My favourite Obama legacy
It’s about time the world knew that successful Black families are not confined to just our TV screens.
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, My Wife and Kids. If you wanna go back a bit further, the Cosby Show and the Jeffersons.
There’s something these programmes all have in common, aside from a slightly repetitive laugh track. They came during a time where Black representation in America was needed the most. The ’80s and ’90s were a time where Jim Crow laws were in living memory, juxtaposing the new opportunities and freedom of expression African-Americans had. These programmes portrayed successful Black family units and the idea of Black love. The impact of these television shows was huge, as entertainment is arguably one of America’s greatest exports. This allowed people in other countries to begin seeing Black people bucking negative stereotypes and building successful lives for themselves and their children. Yet this outlet was still limited to the small screen and such shows were thrown into syndication on small-time digital channels — television’s bin.
Black love is a concept that Hollywood is still too afraid to tap into. I struggle to think of a rom-com where both lovers are black or even people of colour. Classic ‘Black’ films like Love Jones, Love and Basketball and Brown Sugar are confined to limited cult followings. Over on the international stage, Hollywood continues to resist Black/White relationships in fear of possibly “alienating their audience” (see this hurried explanation for Hitch.) Conversely, the big screen may opt to develop stories set where mixed-race relationships are forbidden, encouraging liberals to blindly argue the case that racism is over.
See, the one thing Hollywood hasn’t been able to do in all its years of being active, the Obamas have done with two terms of Barack’s Presidency. The world had no option but to (mostly) accept this charismatic and highly successful black couple and their family.
Take the time to reflect on this, the Obamas’ representation in the White House is more prolific than you think. We don’t live in a ‘colourblind’ world at all so miss me with that bull. We’re still far from a ‘post-racial’ society when:
- According to Roger Moore, Idris Elba needs to be “English English” to play the fictional character of James Bond.
- A black actress portraying the fictional character of Hermoine Granger on stage was met with rage from certain people.
- A black man dressed up as Santa in an American mall was infuriating people to the point where they compared the scenario to a white actor playing Martin Luther King Jr. There’s a small caveat surrounding the validity of this argument; being that MLK was a real, African-American human being whilst Santa Claus is fictional and his looks are derived from a Coca Cola advert.
All in all, I’m pretty content that people were able to see a Black family in that White House. Because it’s about time the world knew that successful Black families are not confined to TV screens.
