TV Review: Black.White - 3/29/06

The premise of this show is simple: Take two families, a white one from Santa Monica, California, and a black one from Atlanta, Georgia, and have them live together in a house in L.A. The white family, who at times put on make-up to look black, are: Bruno, the father; Carmen, the mother; and Rose, the daughter. The black family, who at times put on make-up to look white, are: Brian, the father; Renee, the mother; and Nick, the son.

I am using the series to explore issues and thoughts regarding race relations.

The best parts of this episode – the most complex one so far – involve Bruno and Nick. It may sound strange to say that this white father and this black son have something in common but they do: both are seemingly ignorant about racism.

And it is not just me saying that. Nick’s own parents say he is clueless about racism after they learn he tells white people he has no objection to them using the "N" word around him.

Bruno
I previously speculated that Bruno was a fitting representative of white male Americans. My confidence in this promotion of Bruno as spokesman increased after watching this episode, as he raised questions and issues I have heard many white males utter.

Bruno had an idea with good potential only once, but again he demonstrated he was better at talking than listening. His idea was to meet with a successful black man, Fernando, to exchange opinions and perspectives.

It was not long before Bruno was shown saying he was tired of blacks complaining about what he terms “that whole slavery thing.” How many times have you heard this lament from white people?

Bruno went on to make wild generalizations about blacks, another common occurrence among the Brunos of the world. After complaining about black rappers degrading women Bruno said, “I think there is a big lapse in the black community where there is not a promotion of positive values.”

This is an interesting statement for several reasons, one of them being a statement made on the same episode by Bruno’s daughter, Rose. Rose told Renee that one aspect of the black community that she preferred to the white community was the emphasis on family as opposed to the number of white families having separations and divorces.

Article Author: Scott Butki

Scott Butki was a newspaper reporter for more than 10 years before making a career change into education... then into special education.

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