Roseanne “was” a sitcom that originally aired in 1988. It followed a family that unapologetically was themselves and tackled issues in society with their brash opinions. This stable in American sitcom history was rebooted in 2017, only to be canceled by AB after head actress Roseanne Barr voiced her own opinion about former Obama advisor Valerie Jarrett.
Roseanne depicts a middle class caucasian family that were portrayed as conservatives. In today’s current political climate there is turmoil between democrats and republicans. This turmoil has spilled over into television, especially in Roseanne’s case. Roseanne was one of the highest viewed shows on television when it rebooted, and our current president is Donald Trump.
Roseanne continued to portray its characters as conservatives with Roseanne being a Trump supporter in the show. This decision garnered a lot of backlash from democrats and non-Trump supporters. Most of Trumps scrutiny comes from his remarks about other racial groups. Roseanne Barr comparing Valerie Jarrett, a black woman, to an “ape” on Twitter has led to outrage from non-Trump supporters.
Roseanne being a Trump supporter on the show leaves her with similar levels scrutiny that Trump himself faces. Millions of people tuned in to Roseanne every week, so her views and opinions were on full display. America can dictate what’s on our televisions, and Roseanne being on television for decades with an actress who ridiculed black women on Twitter is telling of our society.
People have the power to decide what they watch every week, so maybe people should use their power more wisely. Voltaire originally stated, “With great power comes great responsibility.” Maybe we should get Voltaire’s quote in the back of our heads going forward. Freedom of speech is important to maintain, but if what’s said is offensive to a group of people then that has to be taken into account as well.
