Black.White, Episode 1

Episode 1.

White people are stupid.

Discuss.

Wait...actually Rose seems really quite smart.  Thank goodness, because I was starting to get pretty seriously embarrassed.

But truly.

Okay, I suppose the above is a bit of a cop-out.  Here are my thoughts about tonight's episode.  Spoilers below, though not above, since the stupidity of white people with regard to matters of race is not exactly what you'd call a spoiler.

In random order, because, you know, I'm like that.

• Okay, so how, exactly, did Carmen and Bruno produce a kid as smart as Rose?  Somebody taught that girl to really look at race, and I don't think it was her parents.  Maybe I'm missing some subtleties (being, as I am, a white woman), but she really seemed to be on target in a very tough situation.  Older and supposedly more "educated" in these issues, I wouldn't have done so well.
• The Cranberries, though.  It was the best answer--she had to say something she knew something about in order to maintain credibility, but so cute--the Cranberries?
• I thought the reactions of the two families when they first saw each other in makeup were really telling.  I mean, Brian does look profoundly geeky, so I can't really blame  Renee for telling him she would never be attracted to him, but isn't it interesting that Bruno and Carmen immediately kissed and clearly found each other attractive in makeup?
• I expect that many whites will be frustrated with the Sparks' anger about, well, the whole thing, but I'll say for the record that it seems completely justified.  Bruno's refusal to acknowlege the existence of racism (!) would be maddening, and it seems like a total setup that Brian has to take him around and try to find a situation that Bruno will acknowledge as racist.  I don't think it's about anvils dropping on people's heads, at least not usually, but instead death by one thousand cuts, and the idea that Bruno thinks he can pass judgment after one day is a bit much.
• Didn't Bruno see the focus group?  I suppose the guy who talked about shaking hands (wow) was an anomaly in Bruno's book.  And he probably thought the woman who wanted to fire the black employee but complained about fear of lawsuits was just talking about an individual situation.
• Speaking of the focus group, what, exactly, is this insane thrill Bruno seems to get from saying the N-word.  I'm sorry, but I don't care what kind of makeup you have on: NO.
• A couple of times the Sparks point out that they aren't really here to get much out of the experience--they know how white society works (with the exception of attentive shoe salesmen) because in a racist society, black people have to negotiate white society regularly.  And so far, that's what's happening, true to Minh's predictions. 
• I think Nick's reaction to the etiquette class went beyond that observational stance, though, and I think it was an interesting, and poignant, moment of vulnerability for him.  That room was full of awkward and sullen adolescent white boys, but the teacher's corrections and training seemed to have a completely different meaning for Nick.  Even passing as a white boy, the experience of being taught to conform to (patently ridiculous--clearly I have been eating soup like a heathen for years) rigid standards of etiquette seemed to echo too many messages of white criticism and belittling.  While the white participants are getting their worlds rocked in a way that the black participants aren't, the experience of passing as white, with all the attendant anxieties of "being something you're not" has a great deal more power, painfully so, than the white-to-black passing experience.  It's a bit of a mind-fuck, I think, to ask someone to resist cultural messages that idealize whiteness, to have pride and comfort in ones identity as a black person, hard-won, I imagine, and then, hey, try to be white today!  It can't be a simple task to separate a lark at a crazy etiquette class from the struggle to resist a culture full of skin lighteners and hair straighteners and "proper English."  The emotional toll from that is something I didn't expect.
• Speaking of things people expected, hey Minh, it looks like the Sparks are going to educate the Wurgels!  What a surprise.  I hope they're getting paid well.

Okay, I'm off to bed.  White people are stupid: discuss.  That said, the Wurgels are brave to engage race in such a public way, and I don't know if I would be so brave--white people often get to opt out of such discussions.  I'm glad everyone on the show took the risk to do this.  Because it's interesting, and not just in that sort of train-wreck Apprentice kind of way, and it's provocative, and not in that Jerry Springer kind of way. 

If you'd like to contribute to this blog (I would love to see a discussion among a collegial group of reality TV sociologists--what kind of department is it if there's only one--the only qualifications are a deep and abiding affection for reality tv.  Oh, and a commitment to anti-racism, right, that too.), email me at mama (at) mamacate.com and I'll send you an invite.

Comments

[Carole]

Damn! I forgot to tivo the show. But I did see them on Oprah a few weeks ago and the clips that I saw completely support your assessment of the show. I'll make sure I watch from now on.

[Steph]

I don't get the show in Canada--crap.

I'll keep reading, but I wish I could see the show.

[Jackie]

Chances are that I'm not going to be able to watch the show (no Tivo) but I am looking forward to reading along and following the discussion - I'm glad you started this up. :)

[Kat with a K]

I watched and I'd love to contribute. I think you hit on most of my main points, but I actually have a few others you didn't mention, I think. And whee, sociology! Jim Monsonis would be proud. (Was he there when you were?)

[Norma]

You are NOT going to get me to watch any reality TV....are you?