Vision Series, All in the Family, One Might Stimuli to Which He Must Respond

FREE INQUIRY In Creative Sociology Volume 9, No 2 November 1981 149 NORMALIZATION OF THE BIGOT: THE CASE OF ARCHIE BUNKER Marilyn Ray Raney, University of Alabama, Birmingham EXPLAINING PREJUDICE for him, and through his own selective In our society, prejudiced attitudes are perception, his beliefs were validated. widespread. In certain regions and subcul He saw only what he wanted to see, based tures in the United States, it has become on his internalized conceptions. This theory institutional, informally through verbal is at least partly supported. cliches, and formally in organizations such as Another theory on a societal level involves the Ku Klux Klan. Some people, however, the use of prejudice to maintain dominance regard prejudice as bad, wrong, and deviant, and power of one group over another. and as unjust to its victims. Psychologists Because we live in a fairly competitive have offered explanations for prejudice such society, with competition for jobs and social as: 1) Scapegoat theory, which takes the and economic resources, prejudice toward a frustration or inability to achieve as due to group may permit the dominant group to another, as the lIcausell of the problem; 2) maintain control. The use of stereotypes and Projection theory, which refers to the assign cliches helps to promote a derogatory image ing to others the characteristics of oneself of those groups, thereby making the domin ll that cannot be acknowledged, with condem ators seem IIbetter than their victims. nation of the others for. having such unac For Archie, this means that since he must ceptable characteristics; 3) Authoritarian compete with black people on the job, by personality theory, which held that a high ridiculing them he maintains a relatively score on an authoritarian-personality scale higher social rank where he works on the could measure prejudice (DeFleur et al1971 loading dock. In a historical sense, this 339). Such theories may be valid for indivi theory holds true with racial slurs about duals, but they do not appear adequate to black people in the South, but it fails to explain bigotry on abroad scale. Because explain why all white males do not hold bigotry is so pervasive, it seems to be a these attitudes toward all black males. normal attitude. Here we will examine the normalization of the bigot (Wilson & Collins PHENOMENOLOGICAL THEORY 1979). According to phenomenological theory, individuals create their prejudices through SOCIOLOGICAL EXPLANATIONS their individual perceptions of the world Most sociological theor.ies about prejudice (Wrightsman 1977 336). In order.for Archie include some mention of socialization pro to cope with the complex world, he creates cesses. An individual learns either the norms prejudicial attitudes that enable him to to be prejudiced or the norms to avoid reject whole groups of people"and thereby prejudice thro,ugh the process of differen make life simpler for himself. His responses tial association. This concept assumes that become simplified, and do not require the individual has internalized those preju reinterpretation for individuals. This theory dices which thus become part of the person is consistent for Archie, Who is poorly ality structure (Frazier 1976 12). This has educated, and who appears to have trouble been used mainly to describe criminal coping with social change. He constructs his deviance, but can well be applied to bigotry. own reality, which is less difficult to deal In the case of Archie Bunker, in the tele with because he has reduced the number of vision series, All in the Family, one might stimuli to which he must respond. This speculate that during Archie's childhood, theory is more broadly applicable than those those who were significant-others to him cited above. It is also a deterministic explan held highly prejudicial attitudes. At least ation because it relies on the Iife-h istory during the first few years of the television model. Archie's beliefs and attitudes develop series, Archie seemed to maintain these from the social categories to which he beliefs in spite, of overwhelming evidence belongs. This enables him either to have against them. He did, this because it worked or to avoid certain experiences which give FREE INQUIRY In Creative Sociology. Volume 9, No 2 November 1981 150 him the framework for his beliefs. Archie's that prior attitudes will predict attitudes framework is simple: good-bad; black about the program, and a selective-exposure white. It eases tension for him and allows hypothesis that viewers select programs that him to be confident of where he stands in reinforce th'ir attitudes. relation to others. Archie may be seen as similar to the pre The use of stereotypes in language serves judiced view,r, and may be liked by him. to objectify and reify Archie'sworlP.• I~'~~~ . \\~ isa considerable body of evidence in keeping the number of categor~~'li ~,;a person is influenced by a persuasive and in typing people to fit those.cat~i~~ ""~tothe extent that he perceives it as (Berger & Luckman 1967 30). This ""fi<ll" ~ingfrom a source similar to himself. tion of the bigot's outlook in tht~F~f ~~bIY the receiver, to the extent that language is the focus of the televisio~,~~ ~'~ceives the source to be like himself il'l All in the Family. Within his farnil",\~~. diver. ~aracteristics, assumes that· they acts, and is reacted to by me_t$':c:rf~ II~share common needs and goals; The family in such a way that he alw.ys}'""i"s~· rbivsr might therefore conclude that what the argument, or believes that hehas~~y tbesource is urging is good for 'our kind of virtue of his authority. He is anexarnpl.·of ......pte,'and thus change his attitude accord- the bigot-in-action. 1..1'1." (McGuire 1969 187) By the per~ tiO" of Archie as a credible source, .his THE NORMALIZATION PROCESS attitudes' are further normalized to the view.. How is the bigot norrnalized .~~,~~ ing fatJd'ence (Miller 1966; Powell 1962). Archie? Extensive studies h.ve.~ l'~factthat Archie is portrayed as a IovalJ/8 viewers' reactions to Archie thro .. bJ!1Ot .eondones his behavior. It has also be.sn sures of their level of prejudice.'t "YlJotbesized that the lovable qualityen••s Giesbrecht 1976; Chapko & Lewis~~~'~ vieW8rsto model their behaviors after those Meyer 1976; Surlin & Tate 197.;':r..'81 of Archie' (Hano 1972). Those who condet'flA Surlin 1976; Vidman & ROke~F;'l~~!i him believe that by making bigotry llrespec Wilhoit & deBrock 1976). Norrnal'lll.'''~''''. table,eute, a joke, and an in-thing,1I we are producer of the program, takes thea incarnathlg every evil ($tein1974 3(0). that viewers will see the stupidltv l!)t~rs claim that by portraying him 'as character of Archie, and thusr~tti.ir lovable, the show is not only condoning bUt prejudice from exposure to tl:J"P.~ttl: encouraging bigotry (Hobson 1971). Lear's argument is that by addi""~~~\~ bigotry, tension is reduced andPre~_'is ,",~LllATION-RESEARCH FINDINGS reduced; and that by pokingfoA TO"jtJdgethe effects of Archie on the It is brought out into the open, 1tVf't~ ~!el~ionprocess, Meyer studied childreo. the viewer insight which will e"'lJ.et!im~. ~&to 10. He found that at least on a . reduce his own prejudices. Butttie" exposure, such as Viewing a'· SiA~ points in the opposite direction.Ttwe .'tM show did not affect modeling may actually have reinforced" rThlf children brought withttwefli Vidmar & Rokeach (1974 44)'f~unct~~ prt0t;eategorie$ of race and soci~~ "prejudiced persons identify 'nlC)t'(li;'~ ~\.l$,WhiCh are the most powerfUl dlscr~ Archie, perceive Archie as maki~F\~ i:-tlK's. Role stereotypes emerged 8$' sense .than Mike, his opposingsa"",...<,"v't ~i"aFlt ·factor in what the childrenre and ·.perceive Archie as winning; •• ~ I'mtmberedfrom the program (Meyer 1976). Who liked Archie reported he isd0Wl'l"1O" However, only a longitudinal study coulli earth, honest, hard-working, predlctabte, determine the modeling of bigotry ovet and kind enough to allow his daughter and time. so.n-in-Iaw to live with him".. Theyft>ijnd $lIrlin found that the type of individual that regular viewers are more Iikely.tOFbe ..agrted with Archie was highly dOgrnatk1, highly prejudiced, identify with Archie, of low educational level, low-status.~ 8rldcondone his racial and ethnicslurs;Thi's ti~n,.low income,· and middle-ag!I(t~r~\j supPorted a selective-perceptionhYf,'lC)the$is ~se who are closed-mindedatsofotlMBit FREE INQUIRY In Creative Sociology Volume 9, No 2 November 1981 151 harder to see humor in the character than could I say "No"] open-minded individuals (Surlin & Tate Archie: This way, Edith, "Nol" But 1976). The closed-minded did not see the maybe that's too much for you. It's got a fallacies in Archie's logic. Archie is better whole syllableI liked by high authoritarians than by low Further, Archie affirms his belief that he authoritarians (Chapko & Lewis 1975). is a "decent" person, but usually for the Bigotry is made real through Archie. "In wrong reasons. He moralizes. on topics other a sense, All in the Family is a projective than those directly related to himself. For test: one sees and doesn't see in Archie, in instance, he does not attack men who spend other members of the cast, and in the their time at the local. bar·-as he, himself, dynamics, what one chooses to attend and frequently does--as being immoral in any not to attend. Those who identify with way. But behavior in which he does not Archie see themselves, their hopes, their engage is immoral. This neutralizes the fears, their plight, and their ambivalence verbal attack. In this example he appeals to a mirrored in him.

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