Perpetuating Ideologies Different Strokes

 As a child one one of my favorite shows to watch was Different Strokes. I saw it to be a feel good show that tried to display some positive imagery but now I tend to view that show with a different perspective. The shows is about 2 young black male orphans named Arnold Jackson and Willis Jackson. These young orphans are adopted by a wealthy caucasian man named Philip Drummond. The boys were initially being raised by their mother who eventually passed away. Their mother was actually used to work for Mr. Drummond before she passed away. The show goes on to show them living every day life as two young kids  from less fortunate backgrounds living with their rich adopted father. Even though on a surface level this show may seem to have good intention when you look deeper into it you can see how this show played a pivotal role in perpetuating dominant ideologies.

The show Different Strokes is responsible for perpetuating a few stereotypes about Black people and their relation to Caucasians. The fact that this show is based around 2 black orphans alone helps perpetuate the stereotype of Black dysfunction. The fact that during the entirety of the show there is no mention of the kids actual biological father helps perpetuate the myth that Black fathers are not in their kids life. Another major stereotype that this show perpetuate is the concept of the “ White Savior”. The concept of the White Savior is one that has been deeply rooted in the history of this country. The White Savior narrative implies that historically Black people are not capable or component enough to save themselves from oppressive situations therefore putting the burden on white people to have to be the ones to save them.  This ideology dates back to the days of slavery where the slave masters would force their slaves to study Christianity and make them subscribe to the idea of Jesus being White thus making them identify being saved with a White Man. We see this dynamic play out in the show with the father Mr. Drummond and the two young black orphan kids. In this show he is viewed as being hero for saving this two young poor helpless kids which just further promotes this idea to masses that Blacks are helpless and also makes Black people they actually are helpless and cannot advance with out the assistance of a White Savior. In the first episode of the show the primary focus of the episode is showing how much better life is going to be for them now that they have been adopted into a rich white family as opposed to the life they were living before. The irony in all this is that many times in the grand scheme the same savior that is being comes from the same ruling class that is responsible for the problem that they are saving the the lesser person from. The White Savior concept is just another way for the ruling class to continue to assert their dominance and the lower classes subconsciously with a smile on their face.

In the show Different Strokes you can also see a certain level of tokenism in the show. Typically poor black orphaned kids from a lower class environment such as Arnold and Willie would not be accepted with such open arms by mainstream America. But because they were adopted and integrated into the family off a wealthy they are now viewed as being acceptable.