room on 104 Houser Street. We watched the Bunker family go through everything and we went through it with them. Archie had some twisted views, but we loved him. They never came from a place of hate, they came from a place of ignorance. Archie and Mike always seemed to be at each other's throats, but they really loved each other. I still cry when I watch the episode when Mike and Gloria move to California. Archie and Mike spend the entire episode avoiding each other and the subject of saying goodbye, and finally at the end Mike tells Archie, "I know all these years you thought that I hated you, but I really love you."  It was a show that defined the times. It paved the way for every show after it to be able to voice an opinion about the issues and struggles of the time. We laughed with them and cried with them, but most of all they made us think. All in the Family gave me food for thought about the very turbulent times that America was in during my childhood, but it also taught me that a family can disagree and still love and care for each other, which has proved to be an invaluable lesson.