For one, to call this show "just another sitcom" is inaccurate. This show is just as much drama as comedy. The drama is centered around addressing and resolving issues that often times plague African American society, and they do that without trying to draw you into the politics and pride that dominates most soap opera and reality show relationships.
The comedy of the show is very simple but since when does comedy have to be complex? Comedy has always had many different flavors. This is elementary comedy, but that doesn't mean that its just knock knock jokes and fart jokes. That is to say, the funny lies in the personalities and personal silliness of the characters. If you've never had a silly uncle or a silly dad then you might not "get" it and you might think its boring. But to insinuate that this show is racist just because the comedy is largely centered on "buffoonery" is to negate the elementary value of this staple of comedy, as it transcends all cultures and ages.
The show isn't just about the Paynes acting silly, its also about promoting very strong family values and it achieves it with very likable characters and family dynamics that a lot of America finds very relate- able. I'm not even of the same ethnicity of the main characters of the show, but all the characters remind me of someone in my family. That is probably not the case for a lot of people so I get that its totally OK to not like the show, but it is rather foolish to write it off as cheap racist comedy just because it has black people acting silly. Anyone of any culture can act silly, its not a negative reflection on any culture.
I like comedy from The Big Bang Theory, Everybody Loves Raymond, The Office, and this show all just the same, while recognizing and accepting that they all achieve the laughter in different ways.
In the end, if you're secure about your intelligence, like Christian values, are OK with your sitcom switching to the occasional gravely serious moments, and appreciate personalities with a strong Southern flare, you're gonna like this show.
My only real complaint is how almost all the white characters are written to be absent-minded, vain and overly-naive... that part seems kinda racist to be honest, but towards white people, not black people.
The comedy of the show is very simple but since when does comedy have to be complex? Comedy has always had many different flavors. This is elementary comedy, but that doesn't mean that its just knock knock jokes and fart jokes. That is to say, the funny lies in the personalities and personal silliness of the characters. If you've never had a silly uncle or a silly dad then you might not "get" it and you might think its boring. But to insinuate that this show is racist just because the comedy is largely centered on "buffoonery" is to negate the elementary value of this staple of comedy, as it transcends all cultures and ages.
The show isn't just about the Paynes acting silly, its also about promoting very strong family values and it achieves it with very likable characters and family dynamics that a lot of America finds very relate- able. I'm not even of the same ethnicity of the main characters of the show, but all the characters remind me of someone in my family. That is probably not the case for a lot of people so I get that its totally OK to not like the show, but it is rather foolish to write it off as cheap racist comedy just because it has black people acting silly. Anyone of any culture can act silly, its not a negative reflection on any culture.
I like comedy from The Big Bang Theory, Everybody Loves Raymond, The Office, and this show all just the same, while recognizing and accepting that they all achieve the laughter in different ways.
In the end, if you're secure about your intelligence, like Christian values, are OK with your sitcom switching to the occasional gravely serious moments, and appreciate personalities with a strong Southern flare, you're gonna like this show.
My only real complaint is how almost all the white characters are written to be absent-minded, vain and overly-naive... that part seems kinda racist to be honest, but towards white people, not black people.