Posted in: HBO, Opinion, TV, TV, YouTube | Tagged: Archie Bunker, Bill Maher, HBO, max, Norman Lear, opinion, Real Time

Bill Maher Believing Archie Bunker Couldn't Exist Today Is Sweet Irony

Proving that all irony is truly lost on him, Real Time host Bill Maher explained why All in the Family's Archie Bunker couldn't exist today.

Out of respect for what Laura Coates (CNN's Laura Coates Live) had to endure on Friday night's edition of HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, we're almost feeling obligated to start watching her show. Because it didn't take long for Bill Maher and fellow guest Walter Kirn (America This Week) to turn what I'm guessing was supposed to be a tribute to the late, great TV pioneer Norman Lear into another edition of "Old White Guys Yell at Clouds." When the topic turned to Lear's All in the Family, Maher lamented Carroll O'Connor's Archie Bunker, saying that a character like that couldn't exist today because of everybody being… you know what? Let's get interactive! See if you can fill in the blanks to learn Maher's answer to everything he doesn't like: "W_KE." Maher would go on to say that "TV is not what it was in the '70s." Now, see? That's where Maher is painfully wrong. As a child of that decade, I can tell you that there were piles of shows that went nowhere. But in this instance, not only is TV now exactly how it was in the '70s, but it's taken it to the next level – and Maher can't appreciate the irony that he proves our theory every week.

Think about it for a second. O'Connor's Archie Bunker was an old white guy who was out of touch with modern times, lashing out at younger generations for the things that they do – constantly bitching about how much better things were back in their day and how everything sucks now. Basically, that's Maher, too- but with two key differences. Archie would go on to actually learn & grow over time as he got older – in many ways, looking to make up for past mistakes (especially when you get to the spinoff). Oh, and he's a fictional character. Meanwhile, Maher doesn't look to be running out of clouds to rage at anytime soon, sounding more & more entrenched in his "Oh, these kids these days!" mindset with no signs of changing. Oh, and he's an all-too-real character.

"The great thing about that show is you never knew who the hero and the villain was. I had an uncle who thought Archie Bunker was the hero of the show. And for a while, I thought so too. I mean, he really held his own…The show gave a round portrayal of people of all kinds. And you kind of got a begrudging education of Archie over time. I think it gave more credit to the kind of characters that are now just dismissed. That wouldn't be possible now," Kirn shared – and where to begin with this one?

If you didn't know that Archie was the "villain" of the show and saw him as a "hero," then there's a very good chance that you're racist. Just like folks who honor family members who died fighting for the South in the U.S. Civil War are doing nothing more than honoring traitors who committed treason. Your uncle doesn't change that, Kirn. And then there's, "I think it gave more credit to the kind of characters that are now just dismissed. That wouldn't be possible now." While I can't speak for Kirn specifically, I always find it "interesting" just how many white folks there are out there who feel it's their place to tell under-represented groups what they and shouldn't be offended by. And yet, they're the first ones to go clutching pearls when the roles are reversed.

Or they call into question their feelings & experiences – as Maher did in response to a comment from Coates. "Archie Bunker is not really in the rearview mirror. Archie Bunker is the bit for the drunk uncle today. We're talking about Donald Trump. We're talking about people who feel left behind," Coates explained when discussing how a number of things haven't changed in the past half-century since All in the Family debuted. As you'll see in the interview, Maher appears almost caught off guard by Coates's response. "You don't feel there are less Archie Bunkers in America today?" he asked. "We still have a lot of Archie Bunkers in this country," Coates responded.

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