Black-ish

I am writing this review because I find it utterly unbelievable that people take Black-ish literally. The show is obviously satirical. It's making fun of the idea that society believes that there is a certain connotation to blackness or, put simply, certain behaviors and beliefs are considered "black". As an upper class black individual who lives in a white neighborhood, I get it. Because of the color of my skin, I'm supposed to "act black" and black friends find it weird that I "talk white". The show is basically Dre making fun of the fact that being black is more than having a skin color; it comes with expectations and stereotypes that many black people feel the need to embody because if they don't, they won't be authentically black. It is not being racist. It is raising stereotypes, but in a comical way that is supposed to make watchers really question the validity of them. It's a comedy and you're supposed to laugh at Dre's nonsensical obsession about not being black enough. I think the problem is people fail to recognize satire, not just in Black-ish but in any context, such as articles online, commentators always take it literal.

But it's a joke. It's making fun of the idea of "acting black".

Despite what many people are saying about Blackish, it is not a racist show and it is not even a show about race. It is in fact a family show and it is a family show about culture. In the first episode it does come off as too, but by the end it comes off in a good way, many people must not have watched or didn't finish. Despite that, it delivers great laughs all through the way. The 2nd episode was more of a representation of what the show really is, which is a family show. The second episode again delivers the laughs, but it does it in a very creative and fresh way, and it also did not use anything racial at all. For obvious reasons people will not give this show a chance and they really should. Blackish is a funny and creative show, about family and culture. This successful family is living in the suburbs and adopting that culture, to the dismay of the father. Its laughs all the way through, as these parents, try to be great parents, not so much on culture, but family.

This series might not start off great, but it has certainly won me over. Despite its title, it doesn't make everything about race (in fact deals little with race at all), but instead skillfully and hilariously considers how self-identification and values change trans-generationally. I did not give the show a 10 star rating since it still needs a little work. It's already one of my favorites and I believe it has the potential to be a great family sitcom. I believe the lower rating it has received here has little to do with the quality of the show and more to do with human tendency to categorize and then refuse to see beyond preconceptions.

To tell the truth, I had also dismissed 'Black-ish' when I first heard about it, basing this rejection simply on the title and a very cursory glance at reactionary reviews. The racist in me had immediately lumped this show together with the likes of UPN classics 'Moesha' and 'Girlfriends', shows which I never cared much for. I was therefore pleasantly surprised after I watched the first episode on Hulu...and then the second, and then subsequently caught up with all the currently available episodes (seven at the time of this review) within a day.

First off, the cast grows on you quickly. Initially, the family seemed a little oddball in how it was put together. But that went away within an episode or two, when the family dynamic was a bit more apparent. The children are adorable and I finally appreciate how beautiful Tracee Ross is (I guess I was previously blinded by my profound crush on Persia White in 'Girlfriends'). Ross' portrayal of her character is refreshingly playful; I wouldn't have known she had it in her. The writers should probably have a consulting doctor, though. It annoys me, how unrealistic the portrayal of her profession is.

Anthony Anderson's lead character is not perfect, but is on its way up. The character had started off a little unrefined but I am fully confident the writers will make full use of Anderson's talent as the show progresses. But Laurence Fishburne as "Pops" has to be my favorite casting decision. Hopefully he won't be too busy to stop by every once in a while. Another notable side character that I must mention is Deon Cole's "Charlie". I'll just abbreviate by calling him hilarious.

Now, the controversy/hoopla surrounding the show. There are, of course, those who think that the show perpetuates stereotypes about black people, that it demeans them or tries to declare what attributes define "black culture". It doesn't help that even the title of the show brings those thoughts to the forefront of the mind. I'm not black, and therefore cannot say definitively that this show isn't offensive to any specific category of people. But I honestly feel that the writers are trying to do a good thing here. They do more to try to break stereotypes than disseminate them; and they manage to do this, for the most part, in clever ways that don't look too forced. I don't feel like I'm being asked to laugh at caricatures like with other sitcoms.

But critics might say, "Why do they even have to broach the subject of race? Why can't they be a successful family which happens to be black?" If the show didn't mention race at all, but instead chronicled the comedic hijinks of an affluent family (which happens to be black), and had a completely innocuous title, there would be critics up in arms about the show being ashamed/afraid of celebrating black culture. I don't think 'The Cosby Show' or 'Family Matters' work as rebuttals to that argument – those were products of a different era, one before the fracturing of network television and before relegation of "black interest" shows to pigeonholed networks.

Anyway, you can't please everybody. I'm happy to say that this show pleases me. The show makes me reflect on how my cultural and racial identity has shaped how I perceive myself and others. It definitely makes me think about how my upbringing and self-identity differs from that of my parents, and how my children's upbringing and self-identity will certainly differ from my own. So please don't put this show into a tiny box. It's not just for black people, or just for racist people, or just for poor people. If you give it a chance, I'm certain you will see its appeal.

Normally I don't go to the trouble of writing a review but in this case I had to. Reading the other reviews you'd think this was directed by Malcolm X. It's amazing how offended people can get by a black character (yes he's a character and one of the few) on TV. Do these reviewers who were so utterly offended by this character ever stop to wonder what the black community thinks of white TV? Which is to say almost all TV.

They mentioned being too militant, too black black black (even though that's literally in the title) and so forth. If you watched the entirety of the show, you'd realize that was the point. It was way over top, it was a classic caricature of a man who realized, and so too did his family, how ridiculous he was being and let it all go at the end.

At the end of the day it was funny and entertaining, my wife and I laughed out loud at a few spots which rarely happens. As for the not-believable comment, well I'll leave it at the fact that it's a comedy on TV. That's like saying I don't watch The Colbert Report because it misrepresents the news. By this standard you'll scrap about 95% of the stuff out there, although Transformers could happen if you think about it.

My gauge of a show is whether I was entertained or not, and in this case I was. I second the 7.3 round to a 7.

****This review is for the first four seasons**** Blackish is actually a funny show, with the main star being the dad of the family. The family's adventures are actually interesting to watch and sometimes, light enough to be easily entertaining. However, at times, it got too dramatic, or even strayed away from the comedy genre, like the first episode of the fourth season, which it was a musical. Also, even though the episodes where they were dealing with the current issues of society were strong and had an impact, some other episodes were just repeating the same thing and it felt like they were guilt cornering the audiance. Finally, the last episodes of the fourth season were out of the blue and boring.