The Roseanne Reboot Is Funny Im Not Going Tokeep Watching

First of all, I love Roxane Gay.

The author of "Bad Feminist" and "Hunger" is a vital voice on identity issues, which is no doubt why her latest essay in the New York Times — "The 'Roseanne' Reboot Is Funny. I'm not going to keep watching." — is showing up all over my Facebook feed, posted and reposted by progressive friends.

Gay, an outspoken champion of intersectional feminism, gives props to the original "Roseanne," the '80s sitcom that broke new ground in portraying working-class characters. But ultimately she rejects ABC's vaunted reboot both for the Trumpian politics of the sitcom's creator, Roseanne Barr, and because some of those views are reflected in the characters and the plot.

I agree with (almost) every word of Gay's critique. And if anyone wants to boycott "Roseanne" because of Barr's defiant public persona, or simply skip the show because it doesn't resonate with their experience of the cultural civil war we have all found ourselves in, that's perfectly fine by me. But after watching the same two episodes that Gay did, I'm going to keep watching. And I would like to tell you why.

The crux of Gay's objections (caution, mild spoiler ahead):

"I laughed, yes, and enjoyed seeing the Conner family back on my screen. My first reaction was that the show was excellent. But I could not set aside what I know of Roseanne Barr and how toxic and dangerous her current public persona is. I could not overlook how the Conner family came together to support Mark as he was bullied at school for his gender presentation, after voting for a president who actively works against the transgender community. They voted for a president who doesn't think the black life of their granddaughter matters. They act as if love can protect the most vulnerable members of their family from the repercussions of their political choices. It cannot."

For Gay, the new "Roseanne" is "normalizing Trump and his warped, harmful political ideologies." But for me, the irreconcilable differences that Gay labels "problematic pop culture" look a little bit like my own family.

Maybe because I was always a nerd on the college track, I don't think of myself as blue collar. But my grandfather's generation worked as fruit tramps — seasonal itinerant labor — and my parents had seven kids on a budget that barely supported a couple. (They divorced.)

One of the few things I bonded with my mother over was popular culture — movies and TV — and I remember how much she loved "Roseanne" when it came on the air in 1988, while I was in high school. I got the sense that Barr's onscreen persona gave voice to thoughts my mom would never dare. (Sound familiar?)

Mom is gone, so I don't have to have the burden of knowing whether her conservatism would have led her to full-blown Trumpism. (I'd like to think she would have voted for Evan McMullin.) On the other hand, when I met my father at a family reunion last year, he was wearing his MAGA gear, just as he wore his Reagan/Bush regalia when I was a kid. Does this mean I shouldn't have a civil conversation with him ... even if it drifts toward politics?

To put the icing on the cake, a few months later, Dad met his youngest great-granddaughter, who, like the "tokenized" granddaughter on "Roseanne," has one black parent. He loves her unconditionally — even when he's wearing his Trump pin. The contradictions that Gay sees onscreen play out in living rooms across the country.

Here's the truth: If you're white and fancy yourself some version of "woke," the most uncomfortable conversations you have are with loved ones who see the world differently from you.

Gay writes:

"I still believe there is room for ... having principles and enjoying things that challenge those principles. But ... I've also been thinking about accountability and the repercussions of our choices. I've been thinking about how nothing will change if we keep consuming problematic pop culture without demanding anything better."

Demanding ideological purity from our entertainment isn't going to make our lives richer. Besides, what pop culture isn't problematic? Isn't it, in fact, the very place where we work out our problems?

Reach the reporter at kerry.lengel@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4896. Follow him at facebook.com/LengelOnTheater and twitter.com/KerryLengel.

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Source: https://www.azcentral.com/story/entertainment/television/2018/04/01/roseanne-why-im-going-keep-watching-problematic-pop-culture/475149002/

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