Black-ish

The first episode took me completely by surprise! It was so funny. Yes, the white people in it are a bit of a caricature (Seriously, one advertiser asks Dre how (whispered) "black" people would say good morning) but maybe they're the same type of off from a black perspective that black people often are when portrayed from a white perspective.

Maybe it's just because I'm a sociology major but I totally get Dre's frustration, along with his wife and kid's disbelief and disinterest. He has it all. He's well-to-do at a job he loves, he lives in a great house/neighborhood and has an all-American family, and yet he feels his culture/history slipping away. I can see that relating to anyone whose grown-up life is significantly different than their childhood, for good or bad. I grew up in a rural area, on a farm, and I often regret the lifestyle my very suburban kids have grown up in. I want to yank them back to the farm. He is glad to be in better circumstances and neighborhood than where he grew up, but he also doesn't want his kids to lose their history, their background. The great things in his life are erasing other things that may not have been as great, but were still part of making him who he is.

His wife is multicultural, whatever that means, bi-racial, however you want to put it. She thinks he's a little nuts to miss the "hood" and to try and suddenly get his kids to be more "black". His kids are the same as most kids these days (thank goodness), they have dropped color as a major factor, often even as a minor factor. Unfortunately for minorities, that also means losing culture as they homogenize into the dominant culture, white. However, it also means seeing people as people, not as colors or ethnicity.

His dad (the grandpa) is a little of both. Maybe used to be the strong black man, go Malcolm X and black power, but he also enjoys the cushy life he's living now. His comments and his lifestyle clash, but in a way that's okay, it's just part of who he is. At one point when Dre wants to come up with a "black" coming of age ceremony for his son, his dad nails it with a comment about how they're not African. They don't have that history, suddenly trying to adopt cultural customs from Africa, which is not even just Africa, it is multiple countries, peoples, and customs and traditions, just doesn't work. You can't invent a history and culture for yourself that never existed. He's multi-generational American, just black American, not African American. But still, I can feel for his desire for some sort of cultural background that feels solid. I'm multi-multi-generational white. My ancestors come from at least 10 different northern European countries. I often look at Hispanic cultures and some of their traditions and wish I had a little more something in my background other than just plain white vanilla. But that doesn't mean if I suddenly adopt Irish or Norwegian customs it will really be me.

Yeah, sorry, too long and too much philosophizing. I got it, I loved it. And besides that, it was really really funny. I laughed all the way through. Even my husband laughed out loud and he's more of a quiet chuckle sort of guy, seldom laughs out loud. I really hope this show stays the same, sharp observances of evolving social gray areas, loving and close knit family, people being people, and funny. And at least so far it was clean. Most "family" sitcoms are not something I would let my kids watch, I don't watch them. I would love to see something like this that stays clean so I can invite the kids in for a family show.

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.

First of all those who are offended by the title of the show should just pipe down and realize that the creators where just being satirical. As a black man I find the over abundance of buffoonish television shows that are typically geared towards African Americans to be passe and very stereotypical. Tyler perry based shows like Meet the Browns and House of Pain, though well meaning in their portrayal of the Black experience, often suffer from poor writing ( a habitual issue with Tyler Perry productions) and out of date tropes and production values. These shows are typically successful due to Mr. Perry's built in audience and,quiet simply ,a scarcity of programming geared towards black viewers. What makes Blackish stand out is its strong writing, perfectly cast lead actors( Anthony Anderson and Lawrence Fishburn's chemistry is particularly impressive), and irreverent look at the issues facing an upper class black family. Obviously some may not "get" some of the humor if you are unfamiliar with the nuances of black culture, just as an African American might not get every funny referrence from "My Big Fat Greek Wedding". The vast majority of the show, however, deals with issues that anyone can relate too. I'm 3 episodes in, and like most good shows, Blackish gets funnier the longer the writers have time to flesh out the characters and progress with the story lines. One more note. In no way is this show racist like some misguided and ignorant reviewers ( with some admitting to having only watched 15 minutes of the pilot...talk about ADHD) suggest. To those individuals I would say give it an actual chance. Check out the first 3 episodes on ONdemand before you pass a hasty judgement on such a small sample size

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.