@maxleibman @RickiTarr
Not sure this is as germane as I think it to be, but this brought #ArchieBunker to mind. Also #NormanLear & #MelBrooks
Performed &/or wrote racist lines, & some were snickered at by racists while others *got* the point of the satire.
To me it matters not only that they said/wrote these things, but also why. And did they have a net positive effect?
From Seinfeld to Shawshank, Rob Reiner changed Hollywood for ever – Movies – The Guardian
From Seinfeld to Shawshank, Rob Reiner changed Hollywood for ever
Reiner’s own films reshaped modern comedy and drama with their intelligence, empathy and range. But through his company, Castle Rock, he paved the way for Seinfeld, Sorkin and many more…
By Andrew Pulver, Mon 15 Dec 2025 08.29 EST
As a film-maker, Rob Reiner championed humour, civility and intelligence – qualities you suppose would be out of step with the Hollywood of the 1980s where he made his name, and in the 1990s where he scored a series of extraordinary, far-reaching successes. Reiner had a family interest in the workings of on-screen comedy: his father Carl had played a key role on Sid Caesar’s TV shows, which themselves were revolutionary, and helped birth a new generation of screen comics by directing Steve Martin’s film debut The Jerk. Rob had become a household name as Meathead, the liberal foil to Carroll O’Connor’s bigoted Archie Bunker in 70s sitcom All in the Family (the equivalent to Mike Rawlins v Warren Mitchell in the British original, Till Death Us Do Part). But it was as a director and producer that he really made his impact felt.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ul-FKLl_K7s
In 1984, Reiner released This Is Spinal Tap, a “mockumentary” about a fictitious heavy metal band from the UK that rewrote the rules on what comedy could do. It sent up rock’n’roll behaviour and codified its cliches (with Reiner himself doing a hilarious parody of Martin Scorsese’s hosting role in The Last Waltz) and gave us zingers that haven’t lost their comedy power more than 30 years on: “The numbers all go to 11”, “it’s such a fine line between stupid, and er … clever.” Its deployment of improvised comedy was revolutionary for a Hollywood feature, and while Reiner wasn’t the first to use the fake-documentary techniques for comedic purposes (that goes back at least to Woody Allen’s Take the Money and Run), it hugely popularised the mockumentary style; subsequent efforts include Bob Roberts, Fear of a Black Hat, Drop Dead Gorgeous and Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. All these owe Tap a huge debt – as well as the microgenre of star Christopher Guest’s improv-mockumentaries: Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show and A Mighty Wind. Almost incidentally, Spinal Tap became a sort-of-real band, with tours, record releases and a follow-up feature (Spinal Tap II: The End Continues), in which the presence of music industry titans Paul McCartney and Elton John demonstrated the high regard in which the original was held.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_lEs4FYkhs
Rob Reiner directing When Harry Met Sally in 1989. Photograph: Allstar Picture Library / AlamyContinue/Read Original Article: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/dec/15/rob-reiner-director-this-is-spinal-tap-when-harry-met-sally
#Actor #ArchieBunker #CastleRock #Director #Hollywood #Meathead #MichelleReiner #ModernComedy #ModernDrama #Movies #RobReiner #Seinfeld #Shawshank #SidCaeasar #TheGuardian #ThisIsSpinalTap #WhenHarryMetSally
#RobReiner initially rose to fame playing Meathead, #ArchieBunker’s son-in-law, on the sitcom “All in the Family” in the 1970s. He then went on to become a remarkably versatile director and a force in California and national Democratic politics.
Reiner was the son of a pioneering television comedian who became a popular sitcom actor himself before directing a slate of beloved films including “This Is Spinal Tap,” “When Harry Met Sally …” and “The Princess Bride.”
“Those were the days…” 🎶
Revisit Carroll O’Connor’s reflections on playing Archie Bunker in All in the Family — and how this iconic role changed TV forever. Dive into the behind‑the‑scenes battles that shaped one of television’s most unforgettable characters.
#CarrollOConnor #ArchieBunker #AllInTheFamily #CarrollOConnorArchieBunker #ClassicTV #NormanLear #TVHistory #1970sSitcoms #TelevisionIcons #BehindTheScenesAllInTheFamily
Fans Missing the Point ⋆ Atomic Junk Shop
"You can still have the pulp escapism without abandoning social responsibility. And if Punisher fans, to say nothing of racist cops, don’t get it after that scene, it’s definitely on them."
5 years since this article, and so many of them still don't get it...
#fandom #satire #comics #tv #movies #ThePunisher #BladeRunner #ArchieBunker #StarTrek #Watchmen #books #StephenKing #JamesBond
Racists and bigots are generally angry, broken and insecure people which is why they're so miserable.
Often they're only happy when they're expressing their own familiar brand of hate. It's the only thing that gives them satisfaction.
Ask Carol O'Connor who played the famous racist and bigot, Archie Bunker, in the 70s sitcom All in the Family.
Archie Bunker: Too woke for today's Republican Party.
Via Xitter/ @ThorntonMcEnery
#HalfHeartedFanatic #KamalaHarris #Harris2024 #KHive #Election #Democrats #Democrat #GOP #Trump #TrumpLost #TrumpIsAFelon #TrumpForPrison #Republican #PutinsPuppet #NoTrump #NeverTrump #LockHimUp #AntiTrump #AntiGOP #Republicans #TrumpVance2024 #JDVance #MAGA #MAGAts #Racism #Racist #ArchieBunker #AllInTheFamily
Me when someone tells me that his or her kid has a gaming computer:
https://i.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExbzd4cGZiN2NqeWFscHg4bnNrbHQyaDhkMnMyNXl1eWFtYjQycTRodCZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfYnlfaWQmY3Q9Zw/7w6M4H7CdrHXI9agqM/giphy.gif
Gay Curmudgeon
Lord Kelvin
DrWeb
Nonilex
Hollywood Outbreak
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