Rant #1,568: Groundbreaking Television (Sort Of)

Last night, December 9, 2015, was a night of groundbreaking television.

Sure, it was slight, but like Neil Armstrong once said, "A small step for man, a giant leap for mankind."

Well, sort of.

Last night, ABC TV's popular sitcom, "The Goldbergs," finally admitted the obvious. After nearly three seasons on the air, they finally had a holiday show, and yes, THEY FINALLY ADMITTED THAT THE GOLDBERGS ARE A JEWISH FAMILY.

Yes, I put that proclamation in caps, because it is important, whether people realize it or not.

Television in 2015 is a spectrum that is as inclusive as it can possibly be, PC correct above anything else.

We have shows featuring every color imaginable in the human spectrum, we have shows featuring gay and transsexual characters ... American TV is like a United Nations of entertainment.

But sadly, as has been the case for ages, television is lacking in Jewish characters that can be believed, that are not merely there as plot devices as the Wolowitz character is on "Big Bang Theory," or exist only to further a storyline as part of an intermarriage or interfaith arc.

Yes, Jewish families have starred in TV sitcoms before--certainly the original "The Goldbergs" in the late 1940s and early 1950s was the true groundbreaker, and even more recent outings, like the late and still lamented "Brooklyn Bridge" had starring characters who were Jewish.

On the other shows, the implication was that the starring characters were Jewish, but it was never actually said, such as on "Seinfeld."

But finally, in late 2015, we have a supposedly "normal" TV sitcom family that is Jewish.

Bravo, it is about time.

But that declaration isn't without problems.

When I heard that "The Goldbergs" was finally going to declare what everyone probably knew--heck, you really cannot be a "Goldberg" without being Jewish, Whoopi notwithstanding--I wrote this on Facebook, not only on Facebook, but also on the TV show's official site.

Please read it slowly, because there is a lot in here to digest:

"'The Goldbergs' sitcom on ABC has always riled me, because it does not come out and say that it is about a Jewish family--what are the producers and ABC hiding?
The show has never had a proper end of the year holiday episode, you never hear any mention of the family's Jewishness mentioned, and it appears that they are hiding something, or told not to discuss it within the context of the show's storylines.
I discovered that this very subject came up in 2014, at the Television Critics Press Tour. Here is what was said:
"Jumping off that, one critic asked why The Goldbergs—last year’s sitcom about a family in the ’80s—wasn’t more specific in being about a Jewish family. “I think Black-ish will mention the word ‘bar mitzvah’ before The Goldbergs does,” quipped the reporter.
“I don’t think there’s anybody in the country who watches The Goldbergs who doesn’t think it’s a show about a Jewish family; I think it’s pretty explicit,” ABC Chief Paul Lee responded. “We have so much support and respect for [creator] Adam [Goldberg]. Boy, does he have a fantastic comedic attack on the family he came up with, which is a pretty reform Jewish family. So when he’s ready to tell that story he’ll tell that story. I’m 1000 percent supportive of him. We’re not going to push him towards it, we’re not going to stop him telling it… It’s Adam’s show and that’s why it’s so good.”
Sorry, not good enough in my eyes.
With television reflecting the diversity of the times--shows have black characters, Asian characters, gay characters, transgender characters, and, of course, plenty of intermarriages--it appears that "The Goldbergs" may be missing an opportunity to entertain and educate people at the same time, just like many of the shows featuring the above-named characters do.
What does a Jewish family do at holiday time? What is Hanukkah? Sure, many of us know the answers to these very basic questions, but when was the last time a Jewish family was portrayed on television as the centerpiece of a show?
Not in decades. And for those who don't know anything about the Jewish experience, a popular show like "The Goldbergs" can teach and open up people's eyes, in its own way.
Tonight's episode might be their best opportunity to do this. It is the show's first holiday episode--in its third season, mind you--and the storyline has something to do with the creation by the family of "Super Hanukkah."
I don't have my hopes up too high for this--will the meaning of Hanukkah be diluted by mixing the holiday celebration with that of Christmas?--and that is not knocking Christmas on my part, by the way, but the two holidays are separate, having nothing to do with each other--but I anxiously await how the half-hour show handles the holiday for the first time.
Yes, only 2 percent of U.S. citizens are Jewish, but certainly in these times of rising anti-Semitism, even a show as benign as "The Goldbergs" has the opportunity to show that Jews aren't really any different from anyone else.
This is a very controversial subject I have brought up here--the responses over the years on Facebook and just through casual conversation have proven to me that it is so--but quite honestly, in the 21st Century, the year 2015, isn't it about time that American television dealt with an everyday Jewish family in the right way, much like it handles other ethnics on the airwaves?
I will give it a look tonight, but again, I am expecting the worst--but I really, really want to be surprised."

Well, I kind of was last night, and on the other hand, I kind of was not.

Right at the get go, the show dived into the holiday spirit, proclaiming that the family was Jewish and that they celebrated Hanukkah. That was all fine and good.

But Hanukkah was portrayed as a boring, colorless holiday, one without sense, one that the family did not look forward to, because of its blandness--in particular in comparison with Christmas.

Not a menorah or dreidel was to be found on the episode, but new underwear was. The kids found the holiday boring because they always got presents they didn't need--like the new underwear--and well, the family's matriarch found it unexciting, because she couldn't get her family all wound up in the zest of the season.

This situation was never resolved in the half hour, and that was really a missed opportunity, because the eight day celebration is known as "The Festival of Lights," and it was portrayed as anything but--it was portrayed as a poor, Jewish substitute for Christmas, which it clearly isn't.

The Goldbergs goes over to their neighbors, who celebrate Christmas, and the festivity, color and lights are all there, as is the family camaraderie that Mrs. Goldberg feels is lacking in her house.

So she decides to created what she calls "Super Hanukkah," which is basically Christmas with a mild hint of Hanukkah. Everything revolves around the sort of "Jewishification" of Christmas sites and sounds, whether it is the requisite "Hanukkah Bush" or the stringing up of lights around the house, both inside and out.

And Mrs. Goldberg even makes up phony traditions to enrapture her unknowing neighbors, so as to cement what her own family is doing as celebrating a holiday of tradition, even though it is only a creation that is one or two days old.

And yes, the kids get exactly what they want for presents, which, or course, they never got when they celebrated simply Hanukkah.

The grandfather, deftly played by George Segal, comes to the house, and is aghast at what he sees. He asks about where the family's own traditions and own history went. He later makes sure the family remembers where they came from by later visiting as sort of an "anti-Santa," bringing up reasons why the family's traditions should continue.

Finally, Mrs. Goldberg does see the error of her ways, and declares that "Super Hanukkah" was a bust and is over in their household.

Mrs. Goldberg and her father, the grandfather of the family, then have a poignant moment with a locket featuring a photo of her as a child with her deceased mother. When was the photo in the locket taken? On her first Hanukkah when she was a baby, of course. It all comes together for her there, and she embraces her father, finally understanding that tradition is important.

She then sees her friend across the street, and learns that their Christmas has turned into a disaster. Everything has gone awry, and what does the good Jewish family do? They take their friends out for Chinese food for Christmas, how many Jews have "celebrated" Christmas for generations.

So, all in all, I guess "The Goldbergs" hit the mark last night. It set out with what it wanted to do, in a somewhat subtle way. The show was dedicated to the real family that series creator Adam Goldberg lived next to as a child.

However, while I guess it successfully hit the mark in what it wanted to do and convey, it never resolved the original "boring Hanukkah" question, pretty much laying out the holiday as eight days of torture for those participating.

I personally found that kind of offensive.

But it also brought up another important theme, that for some reason, Jews always want to be what they aren't. And it goes beyond having kinky hair as opposed to straight hair. So many Jews have this amazing need to be accepted by others, and they get engulfed in this need, in particular during the end of year holidays, and forget who they really are.

Thus the "Hanukkah bushes," thus the "Hanukkah stockings," etc.

Happily, the grandfather character on the show put that all into the proper perspective. I guess I can say that I was properly satisfied with the resolution of this conflict on the sitcom.

Back to Facebook ... when I put the above post up on the site, it was Jews who got all enraged. Non-Jews who knew little or nothing about the Jewish religion really wanted to learn something from last night's program, but Jews, well, we Jews are really and truly an odd lot, and I know I am going to hear from some people today about my post, probably in a somewhat negative light.

But non-Jews pretty much accepted what I said; Jews took issue with it.

That is all fine and good. Everybody has their own opinion, and that is what we are here to do, to listen to others and what they believe and then sort it out for ourselves.

But as a Jew myself, my brethren are often ferklempt about certain matters, and it isn't any different in 2015 related to Hanukkah.

So be it.