Stereotypes In The Film Black-Ish By Kenya Barris

ABC’s television show, Black-ish, created by Kenya Barris, stars a predominately all black cast, with a few nonblack supporting characters. The character Andre “Dre” Johnson is fully black, whereas his wife, Rainbow “Bow” Johnson is half black and half white (both on the show and in real life). This makes their children, the twins, Jack and Diane, their son Junior, and their daughter Zoey, all a quarter white, but nonetheless black. Black-ish confronts the issues of race and being black in America by portraying black stereotypes while simultaneously subverting said stereotypes to present the concept that there is more than one way to be black.

In a show such as this, it is important that all the characters be black because the show deals with

This is very obvious and is played upon on multiple episodes. If Black-ish were to follow stereotypes, the Johnson family would live in a unkept, crime ridden neighborhood, referred to as the ghetto or the projects. In the pilot episode, a car full of white people drive past the Johnsons while pointing and taking pictures, as if they were animals in a zoo. Black people have historically had a difficult time buying nice homes whether is be because realtors showing them potential homes or because they felt moving into a neighborhood surrounded by hostile whites would be unsafe (Daniel). A black family living in a white dominated neighborhood is seen as an oddity because they were somehow able to beat the odds to be where they

Today, it is commonly known that children who are physically abused by their parents are left with long term negative effects. Though some will still argue that they were beaten as a child, and as a result, turned out just fine. When Dre recalls times when he was beaten as a child and when Bow and Dre joke about beating their children, this further normalizes abuse against children. Throughout many episodes of Black-ish, there are brief mentions and jokes about receiving beatings that, unfortunately, many audience members can relate to. And what is worrying is that audiences may not even be phased by this connection because to them this is normal. They were beaten, their friends were beaten, their parents and grandparents; a long line a normalized abuse. Victims of abuse typically go on to abuse their children, believing that hitting them with a belt a good way