In the pilot episode of The Bernie Mac Show, the main character, Bernie Mac, becomes the legal guardian over her sister’s children. He struggles to find a way to gain respect from these kids because he knows he is not their father but he must act like one to teach them morals that was not previously taught to them. This show enforces norms of a middle aged black male by referencing stereotypes that have been preached in the past.
One of the biggest stereotypes placed upon the black community is that no one has a father growing up. This is displayed vividly throughout this first pilot episode. For example, these kids have to stay with Bernie Mac because his sister had drug problems and their father left them before they were born. These kids were absent of a father from birth, generalizing the entire black community to have the same situation as these three kids. Also, when the youngest child asks Bernie, “Are you our new father?” he quickly avoids being considered a fatherly figure to these kids. Even though he performs all of the fatherly duties that is required of him, he seems to act very defensive when he is misconstrued as a father to anyone around him. Bernie Mac himself also referenced the fact that he did not have a father growing up as a kid, enforcing the norm to a greater degree than ever before.
To continue, whenever Bernie Mac tries to discipline these kids, he always results to “tough love” and threatens to beat the kids. As he was walking through his house, he would point out the items the kids couldn’t touch. After prohibiting close to half of the items in the house, he said, “if you touch any of these items I will beat your a$$,” which gives the kids the Impression that they can’t do anything inside of the house. This sets the example of black fathers being abusive to their kids if they want their kids to respect them. It harms their image as fathers and enforces the ideal that the African American community is impulsively violent.
In conclusion, these enforcement of norms are harmful to the African American community as a whole. It sets the stigma that as a black dad, it is okay to abandon their children because they will have someone to watch over them. This is not always the case and some kids get abandoned, which creates a horrible outcome for that child. It also shows that if the dad stays to be a father for the child, it is an acceptable practice to use violence to get discipline from these kids. Overall, this show portrayed the African American community as violent people who have no responsibility to raise their kids. It allows future fathers to think it is acceptable to leave when it is not.
