Black.White.
So T and I stayed up on Saturday and saw most of the pilot episode of “Black.White.” a new reality show/social experiment on the FX network. The premise of the show is that two families, one white and one black switch races using makeup, and thereby try to learn about each other’s world. My assumption about the program was that it would be rather tepid and stereotypical, the white family would be portrayed clueless and the black family would be portrayed as indignant and angry. My assumptions were not wrong, but the show, at least so far, has proven to be more than that. It was quite thought provoking actually. For the next few days I tried to examine all my interaction with other people through the lens of race. While race and racism is constantly in the back of my mind, as it is for every person of color, I kind of take it for granted. There was one part of the program that really hit me hard, Brian, now posing as a white man gets a job in a predominantly white neighborhood bar. At one point a customer is chatting with him about the neighborhood and comments some thing along the lines of the fact that while other areas of LA have gone downhill that neighborhood has stayed mainly white.
The statement in itself didn’t shock me, especially considering where I’ve lived and live now, but the fact that he said it out loud, on camera did shock me. Giving it further thought, I realized the discomfort that many well intentioned white people must experience in dealing with people of other races. To give an example the other day I had to send a couple packages via courier, so we went to the UPS store. I’ve been in there a few times and the guy knew me so when confirming the recipients of the packages (both Indian names) he kind of made a little joke about the difficult pronunciation. There was a moment where the air thickened with tension, how would I react? Would I be offended? He visibly relaxed when I laughed and made a few jokes of my own.
It was an interesting experience. There was one time that a person, upon first meeting me, and finding out I was Indian-American, proceeded to speak to me in the Apu voice. It was embarrassing, especially when she realized that I wasn’t responding to her attempted humor in a positive way. Eventually it was resolved.
This is what I mean about the show being thought provoking.
The statement in itself didn’t shock me, especially considering where I’ve lived and live now, but the fact that he said it out loud, on camera did shock me. Giving it further thought, I realized the discomfort that many well intentioned white people must experience in dealing with people of other races. To give an example the other day I had to send a couple packages via courier, so we went to the UPS store. I’ve been in there a few times and the guy knew me so when confirming the recipients of the packages (both Indian names) he kind of made a little joke about the difficult pronunciation. There was a moment where the air thickened with tension, how would I react? Would I be offended? He visibly relaxed when I laughed and made a few jokes of my own.
It was an interesting experience. There was one time that a person, upon first meeting me, and finding out I was Indian-American, proceeded to speak to me in the Apu voice. It was embarrassing, especially when she realized that I wasn’t responding to her attempted humor in a positive way. Eventually it was resolved.
This is what I mean about the show being thought provoking.