What I watched:
Black-ish S3.E11&12 "Their Eyes Were Watching Screens" and "Lemons"
What I saw:
Episode 11 was a more run of the mill episode focusing on technology. Drew and Bo become concerned at what content the children are viewing on their devices when Bo walks in on Diane looking up porn because she was curious about what sex was. They then spy on all their kids to see what they are doing online, and even try to install a blocker to keep them from accessing inappropriate content, but backfires when things like news sites and online homework gets blocked.
The episode did a good job of showing the parallels of how their parents viewed change in technology, when Ruby mentions she hated the TV with channels like MTV showing rap videos with girls butts being so easily accessible. Ruby, in an uncharacteristically wise monologue, explains that when a generation grows up with a certain technology they view it as more harmless compared to the generation before that does not fully understand it. The only thing parents can do is instill a sense of morality and hope it translates into the newer technology. The kids did a good job of explaining how they use it in their social circumstances.
Zoey was taking selfies in her swimsuit in order to show she still has confidence in herself after some boy tried to put her down. Junior wasn't watching beheadings because he was a sadist, he was watching the news about human rights violations. Information has become easier and easier to send/receive with each generation, and with it comes new social standards. Adults may know how to use the technology, but it is the younger generation that sets new standards of etiquette.
However, the most impactful episode of not only the two I watched, but of the season so far, is "Lemons."
This episode covered the national reaction to the election of Donald Trump. Everyone at Dre's office is still reeling from Trump being elected president, while Dre is trying to focus everyone on the presentation that is due. The school for Junior and Zoey are hosting a rally, where Junior has been asked to read Martin Luther King Jr. iconic "I have a dream" speech. Bo, fearing Zoey is apathetic since she is not jumping to join a cause, tries to get her daughter involved besides simply making some lemonade for her and her friends to drink.
Dre, Junior, and Zoey become the focus of the episodes with other characters guiding the conversation.
Dre's storyline follows the discussion many adults were having about the election, wondering just how exactly did a man like Trump win an election to become the most powerful person in the world, and they start throwing blame around to all kind she of ethnic and political groups. I like how they included a Trump supporter as Lucy, rather than their boss who is clearly rich and somewhat racist. It had more of an impact having a woman be a supporter who doesn't not fit the stereotypical mold most people have of a Trump supporter. She defended that she was anti-establishment, and Trump was definitely that.
The seemingly endless debate didn't not come to an end until their boss accuses Dre of being unamerican since he wants to focus on work, and he drops an amazing speech about how him and many other black communities always vote despite the fact that they know nothing will really change for them no matter who is the president.
The speech definitely touched on the fact that despite what many educated middle class people think they know, there is a whole other America that is continually passed over not only in each election, but in society in general. The socially disenfranchised are left to fend for themselves and develop their communities on their own.
Junior was led to a journey of discovering how black history, the history of many other communities of color, and progressives, gets systemically whitewashed and played down in the school system. Pops has Junior read the full "Dream" speech, and he realizes it was a call to action, not just a call for equality. Pops also mentions the national anthem, the full version anyways, mentions slaves being killed. Junior is now informed of how the system chooses what it wants its citizens at large to know, and he risks falling into militancy. Pops tells him he doesn't have to go full blown revolutionary, but instead just choose to no longer live in ignorance of what the world is really like and to think about what parts of the story that may be left out.
Speaking of history that is often left out, there is a really good book that covers the progressive and grassroots struggles (and victories!) of American history. It is called A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn. It is very dense, with each page filled with so much information on the different movements that occurred. It also put a light that certain major events like the revolutionary war were not completely unified or inevitable; many just wanted to live in peace and use diplomacy to resolve the issue. One of the other things I noticed when reading that book is how everything was cyclical. Progressives would gain ground in making changes through grassroots movement, and then there was an attack on the changes made to push things back. The history of progress is two steps forward one step back; much like how people view Trump becoming elected.
The last arch to get wrapped up was between Zoey and Bo. With the pressure from her mother reaching a boiling point, Zoey finally elaborates on why she is choosing to make lemonade for the rally rather than a more active approach. Zoey says that she is upset about the election as well, but unsure of what the right response should be she then just decides to make lemonade as an offering of peace and to help calm people's nerves. Because in the end it is the everyday small gestures that really make a big difference in people's lives.
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