Norman Lear’s ’70s TV comedies brought people together to confront issues in a way Gen Z would appreciate

Producer Norman Lear on the set of his hit TV series ‘All In The Family,’ standing between its stars, Jean Stapleton and Carroll O’Connor. Bettmann Archive/Getty Images by Yalda T. Uhls, University of California, Los Angeles Even Americans who strongly disagree with each other may find common ground when they watch the same TV shows and movies, especially those that make us laugh or cry. Norman Lear, who died on Dec. 5, 2023, at 101, created television shows that did just that. “All in the Family,” “Sanford and Son” and his other biggest hits began to air in the 1970s, a time when the U.S. desperately needed to bridge divides. ‘All in the Family’ In the late 1960s, the U.S. was in the throes of the Vietnam War and the country was divided on many issues. Many young people were beginning to vehemently protest – and not just against the war. They sought greater equity for people of color and an end to what they perceived as unjust military operations on the other side of the world. Yet TV, the dominant media of the time, largely portrayed a sanitized version of society, with visions of domestic bliss, a world where...