Bunker was just a Jewish leftist caricature of what a working class White guy was like. Outrageously overdone.
What shocked them is the fact that Carroll O’Connor played it so well that people liked him; even O’Connor didn’t see that coming.
Reiner’s kid managed to parody his own tribe - phony hipster college dropout loser - so well that Bunker’s sneering at him became almost understandable.
The Hard Hat riot of ‘69 was the predecessor for the show. Hollyweird couldn’t understand why working class Irish and Italians in NYC weren’t down with the NVA and the protests.
> Outrageously overdone. <
Overdone for comedy sake, yes. But I still hold that the character is not that far off. I spent a five years working in an old steel mill. Lots of Archie Bunkers there. Loud, vulgar, crude guys.
Oh, and also solid patriots.
We need Hard Hat Riots to come back