Class issues in U.S. television
The issue of class--lower, middle, working, whatever--went around in several blogs a few weeks back, and I wound up thinking about how "lower class" or "working class" characters are depicted in some shows. (Married With Children, Roseanne, What's Happening.) It was pointed out to me that you can't really expect realism from a sitcom; they're not supposed to be accurate and meaningful--they're supposed to be funny.
Okay, that's a good point. So how about the shows about lower-class main characters that aren't sitcoms?
Erm...
Ahh...
Yeah, how 'bout those shows?
Okay, let's make it a game. The rules are: Name a show, or if we're really lucky, some shows, that are centered around lower-class or working-class characters, and are not sitcoms.
In case anyone's not sure what lower-class/working class is (because it's a blurry topic, especially in the US), we'll start with exclusions. Lower-class characters are NOT:
Doctors, or any trained medical personnel.
Lawyers, or anyone attending law school.
Anyone attending college (exceptions are possible, but I don't believe there are any TV shows, current or past, about lower-class characters in college).
Anyone working in an office on a salary instead of hourly wage.
Cops. (Not that cops can't be lower-class characters, but that they exist in a very special and privileged social niche, and shows about cops are not shows about lower-class lifestyle.)
Anyone with a 6-digit income.
TV shows only. No movies. There are movies about everything; the question isn't "have lower class characters ever been depicted accurately by Hollywood?" but "is Hollywood willing to show lower-class characters on a regular basis?" Movies are one-shots; there isn't any "gee, how does that affect them next week?" to deal with.
There's also some question about what a "sitcom" is, because some shows try to blur the line between comedy and drama. Deciding factor: If there's a laugh track or audience laughter, it's a sitcom. "All in the Family," no matter how touching and accurate, is a sitcom... it's meant for non-lower-class audiences to be able to laugh it off, not make them think, "damn, that's a hard way to live."
A few possibilities have been mentioned: Eastenders, about which I know nothing; I live on the wrong continent. Room 222, a show from the early 70's, about (at the time) relevant and important political issues. Billed as comedy-drama by the network. The Bill Cosby Show, 1969-71, about which my husband remembers little; apparently also pushed as comedy-drama, possibly without a laugh track. (Wikipedia calls it a sitcom.) ETA: this is not the same as the "Cosby Show" of the 80's. That one was about a family of doctors; this one's about a high-school PE teacher. Heroes is possible: several prominent characters are lower/working-class. Of course, they all have superpowers. Hm.
There's a few others, mostly mysteries, or with fantasy elements. There's a part of me that thinks "ah, Hollywood only deals with poor people as subjects of humor or horror."
Supernatural, of which I have seen exactly one half an episode; other people will have to tell me if it's accurately a "lower class" show. Kolchack: The Night Stalker from 1974; a reporter who keeps getting caught up in X-files-esque stories. Snoop Sisters, 1974: mystery show Rockford Files, about a private investigator. I've been told there are couple of other "investigator/mystery" shows that are possibilities.
Then we get a handful of "hillbilly/outback" shows, about families away from The Comforts Of Civilization: The Waltons Little House on the Prarie (although it's worth noting, they're not exactly "lower class" in their setting, but they are in comparison to NY of the time) Lassie
Outright sci-fi & fantasy don't count: Firefly, whatever class its characters are, was created as a showcase for those characters, rather than reflecting an existing world. Red Dwarf, ditto: while Lister is certainly working/lower-class, the show has nothing to do with "his life as a lower-class character." (Also, sitcom.) Ditto American cartoons. Anime is negotiable, although someone who's not me will have to do the negotiating. Period pieces: the focus must be about lower-class characters in that setting; Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman is NOT a lower-class character.
Lists of lower-class characters in other shows are also welcome, but a separate issue. I'm looking for shows focused around lower or working-class lifestyles.
From what I've sorted out so far, the possibilities are: Investigators, preferably of Weird Stuff, because investigating family disputes in ghettos is not good TV, People so poor that their life conditions might as well be another country, Teachers. People with Exotic Powers.
No serious tv shows about bus drivers, janitors, construction workers, women's shelters, homeless people of any sort. No TV serial version of Do The Right Thing, The Public Eye, Billy Jack (or modernized version thereof), Chocolat (although I assume if it were serialized, they'd try hard to drop the "river pirates" to occasional characters, and tone down Vien's lower-class mixed-race background), Across the Universe, Malcolm X.
There's no shortage of lower- and working-class characters, situations, and concepts that good TV could be built around... so why hasn't it? There's modern, historical, and fantastic settings possible; there are gritty, abstract, or political possibilities--why do they get overlooked when the studios plan the new seasons? Are mysteries and "way out in the boonies" the only blue-collar situations worth exploring?