Memoirs of a couch potato

Paul Mooney was right when he said, “Everyone wants to be a n****r but no one wants to be a n****r.” Such is the case for FX’s new series produced by Ice Cube entitled “Black. White.”
Two families, one white and one black, assume the roles of the other race in hopes of being “enlightened” about each other.
Watching the commercials about the show, one would think this was going to be an out-of-body experience in which the white family comes to terms with the racial problem that continues to plague America. Sort of like when Mr. Drummond adopted Arnold and Willis in the throwback series, “Different Strokes.”
The white family, Bruno Wurgel (husband), Carmen (wife) and Rose Wurgel (daughter) hail from Santa Monica, Calif. Their mission: to dispel the myth that the white man is holding the black race down. Then we have the black family, Brian (father), Rene (mother) and Nick (son) Sparks, from Atlanta.
On the outside, both families seem open minded and ready to learn. But it is apparent that the producers choose families not for enlightenment, but for ratings.
The only unbelievable thing about the show is the make-up for the Sparks family. The producers should have picked a lighter family to pull of being white. It is sad to say, but they almost look comical with white paint and blond hair on their ebony skin.
When we first meet the Wurgel family, they portray themselves as the progressive liberals. Carmen even boasts of having a past in the Civil Rights Movement. Bruno, the son of Italian immigrants, sites honesty and hard work as the reason for his family’s prosperity, not that fact that he is white.
But it gets worse.
When the Sparks family moves in, Rene makes it quite clear that she does not need a lesson in being white because she is living in the white man’s world. And their son, Nick, believes prejudice is for the older generations.
When Carmen makes the statement to a crowd of black kids that they are ” – black beautiful creatures – ” Rene confronts the Wurgel’s about their comments and use of the N-word.
The only people on the show who are actually taking the assignment seriously are Rose and Brian. When Rose, a budding poet, attends a spoken word forum in a black community, she is both impressed with their talent and awed by their race being such a big factor in their poetry. And Brian, who takes a job as a bartender at an all white bar is able to listen to whites have uncensored conversations about blacks.
Even though the show is interesting and has many good points, I would have preferred Ice Cube film a few sessions on race from a black, white, Latino and Asian stand point and called it a day. If there is a second season – heaven forbid – I hope the two families that are chosen are more concerned with diversifying themselves instead of being the stereotypical angry black woman and unaware white woman.