Like I said to Mika-chan while we were plowing through episode after episode of Black.White., “America once again working out issues though its preferred format: reality television.”
I’m not gonna lie; as cheesy and manipulatively cathartic as it was, i was crying hard watching the big group hug at the end of Black.White. (with kickin’ song by Ice Cube, “get your race card!!?!/1?” yey!) Also, as god-awful as Rose’s slam poetry was, oh dear, did it make me weepy! ;(
And as easy as it is to participate in a group hug half-heartedly, i was so moved to see the two families holding each other, not just for a couple seconds, but actually lingering, swaying, as a group, back and forth, for a good whole minute or so…that was just….yea, I am such a whimp.
Also, how fun is it to watch people who hate each other force a group hug? Truly American.
At the same time it must be said that the show’s captivating power was one half lulZ, one half hope, and 6 parts horror.
The “bitch incident” (in which the white lady Carmen called the black lady Renee a “bitch” as a term of endearment) was brought up every episode, and rightfully so, though there were really plenty of cringe-worthy moments of the white couple trying and failing to act “black” that could have been mentioned.
The whole thing got me to thinking about language and why it was necessary in the first place to give the families lists of words typically used by the opposite race.
I think “black English” is a real category of the English language, but…perhaps it would have been wise just to have some kind of discussion about why certain words should be avoided (n word), the history behind them, etc.
Though I think it still stands alone, as a testament to the strength of black culture, I think Black English, these days, is pretty mainstream, and does not require an explanation. (I am probably very wrong about this.)
These particular whites were just too corny and not “with it” enough to understand that no one ever uses the word “jiving”, as in “when the white people leave, do you all start jiving together?(sic)”
Hey, I am jiving on the internetz about you right now, white lady (a.k.a white “creature”)!!! I love to jive with my fellow internet creatures! Gives me hope for the future.
In conclusion: don’t say racist things. It adds like, 200 years on camera. and makes you look fat.
An epic LOLZ at: Renee goes to first a bible study, then a knitting circle, then a scrap booking club in search of white friends.
She said: “White culture…this is it?…its so boring!” in regards to the knitting circle, and oh how I lol’ed and lol’ed (a very boring lol, btw, omg, srsly).
