by. William C. Walker Jr.
November 14, 2014
I had a very interesting conversation at work today. Two of my co-workers were discussing the ABC show Black-ish (full disclosure which I love). One of my co-workers didn't want to give the show a chance due to the clips they've seen and the name of the show. Many have had an immediate perception of what the show would be about. She explained how she didn't want to watch a show that perpetuates the black stereotype. That was the initial spark of our conversation that went from TV shows about African-Americans to movies. I'll come back to movies in a moment I just wanted to stay on Blackish. I brought up the show today while I was getting my haircut. The barbershop you can guarantee will always be a location filled with spirited debate and various opinions. So while there were some that found the show funny, of course there were those that had the same issue with the show's concept. In particular my excellent barber which after the conversation today I'm calling Conspiracy Brotha. Point is he's actually seen the show and while he admitted to chuckling at some of the jokes, he felt like the show dealt unnecessarily with race. It was a similar feeling that my co-worker had. I understand their feeling and point yes in a perfect world no one would see color but just people for who they are. Even the Cosby Show which is the pinnacle of what many African-Americans rate black sitcoms against. Didn't shy away from nor ignore race entirely, they always presented black culture, in terms of art, music and family. A discussion in an episode of wanting one of their children to go to an HBCU (historically black college & university) led to a spin-off A Different World. A show that definitely didn't shy away from the black college experience. That's when I brought up what the show Blackish is even about. More than race I find it to be about a family, in particular about how one generation differs in how they raise their kids from the way they were raised. In terms of race I enjoy the concept and approach that the show takes with it being that no one can define what is black. The title itself is Blackish which even when I hear that term I never thought of it in a negative way. But as an adjective like blueish or grayish when you're vague or describing something that's not completely one thing. This family is diverse in personality and not easily identified or defined like how we are as a people.
Back to my conversation with my co-worker as we moved onto films. In particular the recent Oscar winning film 12 Years A Slave. I recall as 12 Years A Slave was being released the same year as Lee Daniel's The Butler. No less than a year after Django Unchained. It led to many African-Americans asking why do black actors & actresses always get accolades for portraying slaves? Why do we have another movie about slavery? I brought up the point how many movies do we really have about slavery? There's not very many outside of Roots. Especially one that sheds such an extensive light on the dark time in history such as 12 Years A Slave. I mean there's countless films based on World War II and the holocaust. Yet I never hear a contingent of the Jewish people complain about actors or actresses getting these roles. So why do we do it? I found it interesting when she explained it was more of why do all black movies have to be about race, as if that's all black films are about. I think there's a multitude of black centered films that are not about racism or race. However the films we do get still I think are important. My thoughts are racism and race relations in this country is a subject that we still grapple with. In part to me because slavery/racism is an issue that's never been truly addressed. It's hard to let go when it seems so much to me that when you bring up blacks treatment from the past; you hear people say "get over it". This is apart of our history and it's important to me to acknowledge and see how far we've come. Add in that even though slavery was over a long time ago African-Americans didn't even have a right to vote until the 1960s. 1965 to be more precise which is when the Voting Rights Act was passed. That's only 49 years ago!!!!!!!! Even after that they were still treated like second class citizens. Today we still have issues such as Ferguson Mo. Michael Brown, before that Trayvon Martin, and even before that Oscar Grant. It was only 6 years ago that this country elected the 1st Black President and he's half white. I think Chris Rock's joke was right when he said that I don't think black people will have arrived until we have had a bad black president. As funny as that sounds it's true to me. I look at athletics when for so long blacks were excluded from professional sports, now it's common place to see them. You have great black quarterbacks like Warren Moon and in his earlier career Michael Vick to really bad quarterbacks like Jamarcus Russell and Josh Freeman. Black history itself isn't even fully taught in schools except for some of the same figures and even the large moments are glossed over.
Back to Conspiracy Brotha and what's in a name? To his defense he explained how his issue with the title Blackish, is how words can have different meanings. That the portrayal of this black family could subliminally influence how people view us. A further example he wanted to use to make his point was the Netflix Show Orange Is The New Black. Saying "See how they say orange is the new black. Meaning new black is that which is in prison which is where blacks are." I checked out at that point because whatever valid point you were trying to make was negated at that point after that insane theory. Even after I explained to him the title came more from the FASHION term THE NEW BLACK! Example fashion experts would say blue is the new black this season. Seeing how the show is about a Yuppie white woman sentenced to prison where the standard uniform is ORANGE. But that seemed too logical for Conspiracy Brotha and wasn't acknowledged. I'm not saying that media and entertainment don't try to subliminally influence a person's perception of things. But this is one I don't see. I actually appreciate the show's depiction of this Black family. Like the Cosby Show where you have two parents that are very successful and raising their family. I'll take more issue with a show like Black Jesus which is so offensive it made my head hurt the one time I actually tried to watch. Especially with it's depiction of African-Americans with most hood and menstrual like performances. Point is Blackish regardless of how you feel about the name is a hilarious show, and it's title shouldn't turn you off from giving it a chance. Let me know what you think agree, disagree? I'm always up for a conversation with even as animated as things can get was honestly what I had today and that's always a good thing.
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