i am truly a dork. i'own even care. i took notes while watching black/white last night. liketahearitheahitgo:
white dude said we are "superior athletes," and he wished when he played ball that he could jump high, like how the black dudes jumped... dude. don't do us any favors with your well-here's-something-i-can-say-that's-nice-about-kneegrows remarks.
when the black couple saw each other appearing white for the first time, they were awkward towards each other. wifey even said there's no way she'd have been attracted to her husband if he really looked like that. but when the white couple saw each other black? whoooooo!!! dude was turned on by it. he was loving his wife all brown and afroed out. they kissed and whatnot... *chuckle* i found the contrast a little telling. hope i'm not reading too much into it.
white mom's response to seeing her daughter as a black girl for the first time? that she looked just like a "little black girl." forgive me for the chip on my shoulder, but there was just something about the way that she said it that twisted my lips up... oh, and daugher's response when dad reached out to her? "scary." LOL!
the music they played was comical! why was the music they played when the black folks were out appearing white some ole hokey smo.thers br.others mayb.erry music? just why!?!?! LOL!
there was no commercial break for the first 25 minutes. interesting.
i never truly knew the impact that television really has on people until i witnessed these three things: first, the use of the word "jiving." second, the use of the word "honky." and third, the sh.erman hem.sley shuffle that the white man did (thank goodness he was only playing and out of character when he did it.) which reminds me. when his wife and daughter were getting their makeup done, the blacker they began to look, the more they started whipping their necks around like sh.eneneh jen.kins from marti.n (or let's say geraldin.e from flip wils.on, for the mom.) this right here is why i don't argue too vehemently with people who complain about black images in the media, and why sometimes i'm one of the ones complaining.
was it just me, or did the white woman and her daughter just have awesome transformations? carmen and rose looked like sisters, for real.
the white guy. *deep breath* i love how the man just has all the answers for great race relations. he seems to think that if we shrug whenever we hear the word nigger that the indifference will kill the impact and taboo of the word. according to him, we should simply ask, "well, why would you call me that," and keep it moving. sounds simple enough. when in public appearing black, his strategy was to not expect racist treatment and to, "be polite and respectful," (this, in particular, was repeated ad nauseum) in order to avoid static. how ingenious of him! why didn't we think of that before? it's so obvious now. if only james byrd and emmett till had thought of that... i get it now. i just have to teach my future son that racism is our fault for having bad attitudes, and that if he's a good kneegrow then the cops won't bother him, and he'll never have to wonder if he didn't get a job because of color.
it was like a blow to my throat when that poetry "teacher" told rose that she need not use all of those, and i quote, "big words" in her poetry, so that she could connect more to the audience. broke this poet's piscean heart. i understood what she meant by relating to the audience. but as a matter of principle, i hate the idea of a poet dumbing down their communication. and i was a little embarrassed that what ultimately made the child stick out was that her poetry wasn't the same regurgitated black nationalistic stuff that too many black poets seem to think is the only subject matter black poets should ever write about. there are some experiences that are simply universally human, and rose's poem touched poignantly and creatively on one of them.
it was interesting when the black guy was at work appearing white and the bar patron gave him the "how to avoid crime and non-white folks" scoop on the neighborhood. i couldn't help but wonder what would happen if (when?) the white guy would be out somewhere, appearing black, and then some black guy would say something to him that usually isn't said in mixed company. i wonder if the white guy is going to learn more about how bigoted black folks can be more than he'll learn about how bigoted whites can be.
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