Assignment One

Emari Odom
UWRT 1102
Background Information: The Cosby show is a sitcom that aired in 1984-1992. The
show focused on the everyday lives of an upper-middle-class frican merican family!
The "u#table$s! live in %roo&lyn! 'ew (or&. The family is led by the father Cliff who is a
doctor and mother Clair who is a lawyer. They are raisin) five children alon) with
displayin) the proper ways to deal with )rowin) up! relationships! chan)e! and the
challen)es that are all a part of life. The Cosby *how was brou)ht to li)ht by Tom +erner
and ,arcy Carsey in 1984-1992.
Character List The main characters of the sho!
Bill Cosby- "eathcliff -Cliff- "u#table! the father of the house. n .%/(' and 0a11
lover. The husband of Clair and son of 2ussell and nna "u#table. Cliff li&es to hold the
family to)ether with love and comedy. +hen times )et rou)h or situations are happenin)
within the family he is stern and firm with his approaches and his decisions! but he also
shows unconditional love to his family and wor&s to see smiles on their faces.
Phyllicia Rashad- Clair "u#table! the 3ueen of the house. Clair is the mother of the
"u#table house and Cliff$s wife. Clair$s lawyer s&ills help her &now when her children are
lyin) about somethin) and also help her )et to the bottom of thin)s. *he is li&e the )lue
of the family! she &eeps thin)s runnin) smoothly and ma&es sure that her children have
what they need and are headed in the ri)ht trac&. Clair is submissive to her husband but
also independent which ma&es her a well rounded woman.
Sabrina La Beauf- *ondra "u#table Tibideau# the oldest child. *ondra set the bar hi)h
for her siblin)s after she went to *pellman Colle)e and then to )raduate school. fter
)raduate school she married 4lvin Tibideau# who is &ind of a push over and very )entle
mannered. They )ot married and had a set of twins! boy and )irl named +innie and
'elson.
Lisa Bonet- 5enise "u#table 6endall the second to oldest child. 5enise is the free
spirited one out of the bunch and she has her own uni7ue style. 5enise also isn$t very
dependant and often times has to be told to do thin)s more than once before she does
them. *he attended "illman colle)e after hi)h school but while at "illman she decided
colle)e wasn$t for her so she dropped out and went to frica to wor& there. +hile she was
in frica she met ,artin 6endall who has a dau)hter names .livia 6endall. 5enise and
,artin )ot married without the family &nowin). This was rou)h at first but the family
learned to love ,artin and .livia as if they were their own blood.
Malcolm Jamal Warner- Theodore "u#table the only son out of the bunch. 5urin) the
show Theo is a )reat bi) brother to his sisters and listens to the advice of his father to
)row up and become a well rounded youn) man. Theo has some bump ups with colle)e
and it ta&es him lon)er to )et there and finished but when he does he becomes a teacher
and teaches at the student recreational center. Theo has plenty of )irlfriends but doesn$t
)et married durin) the show.
Tempestt Bledsoe- 8anessa "u#table! the second to youn)est dau)hter of the "u#table
household. 8anessa is the friend oriented! boy cra1ed! appearance based youn) lady that
tends to be very dramatic durin) situations at times. 8anessa relies on the phone the most
durin) the show to stay in contact with either her friends! or a boyfriend. *he bro&e the
most rules that her parents set for her and often would as& 2udy to lie for her. 8anessa
went to colle)e and after colle)e she )ot en)a)ed to 5abnis who she met at 9incoln
:niversity and reali1ed that she wasn$t ready to )et married later after she learned more
about 5abnis and also after he met the family.
Keshia Knight Pulliam- 2udy "u#table the baby of the family. 2udy spends most of her
appearance on the show bein) an innocent child who does normal child thin)s li&e play
with toys and be cute. ;t wasn$t until she was older and reached 1< when she started
wantin) to wear ma&eup and )o to parties. *he followed in 8anessa$s steps to a certain
e#tent. 2udy had a bestfriend named 6enny -%ud- and they had a love=hate=friend=lover
relationship that continued to )row as their characters )rew.
Ru"es and Con#entions
5urin) The Cosby show there are activities and practices that are accepted and there are
some that are not. The fi)ured world of the show connects to other communities helpin)
demonstrate why the rules are important. n e#ample a rule and convention would be
when 5enise didn$t want to )o to colle)e so she dropped and went to frica! Cousin >am
came to visit and was encoura)ed by the family to attend colle)e after hi)h school! each
e#perience durin) the show in a not so fortunate part of %roo&lyn! the characters who are
connected with the family are encoura)in) the people livin) there to become somethin)
better and strive to rise out of that bad or less fortunate place. The show doesn$t focus so
much on the rou)her parts of %roo&lyn so in the fi)ured world of The Cosby *how the
overall status would be middle class or upper middle class. The rules are that they don$t
do dru)s! are not a part of )an) violence! don$t sleep around with multiple )uys and do
conduct themselves in a respectable manner. The friends that the "u#table children have
are a reflection of themselves and therefore are )ranted permission to continue to come to
their home. Cousin >am was the perfect e#ample because she came from a less fortunate
environment and when she moved into the "u#table home she was encoura)ed to chan)e
her ways and incorporate discipline in her life and routines to become a well rounded
individual. n e#ample of how dru)s and )an) violence isn$t accepted is because her
boyfriend who seemed a little wild to Cliff and Claire had to come meet them and be
approved by them to further the relationship with >am while she lived in their home.
nother e#ample is when a mysterious 0oint ended up in Theo$s te#tboo&. They were
strict on him because that is not the way to succeed in the fi)ured world they lived in. The
plan was to )o to school! )o to colle)e! )et a 0ob! find a spouse! )et married! )et a house!
and have children. ;f they )ot out of order then it would be of best interest to )et bac&
close to the initial order as possible.
Literar$ %ractices& ways of communication! beliefs and customs of the fi)ured
world.
e'( phone calls! letters in the mail! in person communication! chores in the
household! )oin) to colle)e. The phone calls are used the ma0ority of the episodes. The
viewer has to depend on the actor in the specific scene to find out who is on the other line
or what the conversation is about most times unless what the character on the other end of
the phone is very important and re7uires detail! then we will see them in the scene also.
Artifacts& historic ob0ect or fact that is si)nificant to the fi)ured world.
e'( Cliff$s vinyl record collection! the information and memories the family has
with and at "illman Colle)e! photos on the walls! )ifts from holidays ?i.e. @ather$s 5ay!
nniversaries! etcA. The vinyl records are important because it shows Cliff$s interest and
how the music molds his character and tells his story. "e plays the records on special
occasions and as a form of therapy when life )ets rou)h. Clair loves to have her home
decorated. There were a couple episodes where Cliff and Clair! or the entire family would
attend auctions to bid on portraits or paintin)s. This symboli1es her interest and shows
that she has an artsy side that connects to her husband. "olidays are very important to the
"u#table$s because they celebrate every holiday to)ether as a family whether it be a bi)
dinner! )oin) out to a ceremony! or buyin) )ifts. Celebratin) the holidays helps &eep the
family close and )ive them all somethin) to loo& forward to doin) to)ether.
)omain& a lar)e area controlled by the same force.
e'( The "u#table house! "illman Colle)e! The )rade school Theo! 8anessa attend
and 2udy attend. The main domain is the "u#table house. ll of the family members
have to abide by the same or similar rules and have conse7uences when the rules are
bro&en.
Communit$*Communities& actors livin) in the same place who have common
characteristics
e'( *chool! The law firm! the &ids! the different sets of family friends
%ractices of the Communit$&& activities done by the actors that are common
within that community.
e'( 2udy and her friends )oin) to the cafe! Theo and his friends playin) bas&etball
Actors& participants that ma&e up the fi)ured world and play a part in the function
of it.
e'( The "u#tables! /randparents! @riends. 5urin) the episodes there are different
characters who are friends of the family that appear. They )et introduced durin) the scene
and then may reappear a few times after that episode whether it be in another episode or
random scenes post their first appearance.
O+ser#ation ,1- .eason 1- E/isode 0
2:1B- The episode opens with Cliff in his office consultin) with one of his patients who is
overdue for delivery. +hile Cliff is tal&in) to his patient! 8anessa &noc&s on his office
door. Cliff$s rule is that the children aren$t allowed to )o down to his office without prior
permission. 8anessa e#plains to Cliff that 5enise has a new boyfriend and that the reason
why he has yet to meet him is because the family feels is too hard on the )uys he is
introduced to.
C:1D- Cliff and Claire discuss how rou)h Cliff has been on 5enise$s previous boyfriends.
*he e#plains to him how he doesn$t )ive the youn) men fair chances and that maybe his
standards and e#pectations are a little ridiculous. Cliff disa)rees completely and e#plains
that he only wants the best for his dau)hters and will not settle for anythin) other than
that because he is settin) an e#ample for them.
8:EE- Cliff )oes up to 5enise$s room to tal& to her about meetin) her boyfriend -5avid.-
"e recommends that 5enise brin) him over for dinner ?this is a very important and
si)nificant bondin) e#perience for the "u#table familyA. "e a)rees to a mature dinner in
the dinin) room and to also behave.
11:12- 5avid arrives at the house for 5inner. "e comes in and is not nervous at all. 5avid
introduces himself to Cliff then proceeds to offer him his Tony Taylor record live at the
%ohemian Canvas to borrow and ma&e a copy of it. This wins Cliff over for a very short
time span. Cliff then sits down with 5avid and they listen to the record. Theo comes
downstairs and they notice 5avid$s bri)ht mi# matched soc&s which opens up 5avid$s
philosophy on life. "e was offered opportunities with ma0or ;vy 9ea)ue schools but
turned them all down because he doesn$t believe in )rades. 5avid )ets all $s but is left of
society and flows to the beat of his own drum. 5avid influences Theo 7uite 7uic&ly.
5avid continues to say that he plans to ta&e D-1E years off to -find himself- instead of
)oin) to colle)e.
1B:E1- The dinner be)ins with Cliff! Claire! 5enise and 5avid. They find out 5avid is a
ve)etarian when they reveal what meat was prepared for the meal. "e tal&s about how
5octor$s aren$t very healthy because the medical profession has done a poor 0ob to stress
the lin& between diet and health. This opens up a heated discussion between Cliff and
5avid. Claire and 5enise try to end the conversation by chan)in) the sub0ect but it
doesn$t wor&.
18:41- Claire calls Cliff into the &itchen to discuss how he feels about 5avid. Cliff thin&s
that 5avid is an -arro)ant twili)ht 1one.- Claire feels that Cliff can$t handle the
intelli)ence of 5avid.
2E:E2- 5avid challen)es Claire$s profession as an attorney. "e as&s her :"ow can you
wor& in a profession where you defend people you &now are )uilty 0ust so you can collect
your pay chec&F- Claire responds with the 14th mendment which 5avid thin&s is
typical. "e also adds that Claire she be a stay at home mom and wife. This heats Claire
up pretty 7uic&ly. Cliff calls Claire in the &itchen li&e she did him and Claire is way more
heated than Cliff was so he be)ins to tease her and add comical relief to calm her down.
21:<C- 5avid and 5enise head out to the movie they planned to see. Claire and Cliff wait
up in the livin) room for 5enise to arrive bac& from the date. +hen 5enise wal&s in she
tal&s about how they went to see a movie called South a!ota" and how they started to
ar)ue in the movies about 5avid$s views on life and women. The movie e#perience
chan)es how 5enise feels about 5avid alto)ether.
O+ser#ation ,2- .eason 2- E/isode 21
1:1C- The episode opens with Cliff helpin) 2udy learn how to ride her bi&e and Claire
sittin) on the steps. *oon a client of Cliff$s named ,rs. +estla&e who also happens to be
Theo and his best friend Coc&roach$s math teacher wal&s up. Theo and Coc&roach wal&
up and she scolds them for them for throwin) their school boo&s. 2udy comes stormin)
around the corner followed by Cliff ridin) behind her on a undersi1ed bi&e and a
confused loo& on his face. 2udy tells Claire that he let her fall. Claire 0o&in)ly entertains
2udy$s dramatics.
D:18- Cliff and ,rs. +estla&e have a meetin) in his office and he tells her that she needs
to stay off of her feet. *he doesn$t a)ree because she plans to )ive a math test to her class
the ne#t day but Cliff tells her that it is the best thin) for the baby$s health and a safe
delivery.
B:<8- 8anessa causes a scene down in the &itchen because she has her first pimple.
5enise and 2udy tease 8anessa. Claire tries to calm her down with different approaches.
5enise stops teasin) 8anessa and ta&es her upstairs to help fi# her facial problem.
8:1B- Theo and Coc&roach are in Theo$s room studyin) for their upcomin) math test.
Theo is more motivated and focused than Coc&roach and althou)h Coc&roach is
understandin) the material he decides to 7uit studyin) and )o home.
9:21- Coc&roach e#plains to Cliff how he doesn$t need math in the real world so he
doesn$t feel li&e he needs to waste his time studyin) it. Cliff e#plains to Coc&roach that if
he doesn$t &now how to count that he will in fact be bro&e.
1E:4E- ,rs. +estla&e calls the house because she be)ins to have contractions which calls
Cliff into the hospital. Theo and Coc&roach thin& they won$t have to study for the test
because ,rs. +estla&e will be out forever ta&in) care of her newborn baby and will
cancel the test.
11:D1- ,rs. +estla&e and her husband are in a waitin) room at the hospital. *he has to be
induced into labor early and her husband is more nervous than she is. Cliff tires to bribe
,rs. +estla&e to )ive Theo an and she 0o&es tellin) him -Theo will have to earn his
0ust li&e the rest of my students...with cash.-
1<:<9- Cliff is wal&in) to the steps outside of his home and finds Claire sittin) on the
steps! readin) and drin&in) tea. "e tells her that he decided to leave his car at the hospital
and wal& home. Claire points out that when he does this it usually means that he is very
happy because thin)s have )one very well. "e tells her that ,rs. +estla&e had a beautiful
baby )irl and that he had a profound moment in the delivery room. "e says -time and
time a)ain it has happened. To deliver the baby in my hands and then reali1e as ama1in)
as ; am! ;$m 0ust a helper.- Claire leans in and &isses him on his chee&.
1D:E<- Coc&roach and Theo come out to as& about the test. They both assume ,rs.
+estla&e will be out for the rest of the year and the class will be conducted by a
permanent substitute.
1D:D4- 5enise is in the livin) room! 8anessa wal&s in and tells her how )reat her pimple
cover up was at school. 5enise 0o&es and says she sees another pimple comin) in on her
nose cause 8anessa to storm up the stairs almost &noc&in) Cliff down.
1B:2C- Cliff wal&s outside to meet Claire and sees 2udy independently ridin) her bi&e up
the street. "e as&s Claire how she )ot 2udy to ride on her own and she says she told
2udy what to do and she did it after he failed with the same approach. Cliff as&s 2udy
why she couldn$t ride her bi&e when he was teachin) her and she replied with -,om$s
)ood.- 2udy tells Claire she has decided to independently ride her bi&e to the par& and
Claire e#plains to her that a rule is children must be accompanied with an adult so Claire
decides to wal& with her to the par&.
1C:4<- Theo wal&s up to tell Cliff that his day went wonderful. "e says that his class has
a substitute teacher for the rest of the year and that the math test had been postponed until
the ne#t day. s a result the &ids in the class went cra1y. "e e#plained that Coc&roach
stood up and told the class that they should be ashamed in their behavior and that they
better pull it to)ether or they would all have to answer to him. Coc&roach told the class
that they needed to )o study real hard to ma&e ,rs. +estla&e proud while she was away.
19:4D- ,rs. +estla&e and Cliff are standin) in her hospital room. "e tells the new
mommy that she can ta&e her baby home the ne#t day. "er students wal& in her room and
present her with a parallelo)ram filled with each of their si)natures. *he spo&e with the
substitute teacher the previous day on the phone and wanted to commend Coc&roach for
standin) up to the class. *he as&s him why he did it and his reply was simply -it 0ust
wasn$t you class.-
O+ser#ation ,2- .eason 2- E/isode 21
1:2D- The show opens with Theo watchin) T8 in the livin) room. Cliff comes downstairs
lettin) him &now that if he doesn$t turn the T8 off and )o upstairs to finish pac&in) that
the family will leave him in %roo&lyn.
8anessa is o the phone in the &itchen where she e#plains to one of her friends that the
family will be out of town for the wee&end at "illman Colle)e because the president is
retirin) after D< years of servin) at the colle)e and her parents are very e#cited. Cliff
wal&s in on her tellin) her friend that she will call her the entire wee&end and he 7uic&ly
shuts that down and tells her to )et her lu))a)e.
2udy wal&s in with towels! Cliff e#plains that the hotel will provide towels for them and
many more thin)s.
<:1B- Claire wal&s in the front door and tells Cliff that she pulled the car around. They
be)in &issin) and reminiscin) on their )olden years bac& at "illman and how it will be
li&e old times to wal& around campus to)ether.
4:2E- .penin) at "illman! 5enise is frantically cleanin) her room because her family has
arrived and is waitin) in the lobby for her. 5enise introduces Claire and *ondra to her
friend >hyllis and e#plains that Cliff is )ivin) Theo a tour of campus and 2udy and
8anessa were with her )randparents.
Claire finds where 5enise hid her dirty clothes and reveals that she and *ondra both did
the same thin) in colle)e so she has nothin) to be embarrassed about.
B:24- Cliff is showin) Theo one of his old classrooms. 5r. "arris his old professor wal&s
in. Theo wants to hear stories about how his dad was in class and durin) his colle)e days.
5r. "arris e#plained how Cliff would beat around the bush when answerin) 7uestions in
class but still came out as his most improved student. 5r. "arris is shoc&ed that Cliff
married the former wonderful student and class leader formally &nown as Claire "an&s.
9:4D- The family meets at the president$s house dressed formally. Cliff thin&s that the
president invited the entire family there to as& him if he would be a part of the ceremony.
5r. "eins ?the presidentA wal&s in to )reet the family and then as&s Cliff is if he would act
as the ,aster of Ceremony.
1<:EE- t the ceremony Cliff steps to the podium of the )raduation ceremony and
announces the new colle)e president. The new president )ives her acceptance speech.
*he tal&s about her doubts to compete with other ;vy 9ea)ue schools durin) her senior
year. *he e#plained how she went to 5r. "eins for )uidance! reassurance and counselin).
*he says she accepts the position to be president at "illman simply for the reason
-because it$s "illman.- Cliff introduces the choir featurin) Claire. Claire then leads the
choir in a beautiful )ospel solo.
2E:E<- Cliff introduces 5r. "eins and the auditorium applauds him before he )ives his
retirement remar&s. "e e#plains how he won$t miss "illman because he will be -han)in)
around.- "e )ives the )raduates helpful advice on empowerin) and leadin) the
)enerations to come and how to attac& the real world boldly and to always remember
where they came from.
3ock Inter#ie!
Inter#ie!er 4mari .dom
Reci/ient Cliff "u#table
What are the ma4or strugg"es $ou faced raising a "arge fami"$ in Brook"$n5
6eepin) my children on the ri)ht path. ;t was harder for Theo and 5enise because they
were my more adventurous two out of the bunch but overall with the help from Claire it
was easier than we first thou)ht. >lus we lived on 1E
th
*ti)wood ve which was a better
side of town ma&in) it easier to present a environment for them.
6o! did $ou de#e"o/ the /arenting ski""s $ou use on $our chi"dren5 Who !ere $our
inf"uences if an$5
+hen ; was )rowin) up we )ot whoopin$sG +e said yes ma$am and no sir and we were
respectful or we felt disrespect. ; believe that made me well rounded as a person alon)
with a father and my own father was such a positive stron) blac& man which made me
want to demonstrate those same traits to my son and other children.
)o the /rofessions that $ou and $our !ife C"aire ha#e make "ife easier for $ou and
$our fami"$5
(es. +e wor&ed hard for it to be that way. +e wanted a better life for our &ids but at the
same time we &now what it$s li&e to lac& some of the thin)s our &ids are blessed with and
we find ways to help them appreciate all the blessin)s )iven to them.
If $ou didn7t ha#e the 4o+ that $ou ha#e no!- !hat !ou"d $ou see $ourse"f doing as
/"an B5
; would be a 0a11 artist. Travelin) the world with the love of my life and then have a
football team of &ids to form a band li&e the Hac&son D.
)escri+e ho! $ou !ou"d hand"e a traged$ in $our home !hi"e C"aire !as a!a$(
; have parentin) s&ills of my own! Claire didn$t ma&e me the ama1in) father that ; am
todayG ?serious face followed by lau)hterA. :sually one or two of the &ids will call her
when they thin& ; don$t &now what ;$m doin) so there are very few times when ; handle
situations on my own because my &ids are snitches. 5ependin) on the situation! ; would
0ust ta&e the necessary approach to fi# it.
E'/"ain the mora"s and #a"ues $ou train $our chi"dren to ha#e(
To be )reat. To be respectul youn) adults and to carry themselves in a way that would
ma&e the world proud to have them livin) here.
What disci/"ine method !orks +est in $our househo"d5
/roundin) them. ;f they can$t )o anywhere or tal& to their friends it ma&es them feel li&e
their worlds are fallin) apart. +e are also on T8 so ; can$t Ispan&J them because that
would send out the wron) messa)e to the public and we want to &eep our 0obs.
6o! does it fee" !hen $our chi"dren "ea#e for schoo" or mo#e out and then return
home ear"ier than /"anned5
;t$s li&e a )ravitational pull on these &ids.....they 9+(* come bac&GGG 'o but really
when Claire and ; bou)ht the house we wanted to ma&e it really feel li&e home! and feel
li&e love was the cement that holds the house to)ether. +e 0o&e about how we wish they
would stay )one but ; honestly don$t &now how we would act if that happened because
we are used to them bein) here and all the many e#periences they brin) with them.
6o! has marriage im/acted and inf"uenced $our fami"$ as a !ho"e5
Claire and ; are partners in crime. +e are stron)er to)ether and us bein) to)ether )ives
our &ids the ima)e of how marria)e and bein) in love is supposed to be. ; treat Claire li&e
the 7ueen that she is and she submits to me bein) the head of the household 0ust as we
want our children to do in their homes with their spouses.
What moti#ates $ou not to gi#e u/5
,y &ids. ;f ; )ave up ; would feel li&e ; failed them. ; would feel li&e ; brou)ht them into
this world without properly trainin) them on survival and not settin) a )ood e#ample for
them. ,y wife motivates me because she believes in me and that ;$m 7ualified for the 0ob
as the coach of the family. That$s a very bi) 0ob and ; can$t 0ust )ive up on my team.
What is $our +iggest !ish for $our fami"$5
That they en0oy this life and wor& really hard. They ma&e somethin) )reat of themselves
and that they never send me to a nursin) home.
Before $ou got married- did $ou en#ision $our "ife to +e the !a$ that it turned out5
Wh$ or !h$ not5
%ac& at "illman ; &new ; would marry Claire. ; didn$t &now we would have this many
&ids but ; &new we would be married. ,y life is e#actly how it was supposed to be.