“Television Character: Archie Bunker”
by Maria Teresa De Donato
(Pictured:
Actor Carroll O’Connor as Archie Bunker)
(Photo by CBS Television, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
Dear friends, after
introducing you to the legendary Italian accountant Ugo Fantozzi, today it’s
the turn of an American who represented, for the 1970s generation, one of the
most famous American television characters: Archie Bunker (or Archibald).
Why did I choose this
character?
Because the 1970s saw
significant changes, both political and social, even here in the US, where we
witnessed the Watergate scandal in 1974, which forced then-President Richard
Nixon (Republican) to resign, as well as involvement in the Vietnam War, which
began way back in 1955, from which, due to intense pressure from its people,
the US was forced to withdraw in 1973. It was, in short, a decade of epochal
changes, here too, involving not only the government but also the American
people, which saw a growing awareness and a consequent—we might say—shift to
the left.
Archie, in his own way, is the emblem of the conservative who, remaining mired in his own convictions, fails to realize that his country is changing, just as the outlook of the people around him is changing.
What struck me the first
time I saw this series and this character in particular?
The sense of the
ridiculous, that is, the clear demonstration of how a person can be so enslaved
by their own beliefs and their BIG EGO that they fail to realize the absurdity
and illogicality of specific thoughts and behaviors. On the contrary, having an
open mind is essential to growth and advancement in one’s personal development.
This requires humility and the courage to accept the fact that none of us
possesses the absolute truth, but always only a part of it. Engaging in
introspection, sometimes even questioning our belief system, can help us
improve in life, as it is through confrontation with diversity that we progress
and enrich ourselves.
Edith: Archie’s wife
Edith is Archie’s exact
opposite, and it is precisely this contrast between opposites that becomes
irresistible. On one side, there’s Archie, who’s always sure of everything, or
rather, of his own personal beliefs. The possibility that these might be merely
the result of his perception and not reflect objective reality doesn’t even
cross his mind. He’s always right! Then there’s Edith, so pure, so naive, so “ditzy,”
as Archie calls her, who always seems to have her mind somewhere else, even
though she has her own logic and sometimes even manages to teach her husband a
few life lessons... only to immerse herself once again in her pure,
uncontaminated world...
How was the character
“Archie” born?
Archibald “Archie” Bunker
is a fictional character from the 1970s American television sitcom “My Wife and
Kids,” later titled “Archie Bunker’s Place,” played by actor Carroll O’Connor.
Archie is one of the main characters in the series. “All in the Family” debuted
on January 12, 1971, and later, in 1979, the series was renamed “Archie Bunker’s
Place” and ended definitively in 1983.
Archie, as a character,
was created by the famous American writer and screenwriter Norman Lear, born in
1922 and died in 2023. Norman admitted that, in making the character, he was
inspired by his father, Herman Lear.
Some particularly
significant episodes reveal the true nature of this character.
Archie’s true nature is
revealed in every single episode. His clichés and prejudices embrace every
aspect of life and anyone who isn’t white, born in the US, and a Republican by
political persuasion.
Fascinating and equally
entertaining are the clashes Archie has not only with Mike, but especially with
his black neighbor, Mr. Jefferson. The term “colored” is neither recognized nor
appreciated by today’s black American population, who define themselves as
either “Black” or “African-American” rather than “colored.” This latter
classification is, in fact, an insult to them, just as the adjective or noun “nigger”
has been a grave insult, punishable by civil and criminal law for years, when
used by a non-black person. Although the term “colored” was still
considered politically correct during Archie’s childhood and adolescence, by
the 1970s, when the series was airing, it had become increasingly obsolete due
to its perceived offense.
While every conversation
between Mr. Jefferson and Archie more or less ends in a solemn argument,
Jefferson’s son, Lionel, responds to Archie by following the latter’s logic. As
a result, rather than clashing with Archie, Lionel is appreciated and even
respected by him as an intelligent and well-mannered boy.
Lionel, who is also
friends with Mike and Gloria, often brings the Bunkers their clean and ironed
clothes from his family’s dry cleaners. On one such occasion, finding Archie at
home, who greets him and asks how he’s doing, Lionel kindly responds that he
wishes he had more time to exercise.
The conversation goes
something like this:
Archie: “Lionel, why
don’t you go for a run early in the morning?”
Lionel: “Mr. Bunker, I
start work at 6:30 am. What would you think if you saw a black man running in
the neighborhood at 5:30 am?” – implying that a guy like Archie might think
that being black and running at that hour, he’s doing so because he’s being
chased by the police, probably because he’s committed some crime. Lionel thus
interprets and voices Archie’s thoughts, fully grasping them, and indeed,
Archie responds with conviction:
"You’re right,
Lionel, that’s not a good idea at all.”
Of course, the only one
who doesn’t understand that Lionel’s humorous response was meant to make fun of
him is Archie, while Mike and Gloria look on in frustration at Archie’s reply to
Lionel, who instead smiles and winks at them.
Archie is also famous for
his frequent malapropisms and spoonerisms (i.e., the improper use of words that
sound similar to what one actually means).
Thus, he refers to
•
Edith’s gynecologist as an “ingroinacologist” and
•
Catholic priests who go around sprinkling “incest” (incense) on the faithful,
while he defines incest itself as “committing ‘insects’ in the family.”
Starting in the second
season of the series, these terms began to be identified as “Bunkerisms,” “Archie
Bunkerisms,” or simply “Archie-isms.”
These terms have the same
meaning and significance as those mentioned in our previous article introducing
Fantozzi. “Bunkerisms – Archie Bunkerisms or Archie-isms” are the equivalent of
the expression “Fantozziano,” applied to Archie, his quotes, jokes, improper
use of words, ways of thinking, and resulting behaviors.
Why do audiences love
this character so much?
Archie is the
quintessential symbol of the Republican veteran of 1970s America. He’s
fundamentally a good person, a family man, devoted to his wife, Edith, and
their only daughter, Gloria. At the same time, what makes this character
particularly funny is:
•
his constant jokes, revealing his bigotry and closed-mindedness to the rest of
the world, which create tension and regularly clash with the views of his
relatives, neighbors, colleagues, and supposed friends; and
•
the fact that Archie doesn’t understand the ironic or even sarcastic remarks
others make in response to his statements, which are often nonsensical and don’t
reflect reality but are merely the expression of his own perception. He
consistently thinks he’s been so clever that he has convinced others he’s
right.
One of the main
protagonists of these clashes with Archie is his son-in-law, Michael, known as
Mike, whom Archie insists on calling “a stupid Pole” (stupid Pole, being of
Polish ethnicity) and “a slob,” because in addition to sharing virtually none
of his views, Mike is a Democrat, meaning a leftist, and, unlike Archie, a
college graduate. (*)
As a boy, Archie had to forego
his academic studies to help support his family. These two factors—not having
attended college and his opposing political views—according to Edith, are the
leading causes of Archie’s resentment toward his son-in-law. Mike, however,
despite being constantly teased, ridiculed, and sometimes even insulted, always
responds politely, clashing with his father-in-law only on an intellectual
level and never on a personal one, using logic and being pragmatic. Archie, who
is intellectually and culturally below Mike’s level, regularly finds himself “defeated”
by Mike and reacts by attacking him personally.
This situation provides a
constant source of debate—and in Archie’s case—a full-blown political and
social clash, regardless of the topic of conversation.
Another detail, present
in almost every episode, is Archie’s obsession with HIS chair, which, when he’s
at home, no one else dares to sit in unless they want to be the target of his
tirades.
(*) Before
proceeding and refraining from any political judgment, I’d like to clarify
something. Although this sitcom has also been used for political purposes in
the debate between Democrats and Republicans, I believe that being a bigot
doesn’t necessarily depend on one’s political or religious affiliation, but
rather on one’s mindset, which means that anyone, in fact, could be a bigot.
Who exactly does Archie
represent?
As I’ve already
mentioned, Archie represents the typical Republican veteran of 1970s America,
firm in his convictions and unwilling to engage in discussion or negotiation,
because he assumes his view of things is always the right one.
He is intolerant toward
anyone who isn’t a Republican like himself and equally white. In effect, he
criticizes everything and everyone: blacks, Hispanics, “communists,”
Freemasons, gays, women, hippies, Jews, Asians, Catholics, “feminists,” and
Polish-Americans. All these categories become easy targets.
Archie’s main problem is
his inability to deal with a world changing before his eyes. Unaware of this
and unsure of what to do, he regularly loses patience, becomes angry, and looks
for someone to blame instead of self-analyzing and realizing that he is the root
of his problems.
It should be noted,
however, that Archie is neither evil nor malicious. His weaknesses, prejudices,
and consequent intolerant attitudes are instead the result of the era and
environment in which he grew up and was raised. Despite his limitations, he
proves to be a loving father and a faithful husband—a good man, in short—even
though he is sometimes short-tempered and at other times teases his wife Edith,
making her spin like a rag doll, especially when dinnertime approaches and
Edith, chatting with him, hasn’t set the table yet. Edith, for her part, is a
woman who, despite not being particularly intelligent or cultured, adores him
and does everything to make him happy, rather than to make him angry. Due to
her simple, sweet, polite, gentle, compassionate, empathetic, caring, and
altruistic nature, unlike Archie, Edith is universally loved.
What lesson can we learn
from the character Archie Bunker?
The greatest lesson we
can learn is the importance of living life with full awareness. Very often, the
solution to our problems is right before our eyes, because the actual cause is
ourselves. Once we realize this and change our behavior, many issues vanish.
Would a character like
this or similar be possible in an American TV series today?
I don’t think so, because
times have changed—worse, it would be more accurate to say—and in the last
decade, intolerance has reached a point where there’s no room for debate. Where
once differences of opinion were accepted, as well as respecting diversity, and
even if we disagreed with it, we debated politely and civilly; today, sadly,
all of this no longer exists and has degenerated into violence, as the daily
news continues to remind us.
(Photo:
All in the Family cast, 1976)
Actors in the photo:
Carroll O’Connor (Archie Bunker)
Jean Stapleton (Edith Bunker)
Sally Struthers (Gloria Bunker Stivic)
Robert Reiner
(Michael, “Mike”, Stivic)
.jpg)