MovieChat Forums > The Cosby Show (1984) Discussion > Episode where Claire LITERALLY physicall...

Episode where Claire LITERALLY physically assaults and tortures Cliff

posted 9 years ago by Navaros
2 replies | jump to latest

Was anyone else shocked and outraged by the episode where Claire LITERALLY physically assaults and tortures Cliff? I know I am. This happens in the 21st episode of Season 1, starting at approximately the 8 minute mark.

For those who haven't seen it or don't remember, what happens is: Cliff returns to his room and starts to make his bed. As he does, Claire sneakily runs up behind him and leaps onto his back, pushes him into the bed face down, sits on top of his back, grabs his arm by the wrist, and grabs his fingers with her free hand.

Claire then starts to twist Cliff's wrist and fingers back, causing him pain (and maybe damaging him too, who knows) as she asks him questions and demands that he keeps her picture up should she pass away. When Cliff doesn't answer Claire in the way how she wants him to, she twists his wrist and fingers back harder and further. During this torture scene, Cliff screams in pain several times.

As all that is happening, the creeps in the studio audience laugh their butts off, as if torturing a man is "funny."

I ask in all seriousness, is torturing a man okay? If not, why is this scene okay?

This post may sound like I'm exaggerating, but I'm not. This scene truly is a bona fide physical assault and torture scene that the show passes off as a fine and funny thing to do.

I guarantee that a show with a context like The Cosby Show would never feature a man assaulting and torturing a woman, much less pass off a sick act like that as fine and normal (nor should any show do that).

The fact that The Cosby Show is fine with endorsing a woman assaulting and torturing a man, combined with the fact that no one other than myself speaks out (or has spoken out) against it (correct me if others have spoken out about it) points to a sick double standard in society.

Will any of you justify this assault & torture scene as fine, or will you acknowledge that it is reprehensible and inexcusable?

[–] BEoutbox 9 years ago

Think you're reading way too much into it. Had they shown one of the kid's beaus acting this way, I personally would have questioned such behavior. But if an older, established couple is into S&M, who are we to judge? :)

[–] Navaros 9 years ago

cliff certainly wasn't into it.

I don't agree with your assertion that "consensual" physical assault & torture is fine, but anyhow, what happens in this scene was not consensual.

And had the situation been reversed, and cliff did the exact same things to claire that claire is shown doing to cliff in that scene, the cosby show would have been immediately pulled from the air and never shown again anywhere, and from that point on, cosby would never again have been offered any work in Hollywood.

Think you're reading way too much into it.

I think the problem is that I'm the only one who reads enough into it, because society has a sick double standard which makes torturing & assaulting a man "okay" and "funny."