#clair huxtable

[canmking]

C l i f f H u x t a b l e

x

C l a i r H u x t a b l e

[mannytoodope]

Clair:  What would you like for breakfast?

Rudy: Cereal.

Clair: Cereal what?

Rudy: Cereal... and bananas.

Clair: Cereal, bananas what?

Rudy: Cereal, bananas... and milk.

Clair: Cereal, bananas, milk... What?

Rudy: Um... in a bowl.

Clair: Cereal, bananas, milk in a bowl... WHAT?

Rudy: PLEASE!

[annoyingpastryineyeliner]

[get-along-little-khornedoggie]

some more old art; phil just saw a bunch of bookshelves he could steal

[laronemcee]

[yodaboda6]

[fandomlife-confessions]

[ciaomarie]

My Top 5 (of all time)

I've notice a lot of love is heaped on our favorite guy characters and I was thinking who are my top 5 favorite woman characters? These fictional characters make my heart glow and ain't nobody or no ship more important than their happiness! In no particular order...

The Mary Tyler Moore Show- Mary Richards! I used to watch reruns of this old show with my mom on Nickelodeon. Mary was an ambitious, slightly awkward, Midwestern sweetheart. Her character was the first female producer on a local news station and she was surrounded by men. She held her own, while maintaining her natural sweetness and femininity. Mary inspired my mom to leave her toxic home early and work hard to support herself independently by age 18!

2. The Cosby Show- Claire Huxtable!! I watched reruns after middle school. She was gracious, intelligent, funny, had the classiest clap-backs for adults and children alike, and flawlessly gorgeous. I still kinda want to grow up to be her, lol. Bill Cosby might have tarnished his legacy but Claire Huxtable will always be famous!!

3. Parks and Recreation- Leslie Knope! Leslie was intense, hardworking, weird, and kind. I love her how she always gave 100%, she's unapologetically earnest, and would do anything for her BFF/platonic soulmate Ann Perkins. I don't even generally like the idea of platonic soulmates, but these two! They'd kill for each other! The female equivalents of Shawn/Gus of Psych.

4. The Closer- Brenda Johnson is my most favorite lady cop! Brenda had a mildly scandalous past, a chocolate addiction, was a clutter bug, and the sharpest mind in state of Georgia AND California! Brenda closed cases better than anyone, while maintaining her humanity. This wonderful lady also got the sweetest man ever, proving that you don't need to perfect to earn love. Also, her southern accent was everything.

5. The Bear- Sydney Adamu is so lovable. She's talented, ambitious, brave, adorable and passionate. I love how she puts herself out there, problem-solves, sticks up for herself, supports the growth of her colleagues, and finds humor in dark places. She has huge dreams, but she doesn't think it's necessary to step on others to get there. Sydney is guarded and has a temper, but she is willing to open up under the right circumstances and to give second chances.

[art-of-amms]

💐Happy Mother’s Day💐

[retrogoldenmemories]

“Let me tell you something, Elvin,” she tells him, not really suppressing her anger. “You see, I am not ‘serving’ Dr. Huxtable, OK? That’s the kind of thing that goes on in a restaurant. Now I am going to bring him a cup of coffee just like he brought me a cup of coffee this morning. And that, young man, is what marriage is made of. It is give-and-take, 50-50. And if you don’t get it together, and drop these macho attitudes, you are never gonna have anybody bringing you anything, anywhere, any place, any time, ever.”

[mannytoodope]

Elvin: I'm sorry, Mrs. Huxtable; I didn't think you did that kind of thing.

Claire: What kind of thing?

Elvin: You know... serve.

Claire: Serve whom?

Elvin: Serve him

Clair: Oh, serve *him*. As in "serve your man"?

Elvin: Well, yeah.

Clair: Let me tell you something, Elvin. You see, I am not "serving" Dr. Huxtable, okay?

Elvin: Okay.

Clair: That's the kind of thing that goes on in a restaurant. Now I am going to bring him a cup of coffee just like he brought me a cup of coffee this morning. And *that*, young man, is what marriage is made of: it is give-and-take fifty-fifty. And if you don't get it together and drop these macho attitudes, you are never gonna have anybody bringing you anything anywhere, any place, any time, EVER.

Clair: Now, what would you like in your coffee?

Elvin : (shaken) Maybe I can get *you* some coffee.

[nereidprinc3ss]

Hey I know this sounds stupid but knowing that mgg is only into white girls makes me sad lol and recently it’s all I’ve been thinking about while reading Spencer fanfics 😭

Okok someone said something abt him only dating skinny girls earlier in my inbox so let me say a few things abt this

1. He is just a man. You are superior to him and you do not need his validation

2. Realistically you will never be able to prove that he would NOT be into you if you ever met because you probably won’t so you should tell yourself he would until proven otherwise

3. He has said before one of his crushes is claire huxtable AND to the other person also he at one point said he likes curvier women and just because he’s only publicly dated mostly a specific type of girl that does not mean he’s never privately dated people who look different than that

4. People tend to have this idea that we know all of his relationships but the ones we HAVE seen are only a fraction of the ones he has had. Celebrities are a lot better at keeping relationships under wraps than we are led to believe. He has had gfs that he didn’t want anyone to know about so we never knew about them, as have most celebrities. He has dated people we have never seen and we have no idea what they look like!!

5. If he actually were exclusively attracted to or exclusively dated white women or stick thin women that would make him a freak who does not deserve your time or attention or energy! Normal ppl do not exclusively date one physical “type” that is some Patrick Bateman shit. But I doubt that’s the case w him anyway! And one more time you’ll never actually have to find out so don’t worry abt it too much you are a bad bitch and you could pull anyone u wanted

Anyway I don’t wanna sound crazy and I don’t wanna promote craziness so guys pls do not base your self esteem on this random ass man and what u perceive him to be attracted to he is unemployed and irrelevant to your life and his hairline is receding mwah u r perfect

Additionally Spencer reid is not mgg and does not share his taste in women he is fake and can be however u want him to be his type in women is whatever u look like bc he’s fake

[br00k3-41m33x]

matthew gray gubler's ideal woman:

"must love decorating for holidays, mischief, kissing in cars, and wind chimes. no specific height, weight, hair color, or political affiliation required but would prefer a warm spirited non racist. cynics, critics, pessimists, and "stick in the muds" need not apply, voluptuous figures a plus. any similarity in look, mind set, or fashion sense to mary poppins, claire huxtable, snow white, or elvira wholeheartedly welcomed. i am dubious of actresses, fellons and lesbians but dont want to rule them out entirely. must be tolerant of whistling, tickle torture, james taylor, and sleeping late. i have a slight limp, eerily soft hands, and a preternatural love of autumn. i once misinterpreted being called a coal-eyed dandy as a compliment when it was intended as an insult. i wiggle my feet in my sleep, am scared of the dark, and think the Muppets Christmas Carol is one of the greatest films of all time. all i want is butterfly kisses in the morning, peanut butter sandwiches shaped like a heart, and to make you smile until it hurts."

that is adorable, nobody can tell me otherwise.

[eastsideofthemoon]

Discovery's Most Afrofuturistic Episodes

Star Trek Discovery, in general, is Afrofuturism. It's a show that centers a Black woman's story - her trials, tribulations, and triumphs - in a world of science and technology. Also, much of her story is a reflection on what it is like to be a Black woman in today's world. But even with all of that, there are episodes that are especially Afrofuturistic, and since it's Black History Month, I want to shine a light on them.

1. The Girl Who Made the Stars

This story is pure Afrofuturism. In this Short Trek, we get a rare glimpse of little Michael Burnham with her biological father, Mike Burnham, Sr, as he's comforting her by telling a story about how a little Black girl's bravery created the stars.

The story takes place in the village of the /Xam Abathwa, an African tribe, who are called the "first people". This story proclaims that the first people on earth were African - Black Africans.

Also, during the opening monologue of S2.01 (Brother), Michael references this story, linking it even more into the canon of Discovery and Star Trek as a whole.

2. Lethe

This episode tackles both assimilation and covert racism. I don’t believe it’s by happenstance that Michael, who’s Black, is surrounded by white Vulcans. Through a mind meld with Sarek, we see in this episode the extent to which Michael Burnham has had to assimilate, in the worst way, to Vulcan culture in order to integrate into their society. Her hair is straightened, her speaking patterns altered, and any expression that is uniquely her, primarily her emotions, are suppressed. More poignantly, we learn the truth to why Michael wasn’t accepted into the Vulcan Exploration Group. Despite being more than qualified, it was the bigotry of the VEG only wanting to make room for one non-Vulcan participant because of race, not merit. Sound familiar?

But as the Bible says, The truth will set you free. When Michael learns that not only was she lied to about not being “good enough”, but she was set free from feeling she needed to suppress her true self in order to appease a system never designed for her or even trying to include her. And at the end of this episode, we see Michael beginning her journey of self discovery. There’s a lot to unpack in this episode, which I’ll have to do in a separate post.

2. Perpetual Infinity

I really want to write a longer piece on this episode, but I'll keep it concise for now.

This episode shows that Dr. Gabrielle Burnham, a Black woman, was the genius who created the Red Angel suit and cracked the code on time travel. Unfortunately, due to Leland's negligence, this beautiful family's lives were permanently disrupted, and Dr. Burnham uses the time traveling suit she created to try and save her husband and daughter. In this episode, Michael and Dr. Burnham are finally reunited.

This episode is especially important as it firmly establishes Michael Burnham's origins. We learn about her biological parents, who are both scientists, and get a glimpse of her home life before Vulcan. What we see is a loving family, who relished in their daughter's curiosity about space.

Despite the Red Angel saga having mixed reviews, I believe most people missed what that story was actually about: A love story about a mother and daughter. In short, 2 Black women, a mother-daughter duo, compromised of 2 scientists, save all sentient life via technology.

3. The Hope is You pt 1

Michael jumps 930 years into the future, and the first person she meets is a dark skinned Black man, who introduces her to this new world and new tech she's never encountered. The rest of the episode is essentially us following them as our guides into the 32nd century. Seeing 2 Black characters centered in a show, set so far into the future, is still pretty unprecedented, even in sci-fi.

4. Unification III

This is another episode I want to do a longer breakdown, but for now… I like to call this episode "Claire Huxtable in Space". Dr. Burnham aka Mama Burnham, gives a full display of a Black mother. And I believe her portrayal was as authentic as some of TV's most celebrated Black mothers like Aunt Viv and Claire Huxtable.

A lot of people in the fandom have misinterpreted Dr. Burnham's interaction with Michael during the T'kal-in-ket, either as 1) being too mean or 2) rightfully putting Michael in her place. Both are wrong. Dr. Burnham was doing what Black mothers do - supporting their child(ren) by giving them the truth. Dr. Burnham didn't lay out Michael’s short coming to embarrass her, but it forced Michael to defend herself and Starfleet. By doing so, Michael was able to see she did belong, and it ultimately led to her achieving her goal of acquiring the SB-19 data.

DS9 gave us a wonderful portrayal of a Black father in Benjamin Sisko. But throughout Star Trek, we hadn't really gotten a strong portrayal of a Black mother. Thanks to New Trek, we got two in Dr. Burnham and Captain Freeman.

Plus, this episode is full of Black love. We begin and end the episode with tender moments between Michael and Book, we get the Michael and Dr. Gabrielle reunion and the beautiful moment between Michael and her mom, where Dr. Gabrielle tells Michael that she (Michael) always knows where to find her.

5. The Hope is You pt 2

This is the episode where Michael Burnham becomes CAPTAIN Michael Burnham. To see this woman be given a second chance and watch her make the most of it, and see her be triumphant in achieving captain status was EVERYTHING!

Furthermore, to see a Black woman in a position of power while rocking her braids meant a lot to me. Black hair has been heavily politicized throughout American history. The Crown Act had to be created in order to protect Black people from having our natural be discriminated against in the workplace (and in other settings). So, the significance of Capt Burnham’s image being associated with her braids is highly important. (Side note: I may have to do a separate post on Black hair in Star Trek Discovery, as most of the Black characters sport natural Black hairstyles).

In this episode, Discovery officially became about a Black female Starship captain in the far-off future.

6. Anamoly

Commander Bryce is MVP! Thanks to his hobby with kitesurfing, he's provides the strategy on how to help Book "ride the wave" out of the anamoly. A Black man saves another Black man with the use of science and technology.

7. All In

Michael and Owosekun, the team up we deserved. This gif above is just pure Black girl joy. Similar to The Hope is You pt 1, this episode primarily follows Michael and Owosekun as they go on a mission to stop Book and Tarka from buying isolynium. And they are dynamic together! They hustle their way to winning big in a fighting ring. Owo reads Tarka down, and Michael proves she's always one step ahead.

8. Coming Home

In the season 4 finale, we not only see Captain Burnham lead her team to success, we also see her standing with earth's president, a Black woman (Stacy Abrams). Seeing two Black women in positions of high power, one being the highest authority on earth was something I didn’t know I needed to see. Lastly, the last image of the season is an image of the continent of Africa from space.

9. Life, Itself

In the series finale, Michael meets her creator, a Black female Progenitor, which, in retrospect, feels like a full circle moment to The Girl Who Made the Stars. In The Girl Who Meets the Stars, she’s told a story that the first humans were Black Africans, and then she meets a Black Progenitor.

Then, in the epilogue, we not only saw that she made it to old age, she and Book are thriving and created their own family, demonstrating that the Black family unit is still intact in the far future. That we as a people and our culture still exists.

And for those who think a mixed or biracial family would be more progressive, well, this family is compromised of a human woman and Kwejian man, and their half human/Kwejian son. So they're mixed/biracial.

In closing, despite Bryan Fuller creating the character of Michael Burnham, it was Brandon Schultz, one of Disco's Black writers, who was the catalyst in moving Discovery into including stronger portrayals of Afrofuturism. I highly recommend listening to his interview with the Syfy Sistas (a phenomenal podcast in its own right). On this same podcast, they interviewed Sonequa Martin-Green (definitely go listen to that interview, star date 12/23/22) and she asked them what they wanted to see in Discovery. (This interview was done before the cancellation was announced.) Based on their suggestions, and the fact that SMG said she was going to give their suggestions to the writers, I have a firm belief S6 would have been even more Afrofuturistic.

Although the term “Afrofuturism” was coined in 1993, the concept has been around for decades. Some of the earliest iterations of it go back to the 1920s. We, as a people, have always seen ourselves beyond the limitations our society has tried to dictate to us.

The Afrofuturism and representation in Discovery, DS9, and Lower Decks ALL MATTER. There is no need to be on some crab in the bucket behavior just because there's a new Black character that others relate to different or more than who you relate to. There's beauty in the multiplicity of our portrayals of various Black characters and their stories throughout the Star Trek universe and sci-fi in general. I just hope more of us learn to appreciate it all.

Happy Black History Month

[weirdtvland]

I know the 70s was the height of the Blaxplotation era, do you know of any Black films from the 80s that are comparable?

70s was notorious for blaxploitation, but in the 80s, it was all about heartfelt films like Stand By Me, Pretty In Pink, Breakfast Club, or Back To The Future. The whole blaxploitation ended pretty much in the seventies because Bill Cosby and Cecily Tyson boycotted black films negatively showing black heroes such as Pam Grier or Fred Williamson, who fought for equality or against drug pushers in the neighborhood. The 70s was all about player balls, cocaine, funk rock music and Cadillacs in blaxploitation movies but during the 80s Bill wanted to change the whole dynamic of black show business and have a different role for black actors just like Ester Rolle. He wanted sophisticated black women with profound jobs and black men who took care of their families. That's why in the late 80s and early 90s, there were a lot of black TV shows with this dynamic like The Bill Cosby show or Family Matters. Soon blaxploitation was forgotten about because people couldn't imagine Pam Grier (who was always nude in her films) playing Clair Huxtable or Jim Kelly, who was always kicking a white man's ass, playing Cliff Huxtable. I'm not saying that they couldn't if they tried, it's just the public already knew what they were all about, so they couldn't possibly see them in this sort of light. Some blaxploitation actors lost their careers around the 80s like Jim Kelly, Rudy Ray Moore, Ron O'Neal (aka SuperFly whose movie did huge numbers but failed to make another film because of the hate he gotten from press saying this movie was negatively impacting the black community), and Carol Speed. These actors were huge in the business for blaxploitation and kicking ass but soon, blaxploitation became the thing in the past. I could list hundreds more but the point is the seventies were huge for these stars but when the eighties came, the only surviving blaxploitation stars were Carl Weathers, who was famous for the Rocky film, and Fred Williamson.

80s blaxploitation movies: Action Jackson, featuring Carl Weathers.

Body And Soul and Penitentiary II featuring Leon Kennedy.

I'm Gonna Git You Sucka! Featuring Keenan Wayans.