There are so many ways this episode could have screwed this up. DJ could have "learned his lesson", Roseanne could have taken the virtuous road never taken and execute her social commentary with uncompromising speeches and platitudes, the teacher could have made Roseanne see the light through patience, tenderness, and a light backdrop of violins to really drive it home.
None of this happened, everyone in the A plot were bigots, didn't like that about themselves, recognized it, and addressed it, mostly poorly. What I appreciate it showing that black people in a predominantly white neighborhood are probably annoyed by explaining away their friend's attitudes and calling them out making things uncomfortable,because that's what happens. I like a teacher judging the hell out of a Mom because of things their kids do and assume it's the value the parents share. I love that the resolution in the episode may not be the best real world resolution but that's the decision the Conners are going with, hell even Roseanne's reasoning not to be a bigot is self serving, she doesn't want to be labelled as such in the eyes of the community.
The episode also does a good job of rounding out the history of the Conners without spelling it out. They have simply not been exposed to that much diversity and while they considered themselves liberal in the past the demons of prejudice come home to roost. This episode should be shown in schools and churches if you want to discuss the issue of prejudice, racism, and diversity. I forgot how much I liked this particular episode, even the face of the current political environment and the titular star's issues concerning race, which does not alter the episode's effective punch for me at all.
None of this happened, everyone in the A plot were bigots, didn't like that about themselves, recognized it, and addressed it, mostly poorly. What I appreciate it showing that black people in a predominantly white neighborhood are probably annoyed by explaining away their friend's attitudes and calling them out making things uncomfortable,because that's what happens. I like a teacher judging the hell out of a Mom because of things their kids do and assume it's the value the parents share. I love that the resolution in the episode may not be the best real world resolution but that's the decision the Conners are going with, hell even Roseanne's reasoning not to be a bigot is self serving, she doesn't want to be labelled as such in the eyes of the community.
The episode also does a good job of rounding out the history of the Conners without spelling it out. They have simply not been exposed to that much diversity and while they considered themselves liberal in the past the demons of prejudice come home to roost. This episode should be shown in schools and churches if you want to discuss the issue of prejudice, racism, and diversity. I forgot how much I liked this particular episode, even the face of the current political environment and the titular star's issues concerning race, which does not alter the episode's effective punch for me at all.
