More Race Talk
Oh dear. I watched Black.White.* I can't comment beyond "oh dear," but I'll likely stay tuned next week.
* Mom, Judith, others who don't know what's going on in the world of popular culture: Black.White is a reality television show about a black family and a white family, who through the aid of incredible make-up and other costume, switch places to see what it's like. Cameras follow them around, and they debrief throughout, commenting on their own experiences and the performances of their counterparts. Bruno (a transracial white to black man) likes to use the N word because he thinks he now has a license to do so).
* Mom, Judith, others who don't know what's going on in the world of popular culture: Black.White is a reality television show about a black family and a white family, who through the aid of incredible make-up and other costume, switch places to see what it's like. Cameras follow them around, and they debrief throughout, commenting on their own experiences and the performances of their counterparts. Bruno (a transracial white to black man) likes to use the N word because he thinks he now has a license to do so).
posted by Kathy at 11:05 PM
13 Added Something:
K, I didn't see the show, but read about it in the NYTimes. They said the only thing about the show that was good was the make-up. Is that true? Otherwise, they think the show fails to really challenge racism.
Sounds like of weird to me. I suppose they're trying to act like they're exploring deep issues. Right?
i'd tune in only if there was a way to compound and inject the experience of hundreds of years of psychological trauma and physical brutality into the cast who wears dark make-up.
i thought it was pretty interesting. ice cube, who has always had a very insightful and nuanced understanding of racial issues ("white man is somethin' i tried to study - but i got my hands bloody") is one of the executive producers. i have to say, the white family is all around pretty stupid (why does the media always portray us that way?!), and they caused me to cringe a number of times - especially when the teenage daughter went to poetry-slam class in blackface and recited a recent composition about her undulating juices. that was really something.
Kathy stop it! You're better than that show. By the way I'm so into Grey's Anatomy now.
I hope John Stewart doesn't go primetime - he's so much funnier on cable.
i didn't see the show - no cable. but, i was weirdly fascinated by the npr talk of the nation interviews of bruno and bryan. as the two of them disagreed for the thousandth time, the host said, "i'm tempted to say, can't you two just get along?" okay, i groaned, too. but, i listened to the whole thing.
if you want to check it out, it was on - i think - wed night.
bruno was pretty obnoxious, and clueless - but i guess that's why the producers chose him. maybe they hoped he would go thru more of a transformation.
I'm sorry, I got stuck on "undulating juices"...
I didn't see this show bc i dont have cable, but I heard about it on the radio. I remember thinking didn't Eddie Murphy do this in an SNL skit like almost 20 years ago???
In literature (of the written word type), passing goes way back. It's like undercover superhero stuff, H17. It's done again and again, and there's always some little twist, right?
In history, passing goes way back too. In colonial Latin America if a mixed race person was light and rich enough, they could purchase their 'whiteness' directly from the King of Spain. What they purchased was a certificate which allowed them to attend university and hold official positions or become a priest. While not extensive, it was common.
what does pac'a think of all this?
I don't know what the Big Deal is about Black.White- Eddie Murphy did this YEARS AGO on SNL, remember? "Silly Negro- thought he could get a loan."
Aaargh! I just read H17's comment and he'll think I ripped him off but when I first saw stuff about Black.white that was the first thing I thought of- Eddie Murphy's SNL skits.
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