The Goldbergs (1955 episode) (1955)

★★★★ · The new neighbors are what? · lancelotlmg · 2009-08-01

With the release of Aviva Kempner's documentary about Gertrude Berg, Yoo Hoo Mrs Goldberg, the Archive proves its worth once again by offering us the documents. I doubt The Goldbergs, or any other show, for that matter, can lay claim to 'inventing' the sitcom-- that's like the running Old Time Radio gag about how 'I invented the singing commercial'--but it can likely claim the first ethnic one. Everything stereotyped as Jewish is presented here, except of course, for the word itself. Molly Goldberg bears striking resemblance as a yiddish forebear of Aunt Bee, and 'the suburbs' is as foreign…

Brave Endeavor · Mock402 · 2026-02-27

As the reviewer above responds with such venom, we can understand the courage it must have taken for producers to televise such a comedy show in the midst of McCarthy’s Red Scare campaign. Antisemitism was widespread in America at this time. The previous reviewer’s remarks can attest to the fact that it is still alive even after history has shown that racial and cultural hatred is rooted in stereotypes and fear of losing supremacy over those whose cultural and personal choices are opposed to the so-called “norm”.