[Dean's World] Dean: Black. White. Episode 3

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Posted by Dean:
Black. White. Episode 3
http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1143121437.shtml


   So I've been watching [1]Black. White. on FX Networks. Episode 1, I
   enjoyed. Bruno, the white father, really grated on my nerves because,
   while I was sympathetic to his attitude in some ways, he pushed it way
   too hard. But he was also funny. I also really liked the kids and
   their attitude.

   Episode 2, last week, was a trainwreck. I cringed all the way through
   it. I got mad. I took a bunch of notes on the show but I was so angry
   I could barely finish. I literally covered my face with my hands and
   looked away a few times. I didn't wind up posting. I was about ready
   to give up on the show. It was painful.

   If I had to sum up my feelings on episode #2, it was "[2]Nat X and his
   wife, Soul Sister #1, meet Gomer & Mrs. Pyle." The white couple was so
   stupid and clueless, and the black couple so angry and self-righteous,
   I could barely watch. I just wanted to slap everybody on the show.
   Hard. If it weren't for the kids, who were routinely great, I would
   have lost hope for humanity just watching the damned show. However.
   Mostly because my DVR was set to tape it automatically, I just wound
   up watching episode 3. I'm glad I did. It was a very good episode, and
   very powerful.

   The black couple came off a little better when they started dealing
   with family issues. Also by the end of this episode, because of a very
   negative experience they had, Bruno and Carmen (the white couple)
   seemed finally like they were really getting it. What really opened
   their eyes was when they went into a black community as a mixed
   couple.

   The person who saved the day was a black woman who shows up out of
   nowhere in episode 3 named Deanna. I don't know how the show's
   producers found her but she was brilliant--she probably saved the
   entire show. She was beautiful. I have a theory that the producers
   panicked when they realized that the black couple (the Sparks) were
   not going to be able to provide the role model and guidance that the
   white couple needed. So the found this woman Deanna who is very open,
   very smart, very accepting, and funny, and by being that way she was
   quite beautifully able to show them things they needed to see.

   I don't know what's going to happen with the black couple though. They
   obviously have some strong family values but I wonder if they're going
   to learn anything at all--including that they have issues of their own
   with race. They are quite prejudiced and don't seem to know it. I
   wonder if they'll ever notice, because they definitely are.

   I'm looking forward to episode 4 now.

References

   1. http://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/originals/blackwhite/main.html
   2. http://snltranscripts.jt.org/96/96enatx.phtml