Season 5 Chat

[VioletNevermind]

I just mustered the strength to watch this.  Oh my dear Lord . . . my poor Prince.  My blood has run purple for the last 35 years, so I'm probably the last person who can comment on this with any impartiality, but here I am.  This was an utter disgrace and he would never have cosigned it.  Ditto for the Capital One commercial airing now that's using "Let's Go Crazy."  At the risk of waxing poetic, the entire thing felt like a cheap, hastily thrown together mockery of a beautiful, sensitive, kind soul who lived and breathed the creation of music.  One of the things that was (ugh, that past tense still hurts) so wonderful about Prince was that he and his music spanned genres and races.  His music actually united people of different colors, backgrounds, and ages.  The scenes of people mourning outside Paisley Park on 4/21/16 was proof of that.  One of my life's little pleasures since he passed is the wonderful conversations that are sparked with all different kinds of people when you learn that someone is a major Prince fan.  I've been told a couple of times that I don't "look like a Prince fan."  My response is always: "I'm not sure what a Prince fan is supposed to look like, but this one looks like me."  

All respect to differing opinions.  YMMV, as always.

Edited November 15, 2018 by SuzyLee

[ElectricBoogaloo]

So did they blow the entire season's budget on the musical rights, costumes, and sets for this episode? While I'm sure it was fun for the cast to dress up and recreate Prince videos, it was not that fun to watch.

The plot (and I'm using that word very loosely) was barely existent. If you've ever seen a really bad musical where there are patches of dialogue to justify launching into the next song, that's what this entire episode felt like.

While I get that larger theme about how it hurts when the younger generation doesn't know about an icon like Prince, I find it difficult to believe that Dre's coworkers didn't know who he was. Stevens is old enough to remember what a cultural phenomenon Purple Rain was. There's no way they could have missed the huge outpouring in the media when he died. The news went on for months, first with his death then with anecdotes about the events surrounding his death (the emergency plane landing, the fact that he was found alone - every little detail resulted in tons of coverage), the shots of fans mourning outside Paisley Park and leaving cards/balloons on the fence, then the autopsy reports about having drugs in his system, the shocking revelation that he left behind no will. This was not a one day news story. It was everywhere for MONTHS. Even if Stevens couldn't name five Prince songs, he had to be aware of his existence.

I really want to know how Jack was aware of Sinéad O'Connor and "Nothing Compares 2 U" but he didn't know a single Prince song. Again, just a weak and nonsensical premise to justify more lecturing from Dre (and I agree with the post above that said it sounded like they were reading the Wikipedia page about Prince).

Edited November 15, 2018 by ElectricBoogaloo

[Arcadiasw]

1 hour ago, Empress1 said:

I disagree re: issues. (I do think Black culture is, and has always been, more pervasive. The challenge there is Black people getting the credit they're due.) All white people, no. A lot of white people, yes. There are a lot of very insular white communities out there in which white people only ever live, work, and socialize with other white people, so they don't think about stuff that happens to people of color because they don't have to. I've encountered a lot of white people who think we solved racism and are shocked if I mention the micro aggressions I face every day, and the overt acts of racism I've encountered. Melissa DePino, the woman who posted the video of the two Black men being arrested at a Philly Starbucks for nothing, said she got calls and texts from white friends who didn't think stuff like that still happened. Odds are great that the only Black people Dre's boss, who has been portrayed as a lifelong 1%er, knows are people who have worked for him, and IRL they wouldn't have as many personal conversations as they do (WAY too many for my liking, I would last a week at Dre's office). For people who associate only with the majority, they have to make a conscious 

Like I said in a previous post I agree how some white people are clueless but in Blackish it seems all are clueless. The boss and son can be clueless but why can't the other worker be informed? It's crazier to think are all clueless at Dre's job, a company that has to reach all races, have black and white clients and is located in California. 

ITA agree by the too many personal conversations. I used to work in an office like that. Drove me nuts and I annoyed a lot of people because I didn't share my personal business. 

[Suzn]

2 hours ago, SuzyLee said:

I just mustered the strength to watch this.  Oh my dear Lord . . . my poor Prince.  My blood has run purple for the last 35 years, so I'm probably the last person who can comment on this with any impartiality, but here I am.  This was an utter disgrace and he would never have cosigned it.  Ditto for the Capital One commercial airing now that's using "Let's Go Crazy."  At the risk of waxing poetic, the entire thing felt like a cheap, hastily thrown together mockery of a beautiful, sensitive, kind soul who lived and breathed the creation of music.  One of the things that was (ugh, that past tense still hurts) so wonderful about Prince was that he and his music spanned genres and races.  His music actually united people of different colors, backgrounds, and ages.  The scenes of people mourning outside Paisley Park on 4/21/16 was proof of that.  One of my life's little pleasures since he passed is the wonderful conversations that are sparked with all different kinds of people when you learn that someone is a major Prince fan.  I've been told a couple of times that I don't "look like a Prince fan."  My response is always: "I'm not sure what a Prince fan is supposed to look like, but this one looks like me."  

All respect to differing opinions.  YMMV, as always.

 

I guess I wouldn't "look like a Prince fan" either, but I have been since the song and movie Purple Rain.  It is a big regret of mine that I didn't see him when he came to my city a few years ago.  The tickets cost a fortune, but I wish I had just put them on a credit card.

ETA: I can't even begin to relate to Madonna.

Edited November 15, 2018 by Suzn

[Racj82]

2 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

I'm not quite sure I understand. Prince wasn't just known in a small segment of the United States. He was known and loved, by many cultures, world-wide. You only need to go back and read the reactions to his untimely death to get a sense of that. 

Are you saying that Madonna is more relatable than Prince was? I'm just not following your logic here. I'm not being snarky. I'm honestly not understanding. For me, the bottom line is, that this was extremely insulting that these dweebs in the office didn't know who Prince was. Both are old enough to know. And even if they weren't fans, when Prince died, the news dominated social media. Let me put it this way: I wasn't born when The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley, and any and most of Motown made a name for themselves, but I DO know about them. and frankly prefer music from that era. So there's that. 

Plus THIS:

Never mind. Forget I said anything. 

[qtpye]

3 hours ago, SuzyLee said:

I just mustered the strength to watch this.  Oh my dear Lord . . . my poor Prince.  My blood has run purple for the last 35 years, so I'm probably the last person who can comment on this with any impartiality, but here I am.  This was an utter disgrace and he would never have cosigned it.  Ditto for the Capital One commercial airing now that's using "Let's Go Crazy."  At the risk of waxing poetic, the entire thing felt like a cheap, hastily thrown together mockery of a beautiful, sensitive, kind soul who lived and breathed the creation of music.  One of the things that was (ugh, that past tense still hurts) so wonderful about Prince was that he and his music spanned genres and races.  His music actually united people of different colors, backgrounds, and ages.  The scenes of people mourning outside Paisley Park on 4/21/16 was proof of that.  One of my life's little pleasures since he passed is the wonderful conversations that are sparked with all different kinds of people when you learn that someone is a major Prince fan.  I've been told a couple of times that I don't "look like a Prince fan."  My response is always: "I'm not sure what a Prince fan is supposed to look like, but this one looks like me."  

All respect to differing opinions.  YMMV, as always.

I agree because Prince was so particular about the way his music should be used. He was not just an amazingly talented artist, but also a smart businessman. Prince would have hated everything about this. I think his sister and half brothers are managing his estate in a manner to just make as much money as possible from his catalog. 

[NUguy514]

As I said above, I thought the tag at the end with the coworkers was lazy, and I think that because the exchange was just lazy.  Dre says his family was talking about Prince, Psychopath Boss asks the prince of what, Dre just repeats Prince incredulously, rinse and repeat.  There was no reason at all Dre wouldn't have responded with "the singer," but the writers didn't have him say that so they could make some stupid joke about how clueless and stupid and awful his white coworkers are again, some more; and if Dre had said, "the singer," they 1024864768% would've known Prince because everyone knows Prince.  So, they tried to have it both ways and created a truly unbelievable exchange in multiple ways; it was about as unbelievable as Jack's knowing who Sinead O'Connor is.

[BookThief]

Sophia sang "Purple Rain" on the Golden Girls for crying out loud! Elderly white woman 30 years ago knew who Prince was!

[Madame Crabanda]

I was creeped out by the song they decided to go with at the very beginning. Of all the Prince songs or lyrics they could have chosen to have the family dancing to in the kitchen, they decided to start out with "...and if de elevator tries to bring you down/go crazy/punch a higher floor" and then the original recording is altered so that after a brief musical interlude, the very next words are "Are we gonna let de elevator bring us down?"

How or why would the recording be edited that way if they were just enjoying some Prince music as they all what? cleaned up after a meal? Was this a special edit for elevator fans? Because it sure wasn't the original recording.

Everyone knows that Prince was found dead in his elevator, right? That is some seriously messed up thing to emphasize on a sitcom. Just really strange.

[Madame Crabanda]

1 minute ago, Tasha Brand said:

I didn't, so not everyone.

I stand corrected.  It seemed reasonable to me to assume that quite a few people were aware, due to the fairly extensive news coverage, that Prince was in fact found dead in his elevator. But not everyone, so maybe not anyone who wrote the show or edited the music that coincidentally emphasized the word "elevator." 

[HighHopes]

13 hours ago, Arcadiasw said:

Like I said in a previous post I agree how some white people are clueless but in Blackish it seems all are clueless. The boss and son can be clueless but why can't the other worker be informed? It's crazier to think are all clueless at Dre's job, a company that has to reach all races, have black and white clients and is located in California. 

But companies  have long been run, and still very much so are, by well, white men. Make up companies, feminine hygiene products, marketing, technology, whatever is supposed to be for everyone is usually created and sold by white men. That’s the truth. Hell, the first Apple Watch only worked on white skin because no one there thought to test it on anyone else’s skin. Automatic hand dryers in bathrooms can sometimes not recognize non-white skin for the same reason. So this is a reality. Just because you have to reach a demographic doesn’t mean that you employ that demographic or even personally know things about that demographic. Just look at governments and how many male politicians get information on women’s health wrong. And these are the people who will then make laws regarding women’s health. You can damnwell be clueless about a demographic and still be a successful company. 

And yes, people like Dre’s co-workers do exist, hit up any Facebook thread or reddit for comments to see evidence of this. 

The portrayal of Dre’s co-workers are a bit of social commentary I think. They are examples of the explicit and implicit racists that still exist today. And also, if you are annoyed by two/three harmless white characters who you feel are “unrealistic” and you think give white people a bad name, think about the countless and endless actual racist stereotypes of people of colour that are present in almost all media. Then tell me again how annoying these guys are.

 

Reverse racism and reverse discrimination are not things either. The very fact that you have to include “reverse” in there should tell you it’s not. 

[Gothish520]

It's s stretch, but I could maybe buy Stevens not knowing Prince. But Josh? No freaking way. Same with Jack knowing Sinead O'Connor and not knowing Prince. Ridiculous.

This episode was a miss. Or a mess. Or both. 

[Arcadiasw]

5 hours ago, HighHopes said:

 

And yes, people like Dre’s co-workers do exist, hit up any Facebook thread or reddit for comments to see evidence of this. 

The portrayal of Dre’s co-workers are a bit of social commentary I think. They are examples of the explicit and implicit racists that still exist today. And also, if you are annoyed by two/three harmless white characters who you feel are “unrealistic” and you think give white people a bad name, think about the countless and endless actual racist stereotypes of people of colour that are present in almost all media. Then tell me again how annoying these guys are.

 

Wow. Thanks for putting words I never said in my mouth.  

In truth, all those stereotypes are bad but I am only talking about this show. For me my initial comments stems from lack of change and growth in the series. I was only using white people as an example of that since others pointed out other lack of changes and growth like Dre and his treatment of his sons, Jack still being dumb, etc. 

I'm done on this since I don't want it to escalate or this thread go off topic as other threads in forums have. 

[HighHopes]

2 hours ago, Arcadiasw said:

Wow. Thanks for putting words I never said in my mouth.  

In truth, all those stereotypes are bad but I am only talking about this show. For me my initial comments stems from lack of change and growth in the series. I was only using white people as an example of that since others pointed out other lack of changes and growth like Dre and his treatment of his sons, Jack still being dumb, etc. 

I'm done on this since I don't want it to escalate or this thread go off topic as other threads in forums have. 

My apologies. The first paragraph was in response to your quoted post but the following were general commentary on a few posts I had seen in this thread. 

Edited November 16, 2018 by HighHopes

[qtpye]

On 11/14/2018 at 9:05 AM, GHScorpiosRule said:

I Never want to see Anderson’s bare belly undulating EVER again.

This should have never happened and it has nothing to do with the actor being a little thick. I remember just being horrified and confused when I saw it.

[link417]

4 hours ago, qtpye said:

This should have never happened and it has nothing to do with the actor being a little thick. I remember just being horrified and confused when I saw it.

And that LEGO wig he had on? Burn it.

[GHScorpiosRule]

Let me add to my incredulity that Jack didn't know of Prince, who was a STAR and known WORLD-WIDE, but did know Sinéad O'Connor, who was just a one hit wonder. And I say that as someone who loves that song.

[Quickbeam]

Hit or miss. Diane was funny. It really bugged me that they couldn’t let Junior be sexy in his Prince moment but had to make him look like a buffoon. The way the show treats the character is ugly.

Prince is the only performer I have ever seen in concert that attracted a truly racially mixed audience. Everyone was there and all ages too. I hated that they made the white colleagues not know who he was.

[readster]

9 hours ago, Quickbeam said:

Hit or miss. Diane was funny. It really bugged me that they couldn’t let Junior be sexy in his Prince moment but had to make him look like a buffoon. The way the show treats the character is ugly.

Prince is the only performer I have ever seen in concert that attracted a truly racially mixed audience. Everyone was there and all ages too. I hated that they made the white colleagues not know who he was.

Sadly, Black-ish has fallen in the trap of the so many shows. They do one thing or a certain way with a character and then they have to harp on it no matter what. Here with Junior going into Zoey's Prince piece and then making him come across as a moron. Followed by Dre's: "I don't care about you." Then his co-workers... ugh! It's like with Bow's co-workers, are they doctors or are they people who would be reported to HR for the crap they have done over the years. It isn't funny or sad, it's just bad.

[Gothish520]

6 hours ago, readster said:

Sadly, Black-ish has fallen in the trap of the so many shows. They do one thing or a certain way with a character and then they have to harp on it no matter what. Here with Junior going into Zoey's Prince piece and then making him come across as a moron. Followed by Dre's: "I don't care about you." Then his co-workers... ugh! It's like with Bow's co-workers, are they doctors or are they people who would be reported to HR for the crap they have done over the years. It isn't funny or sad, it's just bad.

I'm one who has had no real issues with the Dre/Junior dynamic - until now. That "I don't care about you" line fell with a thud like a lead balloon. Not funny.

After catching up on the show over the past few months, I was really looking forward to this season - but something feels off. The Halloween episode was pretty good, but the rest have just not measured up - and this one was BAD. I know there is a new showrunner, but from what I understand, Kenya Barris is still somewhat involved - are there new writers this season as well? Have the actors lost their mojo for the show? Something ain't right here.

[Kimmmmmm]

Having problems with the reply and quote functions (my ipad is ancient)...BUT my favorite Prince tribute came from David Gilmour, who inserted a guitar solo from Purple Rain into a guitar solo for Comfortably Numb...suddenly, everything went purple..he didn't say/sing a word....just played...and everyone knew what was going on...

[topanga]

19 hours ago, Quickbeam said:

Hit or miss. Diane was funny. It really bugged me that they couldn’t let Junior be sexy in his Prince moment but had to make him look like a buffoon. The way the show treats the character is ugly.

I guess it’s a very unpopular opinion to say that I liked this episode. Not all of the Prince “looks” were great, but I had fun watching the show with my kids. We play a lot of Prince music around here, but the kids haven’t seen many pictures of how his style has changed over the years. So I loved saying, “Yup. He wore that. He looked like that.” One of my sons even said, “And people were okay with that?” similar to Diane’s question. And they were. He was Prince. Most people accepted his uniqueness without question. 

I was surprised that no one talked to Jack about how great a dancer Prince was or showed him footage. That probably would have hooked him right away. 

[Gothish520]

44 minutes ago, topanga said:

I guess it’s a very unpopular opinion to say that I liked this episode. Not all of the Prince “looks” were great, but I had fun watching the show with my kids. We play a lot of Prince music around here, but the kids haven’t seen many pictures of how his style has changed over the years. So I loved saying, “Yup. He wore that. He looked like that.” One of my sons even said, “And people were okay with that?” similar to Diane’s question. And they were. He was Prince. Most people accepted his uniqueness without question. 

I was surprised that no one talked to Jack about how great a dancer Prince was or showed him footage. That probably would have hooked him right away. 

I think that is my biggest issue with the episode - there was so much they could've mentioned and didn't. The thing I kept thinking when they were initially trying to convince Jack and Diane how great Prince was is, just play the music! If they refused to listen on their headphones, then play it out loud - surely they must have an Echo Dot or some other home device. I just now said "Alexa, play Prince", and here I am sitting here listening to When Doves Cry! Easy!

[galaxychaser]

On 11/14/2018 at 11:02 AM, Empress1 said:

The other reason I didn't like this episode is that Dre's assholishness when it comes to his kids was on display. The episode started with a voiceover about his kids disappointing him, he talked about how Jack was going to disappoint him on his first study date, and then when Junior said the Prince lectures had worked on him, he looked Junior dead in the face and said "I don't care about you." I just don't find that stuff funny. 

Yep I hate Dre. He is a nasty person for disliking junior. Zoe is his favorite. And devontay is forgotten one, an after thought.

bo was dressed hideously.  

[Dee]

On 11/17/2018 at 6:02 PM, topanga said:

I was surprised that no one talked to Jack about how great a dancer Prince was or showed him footage. That probably would have hooked him right away. 

Prince's talent as a dancer is rarely celebrated. Kind of how Michael Jackson's talent as a musician is rarely appreciated.

[OnceSane]

Quote

Junior hasn’t been doing much at home during his gap year, so Dre decides to put him to work as an intern at Stevens & Lido. Junior is astonished to see Dre’s co-workers say offensive things and Dre letting it slide. Meanwhile, Bow lets Ruby watch Devante after the nanny quits; and Ruby has a hard time following Bow’s rules.

Airs November 27, 2018.

[Kimmmmmm]

Never mind

Edited November 21, 2018 by Kimmmmmm

[Dee]

I hope D'Alicia moves in with the rest of the family.

Anna Deavere Smith is way too good to remain sporadically recurring.

[mtlchick]

Of course Pops would have "grieving tenderonis." 

[ichbin]

Just a little throwback to the last episode.  This week Jack referenced Nancy Reagan, but last week he didn't know Prince?  C'mon writers!

[Traveller519]

This one hit me, in a good way. 

This past October was two years since my Grandfather passed. The first year was still tough, but it was a little easier this year. The notion of having proper time to grieve rang true. For positive people, it's natural to want to focus on the positive, but putting together that realization that things have changed is an important part of the process.

As usual, Pops was spectacular. Great to see him go through more emotions with Dre

[Empress1]

11 hours ago, Dee said:

I hope D'Alicia moves in with the rest of the family.

Anna Deavere Smith is way too good to remain sporadically recurring.

I would love to see more of Bow's family overall, including Daveed Diggs (always, I have a crush on him) and Rashida Jones as Bow's siblings - we didn't even see them when their dad died. (I know the show was in the thick of the Bow/Dre separation then.)

One of my best friends just lost her MIL about a month ago and she and her husband are spending Thanksgiving with his family. They're dreading it because the loss is so fresh. (She was over 80 so it wasn't entirely unexpected, but it happened fast. She got pneumonia and died within a week. My friend's husband's father has been dead for years - he died well before my friend met her husband - so it's the first Thanksgiving without both parents.) She was like "It's the first of the first-year milestones." I thought of that when watching this episode.

Jack being able to think on his feet while Junior couldn't was cute, although I would think someone would have noticed that Diane wasn't there.

[tennisgurl]

I know that its impossible for sitcom writers to compare notes or whatever, but I couldn't help noticing that this is the same title of an episode Modern Family did, also about the death of a parent, just a few weeks ago.

Dre was kind of annoying in his lack of sympathy for Alicia, but I did actually like the episode. I was always a bit sore that they offed Bows dad just to put an end to the Dre/Bow almost divorce story, and skipped over the real fall out from that. I would have liked to see Bows sister and brother show up, but I did like the episode and how they dealt with Bows grief. That felt very real, grief really does come up at weird times, or even after you think your "over it", and I liked how it all worked out. 

Any Pops episode immediately becomes better, so I was happy that he got so much good stuff to work with. 

[Luciano]

Pops is the best. I loved him yanking that tiki torch out of the white guy's hand and telling him that "this is over for you people."

Jack thinking that the gift of teeth Diane got him was cool ("They're still warm!") shows that she's not the only twisted twin.

[LadyintheLoop]

Quote

I would think someone would have noticed that Diane wasn't there

Maybe they only notice when she's doing something wrong.

The inefficacy of the other Johnsons' natural deodorant was a nice callback to "Parental Guidance."

I wonder where the idea of handing out Paul's Hawaiian shirts started -- as a tribute to his tastes, or a preemptive strike against the nudists?

[mojito]

This episode illustrates why Prime Time TV show should restrict their season to just a dozen episodes.

[Deanie87]

Thank god the various Johnsons finally rallied because I was about to lose it at all of their indifference to Bow and her mom's feelings.  Can Dre, ever, ever, ever think beyond what HE needs and what HE wants?  Like, ever?  Even Pops was more sensitive in the end (of course he was also thinking about his death, but still).  Bow doesn't ask for much when it comes to her family, especially considering that Dre's parents live there and Ruby is constantly undermining Bow, so Dre's annoyance at Bow wanting to celebrate her father's uniqueness really bugged.  It was nice to see Bow pay tribute to him but I was kind of hoping that some of the other family members would have to.  I have a soft spot for all of the Bridges!

And I know that Zoey wasn't there likely due to the actress's other show, but I'm not fine with Diane deciding that she would rather go to a wrestling match than be there for her mother and grandmother, and I"m also not fine with her brothers covering for her.  Junior should have guilt tripped her into staying (that's how we do it MY family LOL!)  I do like their obnoxious friend and the Yo Gabba Gabba reference cracked me up.

Edited November 21, 2018 by Deanie87

[luna1122]

Honestly, are we supposed to hate Dre? Cuz I hate Dre.

[NUguy514]

It was so nice of Dre to comfort his wife after she became unexpectedly overwhelmed by grief.  Oh, wait...

4 minutes ago, luna1122 said:

Honestly, are we supposed to hate Dre? Cuz I hate Dre.

I think we're supposed to like him, but I hate him, too.  He needs to go eat a big of infinite dicks.

[Kimmmmmm]

And why is it OK for Dre to snark about Bow's parents' "weird white friends"?

[AnimeMania]

On 11/20/2018 at 10:25 PM, mtlchick said:

Of course Pops would have "grieving tenderonis." 

More like "grieving beef jerkyronis." 

[msrachelj]

never liked prince, don't think he was such a genius and i deleted this after 5 minutes. sometimes this show is really bad. agree about the reverse discrimination on this show in general, bo is half white and she seems to forget that. 

[link417]

7 hours ago, msrachelj said:

never liked prince, don't think he was such a genius and i deleted this after 5 minutes. sometimes this show is really bad. agree about the reverse discrimination on this show in general, bo is half white and she seems to forget that. 

This is a nitpick but “reverse discrimination” would be impartiality, which I don’t think is what you mean from the context of your post.

Any discrimination is “discrimination,” it doesn’t matter who is discriminating or who is being discriminated against — it’s all discrimination.

[NUguy514]

7 hours ago, msrachelj said:

agree about the reverse discrimination on this show in general, bo is half white and she seems to forget that. 

People who are biracial don't "forget" one of their ancestral halves, but the world pigeonholes them into one half based on their physical appearance.  Bow looks more black than white, so she is perceived as black by the world at large.  It's not about her forgetting her dad's side.  It's more that society doesn't let her forget for a moment that she's black.

[marmalade]

The thing I really like about this show is how they actually show black culture and explain things to white people like me who are pretty clueless about the issues surrounding pop culture and other topics .  

I remember when Bryant Gumble was leaving the Today show on his last day he talked about Prince and seemed obsessed with him and they had surprises for him involving Prince . I couldn’t understand whet it was so emotional to him . I liked Prince , but never knew the reason for Prince being so important. This show explained it , and it makes sense and was interesting.

My dad was Italian and he and his parents faced prejudice and exclusion when he was younger , especially having immigrant family who dared go to the “wrong” Catholic Church. He told us about working with his uncle who was a gardener/snow plowed  in a rich ,  neighborhood and getting stuck in the driveway of a non customer when turning around and the owners called the police and being harassed by the police . So, when he saw an Italian American “making it “ in entertainment, sports or anything, he seemed to like them and pull for them . I didn’t understand it as a kid , but I do now . And this show reminded me of how my older relatives felt . 

The prejudice my ancestors faced coming to this country could never  compare to the racism African Americans faced and still face , so kudos to Blackish for being the voice of awareness .

I must say I am beginning to dislike Dre more and more . Talking about his son and saying he doesn’t care was horrible .   The character is becoming more and more extreme and unlikable.

i do wish they would show a little more balance with the white characters. I don’t know any of my whites friends or family who don’t know who Prince was, unless they are in their 70’s or 80’s.

Also, stereotyping all of the white characters just comes off offensive. Although, I sadly think that lately we do see more and more horrible outward racism toward minorities from people in private  and public  life , and in positions of authority, and it is very scary and sad! So maybe  the ignorant behavior of the white characters is not too muting an exaggeration!

[AmandaPanda]

I think the show has gone off the rails ever since ABC shelved the NFL protest episode. The episodes written since then have been very lackluster and super formulaic. Part of me thinks that Kenya Barris is trying to tank the show so he doesn't have to deal with ABC anymore. This episode was so "by-the-numbers" it feels like it could have been written by a bot. 

[possibilities]

I think Barris has left the show, so whatever they are doing now is on the network and whoever is left running things.

[Dee]

Barris is still involved with the show, but to a lesser degree due to his deal with Netflix.

Edited November 25, 2018 by Dee

[DrSparkles]

On 11/16/2018 at 2:00 PM, GHScorpiosRule said:

Let me add to my incredulity that Jack didn't know of Prince, who was a STAR and known WORLD-WIDE, but did know Sinéad O'Connor, who was just a one hit wonder. And I say that as someone who loves that song.

Please listen to The lion & the Cobra.

[possibilities]

21 hours ago, Dee said:

Barris is still involved with the show, but to a lesser degree due to his deal with Netflix.

I listened to the recent "Black on the Air" podcast with Tracey Ellis Ross over the weekend, and she was saying that Barris hadn't been back to see anyone at the show since he left, but I guess I over-interpreted that to mean he's totally gone, when it could just mean he hasn't been on set with the actors, but is still involved in other ways?