ABC broadcast the final of the series of “Connecs“Wednesday, the closure of the arcs of characters that started over 36 years ago with” Roseanne “. When the first series of eponymous comedy by Roseanne Barr Barr Created on ABC in 1988It contrasts strongly with glamor during prime time of “dallas” and “dynasty,,“” Who then dominated television. Instead of sparkling dresses and champagne cat fighting, the plots on “Roseanne” involved unpaid electricity bills, broken washing machines and kitchen table spots.
“Roseanne” and “The Conners” had an almost magical ability to speak to the wealthy and non -.
For many Americans, such as Those with whom I grew up in Appalachia“Roseanne” gave us a mirror, instead of an escape. He transformed the humor of the working class as tools on survival into a relatable sitcom format. This helped viewers – those who saw themselves for the first time and those who see others for the first time – grow up to each other.
“Roseanne” and “The Conners“” had an almost magical ability to speak to the wealthy and non -. The shows invited the rich to laugh withNot to, working class struggles, which helped generate empathy. They invited the White Public of the Working Class to progressive conversations from which they have been excluded before. The two shows have discussed subjects such as racism, queerness, gender equality, young LGBTQ, immigration – often qualified as problems for liberal elites or big city residents – In the language of Lanford, Illinois.
As a child who grows up in rural Kentucky in the 80s and 90s, “Roseanne” presented conversations that I did not have in church or in the living room, and I am not alone among my blue -collar friends saying that it was “Roseanne” who made me the political progressive that I am today. The show made us realize that we too should be one of these conversations, that we were worthy of being taken seriously and that the problems we associate with others were also intimately linked to our lives.
The power of the series to do this work – in its original incarnation, its restart and in the renowned show after the character of Barr, Roseanne Conner, was killed – came from his ability to invite and add. For rural viewers or in blue collar, the show presented new ideas in a world in which they were comfortable. For others, the show presented ideas with which they were already comfortable, but in a new world for them.
The heritage of the show therefore makes progressive ideas digestible to poor people and the working class.
The legacy of the show makes progressive ideas digestible to poor and workers.
This inheritance can be surprising for some, given the disappointing evolution of Barr. Now a controversial conservative figureits 2018 restart was canceled after a racist tweet. (“The storks” begins after the death of his character in the series.) In 2024, Barr published a pro-Trump rap video entitled “Dad’s house. “These choices should certainly shape the way we understand Barr, but they do not erase the complexity or impact of his previous work or the original spectacle spin-off.
In 2013, when I taught a gender and television course, I asked my students to analyze the emissions using the Bechdel testWho only asks: are there two women on the screen who speak something other than men? It took 50 years of randomized television episodes before hitting the one who passed: “Don’t ask, don’t say,“An episode from 1994 of” Roseanne “which approached homophobia, the performative ally, gender expression and included a same-sex kiss. Revolutionary does not start to describe it. The show won this moment because his viewers trusted the characters. Viewers, at least those I knew, had the impression of looking at us.
Throughout 17 years of the life of storks, shown in two series, viewers looked at stories about difficult subjects, but “Roseanne” invited them. He said: You left. To the same extent, the program told Americans to quickly reject the struggles of the poor and the working class: It is how difficult life is when you live the pay check for the pay check – you too are part of this. No one gets a pass because everyone is included. Few shows have had such political endurance.
In the very criticized original final, the bodies win the lottery and live their wildest dreams, but it is later revealed to be a story composed by the character Roseanne. “The stucks“” echoed the final of the original series in its last season, with an arc of history involving a trial that the family brought by the death induced by Roseanne induced by the opioids. Given the scourge of opioids in America in the working class, this story made sense. This time, however, there is no big payment. In the end, the storks get a check for only $ 700, which they use to organize a party with pizza and beer.
In the end, this is a more appropriate conclusion because there is no magic end for American problems. No victory at the lottery. No glamor and champagne. Just moments of pain and ephemeral relief. All we can do is care enough to see ours – and from each other.
“Roseanne” and “The Conners” gave us exactly that. One episode at a time.