When I saw that a television show called “Black-ish” was coming to ABC, I groaned.
It would be months before it aired, but I was already dreading it. It would be another show parodying another black family, with a turn-off title, that would make a mockery out of the race as a whole, and I would hate it.
Still, who doesn’t love a train wreck?
I missed the premiere but vowed to sit down and watch, curious about how silly this show would be. It would be disappointing. It would be unnecessarily racial. It would be a mockery of real, everyday black people.
I was wrong. It was thrillingly relatable.
The show doesn’t ease the idea of race into the show as much as it slaps you in the face with it.
“So I’m just your standard, regular old, incredibly handsome, unbelievable charismatic black dude.”
This would be a show about black people, and it would not apologize for it.
Via: Entertainment Weekly
“Black-ish” surrounds the Johnsons, a family living in the suburbs of Los Angeles. They live in a nice, spacious home. Andre, or Dre, portrayed by Anthony Anderson, works at an advertising agency, and his wife Rainbow, Tracee Ellis Ross, is a doctor.
They have four kids together, and Dre’s father, Pops, played by Laurence Fishburn, lives with them as well. Despite unusual names, they are your standard American family. And yet, to Dre, at least, they stick out like a sore thumb.
The premise of the show is that Dre worries his family is becoming “black-ish,” losing the roots that make them who they are, and the rest of the family is pushing against his concerns.
I can relate to this show on a very personal level. My family, the Williams, grew up in the suburbs, too. The Williams family of Clearwater.
I lived most of my life in the same house with my mother, father and younger sister. My parents are successful and are able to put both my sister and I through college. And like the Johnson family, we were either one of two or the only black families on the block. Or in the AP classes. Or at the PTA meeting. Or working management at the office.
Via: TV and Film Review
So when the opening scene of “Black-ish” showed how Dre felt while imagining a white “tour group” passing by the Johnson home, marveling at the oddity of this family, I laughed.
The issue with “Black-ish” is that it can be slightly horrifying for those with a lesser sense of humor. My roommate, for instance, didn’t laugh at all. In fact, she was slightly appalled. She thought it was a horrible way to look at black people.
This is, however, reality. “Black-ish” accurately depicts how some people look at my family and others like ours: black people who have “somehow” overcome the socioeconomic barriers erected by America’s anglo-saxon past.
It’s amazing how many times teachers have been shocked by my parents’ involvement in my education, or my own achievements as a the student. Just like Dre’s promotion to the “Urban Division” in his firm, there are times when students like me are asked to cover certain stories or to give the “black perspective” and there are times that because you simply do not talk, dress or act in a way that perpetuates the stereotype — you don’t act “black.”
That’s when I realized: This show isn’t for my roommate. It’s for me. It’s for my family. It’s for other black people like me.
Not everyone agrees. African-American Huffington Post writer Frances Cudjoe Waters wrote an article titled “‘Black-ish’: Horrible Parody of Black Family Life.” She found that the show missed what shows like “The Cosby Show” and “A Different World” did in the past. According to Waters, “Black-ish” puts skin tone and socio-economic status and stereotypes before pride in one’s heritage, so on and so forth. The article goes on and on in that vein.
Via: TV-Recaps-Reviews
I think Waters missed an important point. This is a show that is a parody of real problems and thoughts facing African-American families today. I’m not sure most people believe that a father is going to dress in a Dashiki and performing an African coming-of-age party for his birthday or that the family would throw a “bro-mitzvah,” attending in red RUN-D.M.C. track suits. These moments in the show are caricatures of what a family really does.
The show will alienate some people. Many will not be able to relate, like my roommate, and some may not want to, like Waters. Because of this, I’m not sure how long “Black-ish” will last, but for now, it’s refreshing to have a show made for me.
Featured photo courtesy of: Common Sense Media
