海角大神

In his 90s, Norman Lear is still in plain view. The legendary television producer, who at the height of his career had six shows in the Nielsen Top 10, recently published an autobiography, 鈥淓ven This I Get to Experience,鈥� and is now the subject of the documentary 鈥淣orman Lear: Just Another Version of You.鈥澛�

Co-directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, the film comes across as a testimonial to an icon who, under the camouflage of comedy, and battling censors every step of the way, supposedly brought straight talk about racism and bigotry into America鈥檚 living rooms every week.听

Lear鈥檚 string of TV successes kicked off in 1971 with 鈥淎ll in the Family,鈥� followed by such shows as 鈥淢aude,鈥� 鈥淕ood Times,鈥� and 鈥淭he Jeffersons,鈥� but it was 鈥淎ll in the Family鈥� that served as the template for his comedy empire: Leave 鈥檈m laughing, but also leave 鈥檈m thinking.

In our current entertainment era 鈥� which, alas, is fused with our political era 鈥� outrage and (supposed) boundary-breaking are the currency of the realm. In 鈥淛ust Another Version of You,鈥� the point is made by a succession of talking heads, including Lena Dunham and Jon Stewart, that Lear was TV鈥檚 original agent provocateur.听

But just how provocative were Lear鈥檚 provocations?聽

鈥淎ll in the Family,鈥� for example, which ran for nine high-rated seasons, showcased Carroll O鈥機onnor鈥檚 Archie Bunker, the loudmouthed bigot, but his rants were fairly tame even for that time (if not for what was seen on TV at that time). This was a generation, after all, still caught up in race riots and Vietnam.听

What Lear did was to package incendiary material within the comfy confines of sitcom land. Archie never truly rages against gay people and black people. (Tellingly, he never uses the N-word.) What Lear did in TV shows was similar, though in a comedic vein, to what director Stanley Kramer did in films like 鈥淕uess Who鈥檚 Coming to Dinner鈥�: tenderize socially charged material for mass consumption. The ploy was canny and commercially successful. Viewers of 鈥淎ll in the Family鈥� could have a good laugh and still feel virtuous for having received a valuable civics lesson.

O鈥機onnor was a marvelous actor, and he certainly could have taken Archie into darker realms if Lear had given him license to do so. But the whole point of sitcoms is that no crisis is ever so critical that it can鈥檛 be resolved by the episode鈥檚 fadeout. If, on 鈥淭he Dick Van Dyke Show,鈥� Rob Petrie had walked into his home one day and announced to his wife, Laura, that he was having an affair and wanted a divorce, the entire edifice of the show would have collapsed. And if Archie had taken a swing at a black man, or at Edith, the show would have ended. He would no longer be a lovable bigot (an appellation O鈥機onnor detested).听

鈥淛ust Another Version of You鈥� doesn鈥檛 dwell on the critical blowback 鈥淎ll in the Family鈥� received from the liberal media 鈥� such as John Leonard鈥檚 over-the-top attack in 鈥淟ife鈥� magazine: 鈥淲hy review a wretched program? Well, why vacuum the living room or fix the septic tank?鈥� The film focuses primarily on how Lear was targeted by the likes of Jerry Falwell and the Moral Majority, especially after he formed his 鈥淧eople For the American Way鈥� political organization.听

Lear鈥檚 point of contention with the evangelical right was that, essentially, he didn鈥檛 believe you should use religion to tell people how to vote. And yet, one could argue that Lear鈥檚 TV 鈥渕ission鈥� was basically of the same stripe. He believed he was using the religion of TV to reform viewers by waking them up to their prejudices 鈥� although, in the case of 鈥淎ll in the Family,鈥� it may have unwittingly reinforced some of those prejudices among viewers who identified with Archie.听

If there is a legacy of anger, righteous or otherwise, in today鈥檚 television, I doubt it owes much to shows like 鈥淎ll in the Family.鈥� The anger in that show was faux anger. There鈥檚 certainly a place for that 鈥� without it we wouldn鈥檛 have, for starters, 鈥淪einfeld鈥� or 鈥淐urb Your Enthusiasm.鈥澛�

But if there is an inkling of genuine rage in television now, it is not in the comedic realm but in the dramatic realm 鈥� and, not surprisingly, in the long-form dramatic realm, where conflicts aren鈥檛 neatly beribboned at each episode鈥檚 end. Lear is responsible for many things, but without 鈥淎ll in the Family,鈥� we would still have had 鈥淩oots,鈥� 鈥淭he Sopranos,鈥澛� 鈥淕ame of Thrones,鈥� and all the rest.听

Lear was a TV pathfinder, all right, but his path is carpeted with rose petals. Grade: B- (This movie is not rated.)