A 1983 two-part episode of the sitcom "Diff'rent Strokes" is about child molestation. It's clear from both a message delivered by Conrad Bain, who played the father in the series, and the content of the show itself, that it was intended as a "public service" to educate people on child molestation.
While the show is educational in a sense, it can't be forgotten that Hollywood protects star pedophiles and many child stars have been abused and exploited. So, the motive for this show being done have to be suspect.
In the episode, the character played by Gary Coleman, Arnold Drummond, and a friend of his, are groomed by a child molester, played by actor Gordon Jump, who gives them ice cream and pizza to lure them in, and then wine. The grooming experiences are presented in a lot of detail, and seem to accurately portray how a molester would use twisted logic and deception to gradually draw children in. It's disturbing to watch.
I was trying to think of some of the social context for why this show would be made, and perhaps it was due to high-profile cases of child abductions and murders like those of Adam Walsh, Johnny Gosch, and the Atlanta child murders in the prior year or two. By doing such a show, Hollywood be putting itself in the "crusader" role.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYpVGaL81VQ
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rooting4redpillers ago
Good post. Amazing how TV has changed in the last several decades. And appalling, how contemporary sitcom writers/actors, and standup comedians, are completely comfortable working blatantly obvious pedophilia jokes into shows, on an almost regular basis. Treating the subject as an offhand rimshot. Child rape innuendo as ordinary comedy fodder, and the audience laughs and laughs.
I was looking to quote specific examples of this, and ran across this multi-person article/conversation, presenting various points of view - regarding controversial/questionable content, presentation, studio audience participation, etc. - in 1980s sitcoms. Focusing primarily on Diff'rent Strokes, The Bicycle Man episode. (I gave up trying to find those examples I was looking for in the first place. I'm sure most of us, here, already know what I'm talking about with that, anyway.)
A “very special” Diff’rent Strokes that’s terrifying for all the wrong reasons | By Erik Adams, Donna Bowman, Phil Dyess-Nugent, Genevieve Koski, Ryan McGee, David Sims, and Todd VanDerWerff | A.V. Club website, TV Roundtable | Aug 21, 2013
Notice, this is the seventh of eight installments. I'll save looking at their other articles for another day.