The Jeffersons (1975) (S1 E1 Pilot) Review

 Diane thought that the Jeffersons were joking when they said that they were the Jeffersons. And asks how they can afford to live in a place like that, I’m assuming the building is mostly filled with white people because the only people seen in the hallway are white. Diane also says that Mr. Jefferson doesn’t look tall enough to be a basketball player, which plays into the stereotype of Black men being basketball players. Diane is a maid and she went to the Jeffersons and thought that Mrs. Jefferson was also a maid. George says, “You are east side and she is west side and I don’t want no crosstown traffic in my kitchen” which relates to other world issues, anyone should be able to hang out with each other. Mrs. Jefferson goes on to say that everyone was created equal and everyone should be treated well. George also says that he wears the pants in their relationship and that plays into patriarchal views of relationships. In the 1970s The Women’s Movement was very prominent, since it’s a sitcom, it was probably trying to put a little light on that topic. Along with this, George’s mom says that the apartment isn’t kept clean because of Louise. Louise was the wife, so she was expected to do all the cleaning, while George was just as capable but his mother said nothing to him. There are just jokes throughout the whole episode, even when serious topics are talked about.

A white guy comes over to the Jefferson’s place and while George is stepping on his back, the man says that he has great rhythm in his feet. This represents another stereotype about Black people. George says, “Some people gotta be the ma’ams and some people gotta be the mammies”. There are a lot of stereotypes being brought into this episode alone. On another note, there is a lot of talk about money and how Louise doesn’t know how to spend it or doesn’t want to because she didn’t grow up with a lot of it. The Jeffersons do have a lot of money now, so they can spend it but it’s just a new concept for her to learn. There is also an interracial couple, which had just become legal in 1967 so I think it’s very moving that this show had one. At the very end, one of the maids said, “How come we overcame and nobody told me?” She said this because two of the Black families lived in the same apartment building.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fmoodle.augustana.edu%2F&source_ve_path=MTM5MTE3LDEzOTExNywzNjg0MiwzNjg0MiwxMjcyOTksMTM5MTE3LDEzOTExNywxNjQ5OSwyODY2NCwxNjQ1MDM&feature=emb_share&v=OT-0YFGFeDU