Black. White. 2006 Fox Home Entertainment Official Website Buy It Now

In general, I dislike reality television. I find it utterly pointless for the most part, but there have been a few network and producers who have been doing things a little differently and instead of following the daily lives of mindless individuals, they are trying to show us aspects that might actually make one think.

Black. White. The two words for most bring up issues of race, an issue that you would assume most people would have gotten past years ago, but that’s not the case. Racism and prejudice is still quite alive and well in America, and elsewhere in the world. Even my wife, who is Asian, has told me that there are times when we’re at a store and people will look and talk only to me, not to her at all. I’ve never realized it myself, but I have had times where I’ve been followed in the stores, not because of the color of my skin, but instead my manner of dress. It seems that if you tend to dress in black, have long hair and body piercing, there is an assumption that you going to steal anything and everything.

Black. White. (BW) It’s a social experiment, but it’s also reality TV. The concept behind the show is a very simple one indeed and the likes that hasn’t really been done before. Two families have been chosen to live together for six weeks, but there are a few twists. First we have the Sparks; Brian, Renee and their 16-year old son Nick, an African American family from Atlanta. Opposite to them are the Wurgets; Bruno, Carmen and 17-year old Rose, a white family. Here’s the twist; thanks to a little make-up artistry from a Hollywood crew, the two families will assume the others race to see what life is like on the other side.

BW is learning experience, not just for the families, but for the viewers themselves, and on many different levels. Each member has some preconceptions going into the project, for some they will see things in a new light before the end while others may still linger. Bruno and Carmen in particular have some rather outdated opinions of how blacks act, though they begin to see that what they believe to be truth is anything but that. Bruno has the thought that skin color doesn’t matter and if he acts the same way he always does, he isn’t going to see people turning away or avoiding him. To an extent, he might be right, but Brian on the other hand takes time to try and show him differently, and while it seems as though he’s simply looking for the racism in society, both fathers really have valid points.

The series though is more than just about trying to find racism by looking for it and the families have interactions with others, though in their different skin color. Rose joins a poetry slam, but soon begins to feel that she can’t continue the deception and reveals who she really is. Nick is put into an etiquette class with a group of rich white kids, but like Rose, he finally decides that he can’t go on with the lie. Brian becomes a bartender at an all white bar, Carmen befriends an influential black woman in the community, but she too soon discovers that she’d rather be up front about who she really is.

When there isn’t interaction with others, the family interacts with each other in their home environment, and it’s not always easy. Bruno and Brian are constantly at each other for one reason or another, usually race related, though it never escalates to more than disagreements. Carmen and Renee also have their exchange of words while Rose has issues more with her poetry class and the fear of failure. Nick on the other hand says that race never really occurred to him, he just sees people for who they are. However, his parents decide to expose him to what has happened with blacks in America to open his eyes. On one hand, it’s important for him to realize, but I also feel that his parents in some ways are trying to hold on too much to it. If people really want racism to end, understanding of the past is important, but trying to tell someone that should essentially cling on to those beliefs and standards doesn’t help to overcome the issue.

What we learn in the end are a number of things. What the two families really show us, though unintentionally I’m sure, is that its simply better to be comfortable with who you are, the color of your skin, instead of pretending to be something that your not. We see the racism does exist, but it’s not always direction. It can be something that’s said in passing without a second thought which results in a war of words. We also see however that regards of color, regardless of background, everyone really accepts the family members for who they are, not what the color of their skin happens to be, and its through this that we as well as the members of the project begin to learn.

The DVD release allows for an uncensored option while viewing the episodes, though there are still a few words that don’t get past the bleeps. Every episode has commentary from not only producer RJ Cutler, but also members of the family. You’ll also find on the first DVD a slideshow of the make-up that the family members underwent as well as the casting videos and a video that looks at the make-up for the Sparks family. The second DVD again has commentary, this time with the crew from the series as well as a look at Rose’s poetry slam and a music video from Ice Cube, another of the series producers. Also, both DVD’s come with study guides for teachers that want to enlighten their students, a very good move on the part of the producers as well as Fox.

This is what reality television really should be, not a crew following around brainless twits like Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie, not the true story of seven people picked to live in a house or any of that other garbage. Black. White. It has everything necessary to make you think about the world that we live in, see how you can change it and others around you, and it’s the power of emotion and reality, not skin color, that makes this series shine like no other.

-mike-