Don’t Cry “Racism”

I recently read that there is a petition to remove the show Bob Hearts Abisola from CBS’s lineup. The complaint is that the show is racist, and as such is indicative of Chuck Lorre’s (a White man’s) racism. Never mind the fact that a British Nigerian is one of the producers of the show.

It reminds me of some reactions to the show Outsourced, a television series about Indians in India working at a call center with three White bosses. One was from America, the other from Australia. People claimed that show was racist too. However, I happen to analyze the first ten episodes of the show for a paper I wrote and observed the wit the writers were using to engage and challenge global racial thinking.

There has been a longstanding problem that television has primarily featured White people. Give us more diversity!, some cry out. When we see Black people they’re only crackheads, they complain. When we see Africans, they can’t speak English, they lament. We don’t ever see South Asians on television, some grieve. And then these images finally arrive in the form of situation comedy and they cry, it’s racist!

Well before we cry racism here are some things to consider.

1. What Does Progress Really Look Like? We are a long ways from White men wearing Black or Yellow face to portray caricatures (exaggerated derogatory depictions) of non-White people. We have evolved into minoritized people playing characters within their social group, and now even having creative power. At times these depictions have been praised. Other times scrutinized. The volatile response to depictions of a minoritized group has a lot to do with concern over how this image might impact the White majority. If that’s the case, then why create any show at all?On one hand the Cosby Show was too positive dismissing Black people’s reality, and on another Martin! was a modern day coon we secretly loved. What does an in-between look like? Even on shows like Black-ish, there have been featured characters who resonate with an age-old stereotype.
2. Situation Comedy as a Form. But that’s comedy. As woke as we want to be, we can’t sleep on the fact that situation comedies have historically relied on stereotypes. This doesn’t mean it has to propagate them, but it does utilize them. Whether it is to reinforce beliefs about a social group or challenge our beliefs, comedy plays on the ideas we possess about different others. Take Jack from Will & Grace, for example. Every gay man is not as flamboyant as he. Yet the show relied on this for comic relief. We only have 22–28 minutes, ya’ll.
3. Situation Comedy as Rhetoric. One of the claims in the petition against Bob Hearts Abishola is that the show reinforced stereotypes of African-Americans as lazy in an episode. If we give things time, we are likely to discover the brilliance in using comedic frames to bring social issues to the forefront. Things that we cannot discuss in person or on our facebook posts without being heated are often treated with comedy. A good writer is able to engage these uncomfortable conversations and take their viewer on a ride where by the end of a season, they are confronted with their own biases and the futility of stereotyping an entire group. This is what I observed with Outsourced. While in the first couple of episodes the Indian characters were seen as the butt of the joke, at times American exceptionalism was critiqued. Toward the middle and end, the White characters were confronted with their own privilege, and the perspective of the South Asian character was more visible
4. Interpretations are Not Equal. While we are concerned about how people might interpret depictions or dialogue within a show, we need to recall that people may see things differently. What is offensive to one, may just be comical to another. The conversations characters have about their personal beliefs about other racial groups might actually be relatable for someone. Could even help them hear or see themselves. Of course this is a positive perspective. Norman Lear hoped his vivid depiction of a bigot like Archie Bunker would make audiences uncomfortable, but some studies showed that people who were already bigotted identified and appreciated a character like Archie. So it didn’t help, but that brings me to my last point.
5. Real World. But this is real life. People are having these conversations. People do hold unfavorable beliefs.Some of what is depicted in shows like Bob Hearts Abishola or Fresh off the Boat are actual occurrences in the lives of many people, especially immigrants and their family. What does it say of us that we can’t handle this?

I am technically a Nigerian-American who is classified as Black. There are some shows I watch (uh…Love and Hip Hop?…Real Housewives of Atlanta) and think really? But the thing is I don’t relate to these shows and neither do I seek enjoyment from downward social comparison. Honestly, I just want to be seen too. And when I see shows that center stories I can relate with as a minoritized person and in the hands of people like me, I can appreciate it. Doesn’t mean I can’t critique it. But why shoot it down? The gap between Chico and the Man and the George Lopez Show was about 30 years! The gap between Margaret Cho’s American Girl and Fresh off the Boat was 20 years. I have never seen a story centered on a Nigerian character on television. And Tyler Perr, no matter how controversial, just opened up some new studios named after people Hollywood doesn’t honor. So let’s not petition to get rid of things, but demand better and more.