Bigotry or prejudice? Controversial headlines that will almost certainly catch the attention of someone standing around the water cooler. Although most people find these words offensive, perhaps it was precisely those questionable issues that the producers of the sitcom All in the Family, Norman Lear and Alan Yorkin, thought could not only gain more viewers for their network, but also trigger universal conversations that would spark change. All in the Family was created in the 1970s, with the goal of introducing shock value programming with realistic, subjective battles. Some have described that decade as a turbulent time in which marginalized groups such as gay and lesbian women and African Americans fought for equal opportunities around the world. Others practiced free speech by expressing their disdain against the Vietnam War and President Richard Nixon. Despite the American public's conflicting views on social issues and feelings of disappointment with the government, the producers of the sitcom Lear and Yorking saw All in the Family as the ideal, albeit risky, platform to showcase such controversial topics. Lear hoped that putting a face to controversial topics would help set a tone for the American public that created freedom with individual transparency. Lear realized that his intent may or may not be understood or received by his audience. This article will discuss how the television sitcom All in the Family addressed controversial taboo topics through comedy and the precedent the show set in current primetime programming decades later. The entire Family plot is largely told from the point of view of the family patriarch, Archie Bunker. The Bunker family consisted of his sweet but "crazy" wife Edith, daughter Gloria and her husband Michael Stivic. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original EssayBunker is a bigoted, hard-working family man from Queens, New York, who in his mind can't catch a break in life. Archie is a proud World War II veteran who ignores anyone who doesn't agree with his worldview; who are conservative and heterosexual. Bunker is appalled by the way the American society he once knew is changing, and blames the progress made by minority groups such as blacks, Hispanics, and Jews for the sacrifices made by himself and other lower-middle-class whites. Opposing that harsh point of view was Archie's sweet but "crazy" wife, Edith. Edith usually put up with Archie's complaints to avoid arguments. This was certainly not the case with Archie's liberal son-in-law and live-in partner, Mike Stivic. Both were particularly strong in their beliefs, making Stivic the punching bag for Archie's bigotry. This guaranteed heated tug-of-war between the two provided the show with its comedic part of the plot. That plot depended heavily on Archie being politically conservative and socially misguided, while Mike was equally liberal and sympathetic to the concerns of the disenfranchised and oppressed. Politics wasn't the only issue All in the Family pushed the envelope on. When an African-American family of three moves in next door to the Bunkers, Archie's racial stereotypes and bigotry become recurring themes. Over the course of the show, Archie's blatant racism became visible. Archie felt he was losing control of his "all-white neighborhood," and he showed that fear by addressing his black neighbors with innuendos.