“You’re yelling at me for Junior getting tomahawked on. You took Diane to the hospital, she saw a tomahawk in somebody’s skull.” -Dre Johnson
Every culture has subtleties that can’t be fully understood without living and breathing the experience. Be it common vernacular or body language, a lot of things can go over the head of unaware parties. In African American culture, one of those subtleties is the nod. Unfortunately, Junior doesn’t know the nod is a thing along with other idiosyncrasies that Dre believes his son should know. The nod is a sign of acknowledgement, “I see you. You see me.” If someone nods and the nod is not reciprocated, it is not a sign of disrespect but one of naiveté.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0Zn4NCsP9Q[/youtube]
Dre panics and decides to find Junior some black friends to hang with so he can be in the loop.
Meanwhile, Rainbow tries to convince Diane that being a doctor is cool after realizing that her daughter wants to become a professional in the marketing industry just like her father. Dre’s cool advertising job has an easier educational path, better perks, and requires way less work than becoming a doctor. The problem is that Rainbow was counting on Diane to continue her legacy.
“And then there’s Jack…” #blackishABC https://t.co/WoVebduvjo
— black-ish (@black_ishABC) October 9, 2014
Diane remains steadfast. She has made her decision and that’s that. Rainbow devises a scheme to fix the problem, but ends up traumatizing Diane instead. A third plot involves a new black co-worker at Dre’s job who gets a little too close for comfort in several ways before an eventual blowup.
These 2 are spacers. Just for show. Never to be used under any circumstances! #UrinalProtocol #blackishABC pic.twitter.com/xY3eq10wPH
— black-ish (@black_ishABC) October 9, 2014
Black-ish is starting to find a comfort zone that allows it to explore niche cultural references while also being a funny show about a family whose adventures we look forward to each week. Three episodes in, this primetime newcomer can be trusted to bring laughs for each episode. ABC agrees and has ordered a full season pickup of Black-ish after strong ratings from the first three episodes. If you haven’t watched the show yet, give it a shot. Who knows? You might become part of a budding audience.
Black-ish airs on ABC on Wednesdays at 9:30 Eastern time.
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