by Nate Weeks

Created on: June 02, 2009

The late 70's and early 80's were strange times in television for kids. Thundercats, Silverhawks, My Little Pony-all with hypnotic colors and cheery songs. Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids show gave children a view of a more realistic life for many of them. Since the majority of people at any one time are in some form of poverty or other, kids growing up and hanging out in a junkyard didn't seem as far fetched as some of the other hyperactive shows that were also on. Also the fact that the kids were of color was something new too. Cosby's cameos provided moral lessons and a positive role model of color for children, something that television during that time was not doing a good job at.

Fat Albert and his gang also dealt with realistic problems that were ignored on other shows. Fat Albert was obese and seemed unhealthy, encouraging kids to maintain a healthy weight. Rudy's character helped kids recognize that being a smart alec isn't always the smart move. All of the characters presented kids with role models in behavior, even though the gang would invariably wonder into some kind of trouble. The issues that the plots surrounded included guns, abuse and racism. These were heady subjects that kids often didn't have real knowledge or information about growing up before the technology age truly took off. While other shows seemed more like indoctrination, with both Thundercats, G.I. Joe and Silverhawks following a group of militants basically who used overwhelming force to win the day. Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids presented kids with examples of real life problems that they might run into and showed how they could possibly avoid trouble by making the right decisions.

In a time of psychedelic colors and blaring anthems, Cosby's educational show truly gave kids role models they could follow. They were much more likely to run up against bullies than uniform wearing animals wielding laser guns. But for some reason many of the other shows chose to present only a mythic reality where no one ever really got hurt and battles were fought with weapons or rainbows. Fat Albert and his gang of misfits presented children with something familiar: growing up in an imperfect world where,as as child, you are relatively powerless to change your surroundings. Cosby showed kids that though you couldn't change the fact that your family might be poor or that you live in an area that isn't attractive or glamourous, you could still enjoy life and learn to make healthy decisions. Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids opened up the avenue to more educational cartoons that would help children gain perspective on life even if their parents or surrounding didn't provide them directly.

Learn more about this author, Nate Weeks.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.