The portrayal of Blacks on TV

I'm wondering, is portraying Blacks on TV as having characteristics
far from their real-life counterparts a good idea?
On the one hand, like the Cosby Show, showing Blacks as successful and
family-oriented might be a positive influence on the more suggestable
Blacks out there. However, it isn't true to life, on average. Should

dwacon...

On which average?

rgorman...

Of course that was because Homer was a lazy slug.

Blacks be shown more like they were on NYPD Blue, some good, some bad?
Is ignoring the 60% fatherless home statistic (real life) on TV a good
idea or should Blacks (and Whites) be confronted with their
shortcomings so they can reflect on them?
Should television (assuming the show isn't a comedy, scifi, etc) be a
true reflection of reality?

rgorman...

Not unless it's being marketed as a documentary.

-Rich

theresa...

TV could reflect reality, but it never does -- not even for
white people.

Look at "Friends" or "Mad About You" -- no real NYers of that
age could afford apartments like that.

Look at "ER" -- where were all the Indian and Asian MDs for all
those years? Now, we've had one of each and that's it.

Ar Q...

Indian is Asian.

bllbickel...

And yet I'd wager you knew what Theresa meant.

Look at everyone's wardrobes and how often they go out to eat.
Real people who spend that way end up with garnished wages.

TV is produced by 95% white people, and if they can't get
themselves right, black people don't have a chance in hell...

Taylor...

Are you sad or glad Tracey Morgan's (NBC) sitcom got cancelled?