Black.White. Episode #1

The first episode of Black.White. was about what I expected from the commercials. I found that I really liked the black family (Brian, Renee and Nick), and the white parents (Bruno and Carmen) got on my last nerve. They seemed to generalize a lot, which was annoying. The white daughter, Rose, was extremely likable.

It was very instructive to see Bruno so focused on the N word. You could see Brian’s face freeze up when Bruno used it. Bruno did not seem to notice. Brian patiently explained that that kind of overt racism is not really seen these days, that it’s more subtle, and he gave details that ring true. But during the focus group, when Bruno had an opportunity to listen to the legitimate stories by the black participants of the group, he instead chose to tell an outrageous stereotype-filled lie about being called the N word. I wondered what on earth he was thinking or trying to accomplish with that story. He had the opportunity to listen to other people’s genuine experiences with racism, and chose not to take it. He later said he looked forward to being called names because he had planned out how to react.

My first reaction to the show is that people, especially white people, should be more observant and listen more. It’s indisputable that black folks can generally move comfortably in either black or white culture. They’re exposed to white culture all the time. White people, on the other hand, often know little or nothing about blacks other than the stereotypes that the white family expressed at the beginning of the show. Even I cringed, and I’m basically clueless.

One thing that kind of tickled me was when Brian and Renee commented on how curious white people are. Guilty as charged. For example, when I meet someone at a business function, I get loads of information about them beyond what they do. I usually find out why they do it, things about their education and family, pets and hobbies they have. And then when I’m out of sight, I jot notes down on the back of their business card to help me remember them. One of the first jobs I had was as a market researcher and I learned to ask probing questions in a way that doesn’t seem rude or intrusive. You can almost always tell early on in the conversation how far you can go without offending. I’m intensely interested in other people most of the time. I just never thought of that as a “white” characteristic.

I can’t wait until the next episode.