MovieChat Forums > Mama's Family (1983) Discussion > A lot of black people seem to like this ...

A lot of black people seem to like this show ..

posted 7 years ago by RvaBread22
48 replies | jump to latest

This is not being racist. I just noticed, though, when seeing fan comments about Mama, quite a few people of the colored persuasion enjoy the show. Like with most "white bread" shows you don't see as many black people into them. But I was just wondering- is it because it reminds them of Madea? I always thought it was interesting that black audiences could relate to a show about white country folk from the Heartland of America.

"Life is like a box of Krispy Kreme donuts".

[–] tinkerbell_jonna 7 years ago

I've never noticed THAT, but I have noticed it seems like a high number of the LGBTQ community likes it... ME included.

[–] deem_bastille 7 years ago

idk about how you can tell without the posters actually saying 'I am African American...'

my avatar may be Mr Bean but that does not make me Rowan Atkinson.

Oh God. Fortune vomits on my eiderdown once more.

[–] RvaBread22 7 years ago

Well on youtube i see people's avatars and usually its a picture of the person posting.

"Life is like a box of Krispy Kreme donuts".

[–] deem_bastille 7 years ago

this is youtube?

Oh God. Fortune vomits on my eiderdown once more.

[–] maggiebret 7 years ago

How would you know they're black?

[–] ronnieccollins 7 years ago

As a black male who grew up in the rural south in the 80s, this show was very popular for those without cable tv. Shows like Mama's Family, Carol Burnett, and just about everything on MeTV was in every household. Good ol' wholesome comedy. Hell, I remember being the first in my family to discover UHF on our tv. I introduced them to a brand new network called FOX. They called it the dirty channel because of shows like Married with Children and Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling.

[–] AdrianLePier 7 years ago

This thread is callow as hell.

This is not being racist.

Racists tend to preface things with statements like that.

people of the colored persuasion

Um, what?

But I was just wondering- is it because it reminds them of Madea?

Are you serious? MF premiered in 1983 (and the Mama character was around 10 years before that.) Madea was introduced in the mid-2000s. So how could Mama remind "them" of Madea, when Mama has 30 years on Madea? I'd argue that most black people over the age of 10 probably knew Mama's Family long before they knew Madea, so if anything Madea would probably remind "them" of Mama, not the other way around.

I always thought it was interesting that black audiences could relate to a show about white country folk from the Heartland of America.

This is probably the only semi non-annoying portion of your post, but even it's shallow. But I digress. Mama is designed as a nervy, blunt, no-nonsense southern grandma, who is quick to say exactly what's on her mind. In addition to her having low tolerance for BS and her ability to effortless put out-of-line people in their place, she's also inherently wise, is at times nurturing, quasi-hip/cool, and raucously funny. So if Mama indeed has "street cred" with black folks, it's probably because she possesses certain personality traits that many can identify with. MF isn't some suburbany white-bread Mad About You, Seinfeld or How I Met Your Mother-type sitcom. It has a certain sass to it that many black people can appreciate.

How was any of this not obvious to you?

[–] Tatmanlulu_BACK 7 years ago

LOL! Well, I am a 30 year old black male and I'll admit that I was obsessed with Mama's Family all throughout my teens from 11 in 1997 and onward. Please don't make fun of me you all, but I was probably the only black teen who regularly put up my cam corder and filmed myself with an apron on as an old lady character who was like mama with my own family. My old lady character made similar smart aleck cracks and jabs at her family and had the same temper. LOL! She was a leader. Her name was Eleanor. She had a fool son Clint. And Clint's wife was ho. And then there was Hud, my girl crazy grandson. LOL!!!

LMFAO! I got my cousin obsessed with Mama's Family too. I had to heroes growing up, the WWF's Undertaker and Mama's Family's Thelma Harper.

I couldn't tell you if a lot of blacks like Mama or not because I don't get out much or know much about the demographics of this show or people's television watching habits. But I will say I have noticed the legitimacy in Tinkerbell's comment that a lot of gay people seem to gravitate towards this program. I know that based upon all the guys on YouTube who checked out Bubba back when they used to post a lot of these shows on YouTube. 90% of the comments were always guys checking out Bubba, very rarely women. LOL!

[–] anxiety attack 7 years ago

This is not being racist



[–] anxiety attack 7 years ago

You don't always have to relate to people on shows or in movies to like them. The show is funny just like Golden Girls and many other 80s sitcoms. I liked Golden Girls and I was only a little girl when it came out. I didn't have to be middleaged white woman to like it

[–] BoyWiththeGreenHair 7 years ago

I feel like this show in general has been making a comeback in recent years. I remember reruns were on TBS in the early 2000s and I was the only one in my area who seemed to find it funny. I notice its been attracting a wider following among a diverse group of people, including Millennials.

I don't know about its attracting a wide audience among black viewers (I agree the OP sounds sketchy as hell and reeks of trolling), but it wouldn't surprise me. I notice that similar Southern-based shows - with the similar "sass" as one post described it - like Reba, Roseanne, and The Beverly Hillbillies have attracted a popular following with black audiences, particularly in the South.

The big shock of the four would be the Hillbillies, though, especially given Granny's virulent unapologetic support for the Confederacy, but the Clampetts' family dynamic was just so "relatable" they almost seemed to transcend "race" in the sense that they were "that popular" with Americans. I imagine Mama's Family may go the same way for a lot of viewers. Thelma and Granny almost seemed like spiritual ancestors to Tyler Perry's Madea.

The gay following wouldn't surprise me either given the popularity Hillbillies and Golden Girls have attained with gay audiences based on Irene Ryan's and Estelle Getty's similar "semi-drag" routines (masquerading as much older women with the makeup and wigs). And Thelma was a "full-figured" woman as opposed to the spritely Granny or Sophia (or the Nanny's Yetta), which sets her apart.

[–] RvaBread22 7 years ago

Um, well only if you believe in the war was fought over slavery-myth. The Confederates were just defending their homes against Federal terrorists. Blacks were loyal to the South as well and fought and died for it.

"Life is like a box of Krispy Kreme donuts".