All in the Family creator Norman Lear takes fans behind the scenes of the groundbreaking sitcom on the occasion of its 50th anniversary. The face of television was changed forever in 1971 with the premiere of All in the Family. The working-class Bunker family of Queens, New York lovable bigot Archie (Carroll O'Connor), his long-suffering 'dingbat' wife Edith (Jean Stapleton), their liberal daughter Gloria (Sally Struthers), and son-in-law Mike 'Meathead' Stivic (Rob Reiner) instantly became, and half a century later still are, four of the most iconic characters in television. In All in the Family: The Show that Changed Television, Norman Lear shares his take on fifty essential episodes that exemplify why the show remains as funny and relevant as ever. Its boundary-pushing approach to hot-button topics is examined with commentary from co-stars O Connor, Stapleton, Reiner, and Struthers, as well as writers, directors, and guest stars from the show. With previously unseen notes from Lear, script pages, production designs, and a foreword by super-fan Jimmy Kimmel, this book is the ultimate companion to the seminal series and a must for fans of Lear s shows and television comedy. 'Norman Lear,' said New Yorker critic Michael Arlen, 'has a feel for what people want to see before they know they want to see it.' All in the Family, like all of the Lear shows that followed, was a turning point in television s handling of taboo subjects such as race relations, feminism, homosexuality, war, religion, gun control, social inequity, and other controversial subjects, all of which remain in the news today.

Flat out, one of the best Hollywood memoirs ever written . . . an absolute treasure. Booklist (starred review) In my ninety-plus years I ve lived a multitude of lives. In the course of all these lives, I had a front-row seat at the birth of television; wrote, produced, created, or developed more than a hundred shows; had nine on the air at the same time; founded the 300,000-member liberal advocacy group People For the American Way; was labeled the no. 1 enemy of the American family by Jerry Falwell; made it onto Richard Nixon s Enemies List; was presented with the National Medal of Arts by President Clinton; purchased an original copy of the Declaration of Independence and toured it for ten years in all fifty states; blew a fortune in a series of bad investments in failing businesses; and reached a point where I was informed we might even have to sell our home. Having heard that we d fallen into such dire straits, my son-in-law phoned me and asked how I was feeling. My answer was, Terrible, of course, but then I added, But I must be crazy, because despite all that s happened, I keep hearing this inner voice saying, EventhisI get to experience. Norman Lear s work is legendary. The renowned creator of such iconic television programs asAll in the Family; Maude; Good Times; The Jeffersons;andMary Hartman, Mary Hartman, Lear remade our television culture from the ground up. At their peak, his programs were viewed by 120 million people a week, with stories that dealt with the most serious issues of the day racism, poverty, abortion yet still left audiences howling with laughter. In Even This I Get to Experience, Lear opens up with all the candor, humor, and wisdom to be expected from one of America s greatest living storytellers. But TV and politics are only a fraction of the tale. Lear s early years were grounded in the harshness of the Great Depression and further complicated by his parents vivid personalities. The imprisonment of Lear s father, a believer in the get-rich-quick scheme, colored his son s childhood. During this absence, Lear s mother left her son to live with relatives. Lear s comic gifts were put to good use during this hard time, as they would be decades later during World War II, when Lear produced and staged a variety show for his fellow airmen in addition to flying fifty bombing missions. After the war, Lear tried his hand at publicity in New York before setting out for Los Angeles in 1949. A lucky break had a powerful agent in the audience the night Danny Thomas performed a nightclub routine written by Lear, and within days his career in television began. Before long, his work with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis (and later Martha Raye and George Gobel) made him the highest-paid comedy writer in the country, and he was spending his summers with the likes of Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks. Movies followed, and soon he was making films starring Frank Sinatra, Dick Van Dyke, and Jason Robards. Then came the 70s and Lear s unprecedented string of TV hits. Married three times and the father of six children ranging in age from nineteen to sixty-eight, Lear s penetrating look at family life, parenthood, and marriage is a volume in itself. A memoir as touching, funny, and remarkable as any of Lear s countless artistic creations, Even This I Get to Experience is nothing less than a profound gift, endlessly readable and characteristically unforgettable."

"A comprehensive and insightful examination of the ways comedy can help shape social justice movements."--Hasan Minhaj, Comedian and Host of the Netflix series Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj Comedy is a powerful contemporary source of influence and information. In the still-evolving digital era, the opportunity to consume and share comedy has never been as available. And yet, despite its vast cultural imprint, comedy is a little-understood vehicle for serious public engagement in urgent social justice issues - even though humor offers frames of hope and optimism that can encourage participation in social problems. Moreover, in the midst of a merger of entertainment and news in the contemporary information ecology, and a decline in perceptions of trust in government and traditional media institutions, comedy may be a unique force for change in pressing social justice challenges. Comedians who say something serious about the world while they make us laugh are capable of mobilizing the masses, focusing a critical lens on injustices, and injecting hope and optimism into seemingly hopeless problems. By combining communication and social justice frameworks with contemporary comedy examples, authors Caty Borum Chattoo and Lauren Feldman show us how comedy can help to serve as a vehicle of change. Through rich case studies, audience research, and interviews with comedians and social justice leaders and strategists, A Comedian and an Activist Walk Into a Bar: The Serious Role of Comedy in Social Justice explains how comedy - both in the entertainment marketplace and as cultural strategy - can engage audiences with issues such as global poverty, climate change, immigration, and sexual assault, and how activists work with comedy to reach and empower publics in the networked, participatory digital media age.

"A comprehensive and insightful examination of the ways comedy can help shape social justice movements."--Hasan Minhaj, Comedian and Host of the Netflix series Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj Comedy is a powerful contemporary source of influence and information. In the still-evolving digital era, the opportunity to consume and share comedy has never been as available. And yet, despite its vast cultural imprint, comedy is a little-understood vehicle for serious public engagement in urgent social justice issues - even though humor offers frames of hope and optimism that can encourage participation in social problems. Moreover, in the midst of a merger of entertainment and news in the contemporary information ecology, and a decline in perceptions of trust in government and traditional media institutions, comedy may be a unique force for change in pressing social justice challenges. Comedians who say something serious about the world while they make us laugh are capable of mobilizing the masses, focusing a critical lens on injustices, and injecting hope and optimism into seemingly hopeless problems. By combining communication and social justice frameworks with contemporary comedy examples, authors Caty Borum Chattoo and Lauren Feldman show us how comedy can help to serve as a vehicle of change. Through rich case studies, audience research, and interviews with comedians and social justice leaders and strategists, A Comedian and an Activist Walk Into a Bar: The Serious Role of Comedy in Social Justice explains how comedy - both in the entertainment marketplace and as cultural strategy - can engage audiences with issues such as global poverty, climate change, immigration, and sexual assault, and how activists work with comedy to reach and empower publics in the networked, participatory digital media age.