I won't front. I had no interest in the new F/X reality show Black.White. I'm a bit of race woman (and on really bad days I can be a straight up identity cop!) so this should've been a show that piqued my interest. But it didn't because of Ice Cube's involvement.
Admittedly this may be unfair, but he's just never struck me as the kinda brother who could bring the depth to this subject required for this to be a truly groundbreaking show. If your own views on race are narrow, outdated, etc., -- which I find Cube's to be -- one can hardly expect you to transcend the cliches in a media product meant for popular consumption (not to mention a "reality" show with concocted scenarios and edited footage to contrive an effect that's not real at all.)
I stumbled on an episode of Black.White this week, and after watching it, I feel that my reservations were justified. Maybe the members of the White family on this show are indeed typical of the way average White Americans view race (ranging from the naive to the guilty, LOL.) The problem is that "typical" doesn't move the discussion of race forward or engender any hope. As far as I'm concerned, despite its lofty intentions, the show does not deepen or refresh the shallow and stale "discussion" about race in the United States.
This show is still safe -- especially for the White members of its audience -- and that for me doesn't add much value in the quest for racial justice.
3 comments:
I do agree about this show. It's so contrived and it seems they got dimwits to tug both ends of the rope. Great show concept, bad execution.
I can't believe anyone would believe that they are who they are supposed to be. They look really weird!
I agree with both of you, and we're not alone. Right now I'm in Durham, NC and met with an African American studies graduate seminar at UNC-Chapel Hill. Every single student and the professor found the show to be a major disappointment, and both families not to believed at any level!
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