It’s only natural for people to want to see themselves in television characters. Why else would we all spend hours taking personality quizzes that brag they can accurately deduce which sitcom character you’re most like?
We’re constantly searching for validation that we’re not alone in this world, and finding friends on television that we feel are a kindred spirit is just one way to do that. But sometimes, what you recognize in yourself can be unfamiliar and shocking.
According to an interview with The Star-Phoenix, Jean Stapleton, better known as Edith Bunker, revealed that she had gotten a letter from an All in the Family viewer whose husband found that some of the characters hit a little too close to home.
Stapleton said, “One woman wrote to me that her most glorious moment came when her husband started swearing while doing some work in the yard. He suddenly stopped. ‘Good grief,’ he said, ‘I sound just like that Archie on TV.'”
In an interview with the Commercial Appeal-Chicago Daily News Service, Stapleton commented that a show like All In the Family didn’t have to be as heavy-handed with their lessons as an after-school special. The true power, she argued, was in the more understated moments of the series.
Stapleton said, “We don’t try to preach, or change people, or stop bigotry. Our purpose is to be humorous, and we hope that comedy’s the best way to get a subtle message across.”
