Progress-Ish

Paige Dahlke 3/5/15 Media 160 Progress-ish Primetime television has always been a place where white America could feel safe and comfortable. The wholesome families on TV served as an affirmation that the American dream was an achievable reality, but as Marlon Riggs would agree, this “reality” was actually a myth. Even though African Americans were eventually allowed to be included in the mythical family, the odds of them being portrayed realistically was little to none. Race issues were whitewashed from the realm of primetime TV, even during the Civil Rights Movement -- a realistic depiction of which could only be found on the news. Few had the guts to present audiences with so much as a semi realistic version of society, and those that did never found the funding to last longer than a season or two. Reality has proved unable to entertain the masses in the past, but does that still hold true today? Not completely, but after examining the contemporary African American family sitcom, Black-ish, it is evident that television is making its way in that direction. While its portrayal of the mythical American family is reminiscent of The Cosby Show, it also confronts race issues head-on. Created by Kenya Barris, Black-ish stars Anthony Anderson as Andre Johnson: a successful African American man who questions whether the wealth and success of him and his wife has caused their family to forget their race. The comedy fulfills the historically necessary qualifications for its ratings to do well; it represents the American dream and embraces the middle-class value that if you want to succeed and be happy, you have to work hard. They are also the type of family that wouldn’t cause trouble if they moved into your neighborhood; a trait also shared by the older television shows Julia, I Spy, and The Cosby Show. The difference between these shows and Black-ish, of course, is that Black-ish confronts societal race issues. Because the main driving force of the sitcom is Andre Johnson’s dilemma with how his family embraces their racial identity, Black-ish seems to mock The Cosby Show almost as much as it replicates it. In an interview, Kenya Barris put it simply, “The Cosby Show is sort of about a family who happened to be black, but this is a show about a family that’s absolutely black.” In other words, the Johnsons embrace their race, while the Huxtables acted colorless and without a specific racial identity. Black-ish confronts race issues constantly, but it’s surrounded by enough comical fluff for white viewers to not become uncomfortable. These issues include Affirmative Action, stereotypical “black” sports, choosing friends based on race, and more. Although they are confronted, the issues that are brought up are so surrounded by humor that they are not likely to change society. The representation of African Americans has never been quite accurate; in the beginning the stereotypes were insultingly exaggerated for comedic purposes, then they were whitewashed and black actors were forced to remove all traces of their racial identity. From one extreme to another, primetime TV has yet to provide America with a show that accurately depicts African Americans who embrace their race and confront racial issues. Black-ish, although not perfect, is the show that has gotten closest to doing that. .

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