Tonight’s black-ish tackles different POVs on gun ownership with their brand of humor. Watch a sneak peek of “Rock, Paper, Scissors, Gun”, airing at 9:31pm ET|PT on ABC.
Last week’s black-ish kicked Season 2 off in a really big way as the show tackled the popular use of the “N-word”. The episode, aptly titled “THE Word”, centered around Jack saying the N-word while performing Kanye West’s “Gold Digger” in a school talent show. Unfortunately, Jack didn’t follow Diane’s advice to go with the radio edit… The school had a zero-tolerance policy for hate speech (apparently Bow played a big role in getting that school policy enacted), and Jack faced expulsion.
Dre initially felt bad, but then took a stand: “Damn it! It’s his birthright!” Black people had the right to reclaim the N-word and use it colloquially. On the other hand, Bow believed no one should use the term, given it’s historical roots and negative meaning. In theory, Pops and Mama Ruby agreed with Bow… yet in practice, both still used it. Zoe provided a more modern POV: since the N-word was widely used in pop culture, it was just another word and everyone should be able to say it. Dre and his work colleagues vehemently disagreed with this (Charlie even pulled out his gun to emphasize his disagreement!). Interestingly, Charlie and Curtis tried to create system for who was allowed to say the “N-word”…check out the hilarious video below:
“Bill Clinton probably shouldn’t use it. But I wouldn’t be crazy mad if he did.” I CANNOT!
When Dre didn’t get any support from the school’s principal (an African-American man who apparently hadn’t seen Training Day) or the school board, he had his drop-the-mic moment. Sure, this was a contentious issue with lots of history in the U.S., but Jack, who didn’t have any hateful intent, shouldn’t pay the price.
Ultimately, Jack’s expulsion was changed to a 3-day suspension, and Dre advised his son to hold off on using the ‘N-word’ in mixed company, at least until learning more about the its history.
As we can see, black-ish really isn’t shying away from tackling controversial and extremely political debates. Tonight’s show keeps the trend going.
In “Rock, Paper, Scissors, Gun”, written by Peter Saji and directed by Ken Whittingham:
DRE WANTS A GUN TO PROTECT HIS FAMILY BUT BOW IS NOT COMFORTABLE WITH ONE IN THE JOHNSON FAMILY HOME?After a break-in down the block, Dre talks about getting a gun, and Bow is not comfortable with the idea. Which leads everyone to debate — there are many different ways to protect your family, but what’s the “best” way? Jack and Diane are shocked that they have been living in the house unprotected, Junior sets off on a quest to protect the family from the real threat, cyber terrorism, and Zoey has Pops teach her the art of Karate to defend herself. (via ABC)
Crime, Gun-control, and cyber-terrorism, OH MY.
Take look at these clips from “Rock, Paper, Scissors, Gun.” In the first video, Bow vetoes Dre’s idea to purchase a gun. But he’s been keeping track of the arguments he’s lost over time, and feels due for a big win. In the second clip, we see that Dre actually already has an extravagant stash of weapons hidden throughout the house (just in case). The final sneak peek features Pops, who believes martial arts is a superior way to protect oneself, and he agrees to teach Zoe the gentle art of karate:
“The S.S. Urinal has sailed; we’re getting a gun!”
Too funny! The twins being so concerned that they’ve been living gun-less and unprotected all this time is an unexpected reaction. Also, I’m slightly disturbed (but maybe not totally surprised) that Mama Ruby has used a gun on Pops!
Already, we see that Dre and Bow represent the two extremes of this debate around gun ownership, and I expect that we’ll hear the various (and very real) opinions throughout tonight’s episode. As Showrunner Kenya Barris told BuzzFeed News:
The notions and ideology of gun ownership has a lot socio-economic and cultural reasons behind it. We’re not a political group. And we don’t want to…start taking real hard stands on things that people have the right to have different opinions on. We want to have the filter of the family reflect different opinions and do it in a fun and funny way. That’s what we try to do with each episode.
Judging from what we’ve already seen, I think black-ish‘s cast and creators succeed in creating something relevant, honest, and hilarious.
“Rock, Paper, Scissors, Gun” airs at 9:31pm ET|PT on ABC, so tune in and come live tweet with us!
[Featured Image Source: SCREENSHOT @blackish_ABC]