Since The Shield started up again on FX, I’ve been seeing previews for this show and it piqued my curiosity. Once the premiere came close enough, I set the DVR to record it to see if it would be any good. If nothing else, it looked like an interesting concept and while I wasn’t sure about pure entertainment value I thought it might be worth watching.
As of today something like four episodes have aired, and I’ve watched the first two. It started off a little bit slow as they explained the premise (which I already knew after one promo spot). Basically two families live in the same house together and attempt to give each other the experience of living as the opposite race. Makeup artists work their airbrush magic to change black to white and vice versa.
The first episode kind of laid the groundwork for the opinions of those involved in “the project” as they call it. The black dad is amazed at how much better he gets treated as a white man. The white mom thinks she grew up with a liberal family and this project won’t be a stretch for her. The black mom is sensitive to racially charged language. The white dad thinks racism is all in blacks’ interpretations. The black son couldn’t care less about the whole thing. The white daughter seems to have the best grasp of the whole point of the show out of any of them.
Each family is supposed to help the other to gain the full experience of living as the other race. So far, this hasn’t really happened. The black family feels like they already know what it takes to be white because they “put on that face” all the time to be accepted in white society. The white family assumes they know what it takes to be black, and – not surprisingly – they have no idea. They end up trying way too hard; but then again, the black family isn’t really helping them out either.
The most interesting component for me is the situation they’ve put the white daughter in. She’s attending a slam poetry class with some very open and honest black teens who lay out all their feelings for everyone to hear. She struggles with the fact that she might not live up to their expectations, but more than that, she feels horrible hiding who she really is when they are being so honest. In the episode I just watched, she actually revealed to them that she was really a white girl in black makeup. I can’t imagine how hard that must have been for her to admit that she’d essentially been lying to them. The reaction was mixed – some of them were supportive, but one in particular felt betrayed and let her know it. Still, it’s obvious that she understands what they’re doing, and genuinely appreciates their varied reactions. So far she seems to be the only one who really gets it.
One thing is immediately obvious – these are two very different worlds being forced to collide. It’s no surprise that not everything is going to go well. After two episodes, I’m hooked in. I’m interested to see where things will go from here, even if it’s uncomfortable at times. Still, after finishing an episode a few minutes ago I couldn’t help but think the whole thing was a little depressing. Granted it’s still early, but the level of understanding between the two families is almost non-existent. I hope at the end I’ll be pleasantly surprised and not bitterly disappointed. If you haven’t seen the show, it’s worth checking it out Wednesdays on FX.
