There was once a time when the town's doctor was the most respected man in any town.His education and relative wealth were seen as proof of his superiority.
But today there are many professions which generate more income than being an M.D..
When I asked whether The Cosby Show would still be seen as a "white show" if produced today - I was really talking about the perception of today's children and the effect the show would have on their own expectations in life.
In the young family of That's So Raven, Raven's mother is in law school and her father becomes the executive chef to the president.
By the time this family's children reach the age of Cosby's Cassandra, they should be even more acculturated and assimilated into the perceived mainstream.
I asked a group of young children whether Raven was a "white show" or not.
All of the kids said "No", but that the family was just (relatively) rich.
When I asked the same group of children the same question about The Cosby Show the answer was the same.Maybe today's kids have seen enough episodes of MTV Cribs and seen a more broad representation of minorities within popular media to understand that being Black is not limited to being hood.
(And all of these kids were straight hood.)
I've always thought the 'acting White' thing was mostly an urban legend. I'm sure some Black kids have been told that at some point but the media has blown it out of proportion.
ReplyDelete@Val, I've heard many a kid tell another they were acting white.
ReplyDeleteLest this be thought to be something done to antagonize me... my wife has witnessed the same thing in her work with pre-teens.
But it was never in being rich it was being smart or cleaning your house, or being polite.
it was and is a poisonous mindset.
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ReplyDeleteawesome posts.
ReplyDelete