September 9th, 2018

I was watching an episode of Friends on Netflix when I came across one during Season Seven with Gabrielle Union. A funny conversation gravitated into Joey calling Ross a ‘Monkey Lover’ that wasn’t directed at Ms. Union’s character but just made me stop and think of the timing.

So, I googled Ms. Unions thoughts on her time on the show, and I found this blog (https://teambrownskin.wordpress.com/2014/05/10/racism-in-friends/) which pointed out the coincidental timing of a racial insult in that episode, as well as another.

Now, I love the series and I have been bingeing on it for the past month. I’m on season seven and this is the first time I felt they slighted people of color Aside from the common fact that few people of color lived in Manhattan in their segregated world. Most tv shows do this so it’s just a sad fact. Barely any in the background until later seasons.

Just a side note, I can also say the same about “The Incredibles”. A movie I loved when it first came out. Then by Incredibles 2, they nicely included more character of color in the fore and background — making it glaring obviously the lack of race they had in the first movie. But, whatever, right? We’re moving in the right direction now.

Same for Star Wars. As much as I love this series of movies, it was only until JJ Abrams “Force Awakens” did we see different races in the backgrounds and foregrounds that weren’t just “Lando”.

Anyway, I went to comment my feelings about her blog and the Friends episode but I was unable to post on it. Maybe it’s no longer monitored.

In any case, I’ve got my own blog, so why not just post it here:

(My response to Team Brown Skin’s Racism on Friends)

You know, it’s been years after your article was first posted (2014). I’m watching “Friends” on Netflix and the Gabrielle Union episode just played. The first thing I noticed was the “monkey lover” line and questioned if it was ill-timed or purposeful.

Right after watching, I did a search about her place on the show and your post came up. So I’m not the only one who felt this way.

Now you’re saying a future episode in my binge will also do another subtle insult and, considering they seldom had Black roles in a New York setting, those insults tend to be glaring and worth doubling back to inspect the sporadic episodes someone of color has a speaking role. Not many, but a few. The singing neighbor in the earlier season was cool but shoved in/random like they did most Black characters in the show.

Part of me wants to step back and assess if my calling attention to people of color and monkeys is, in itself, self-perpetuating. We can’t be hair-triggered on every ultra-subtle message some ignorant white person wants to sneak into a show. The fact that I’m talking about at all says they do that sort of thing. It’s sad but look at their history. Fear is what keeps them relevant. Ask about guns, the first thing out of their mouths …“ to protect myself”. Only scared people need that much protection. Being a racist is a backward art that they have to hide. I think of it is as what was once a stereo with a loud volume, pretty much getting closer to mute.

But it is still there.

Someone with money or with some kind of influence to suggest dialogue and camera angles and posters at the right timing did these things purposely so we can see it… but the placement is rare (as in not every episode), enough to be defensible and make us look paranoid and stupid if we call it out individually. After all, we could be mistaken.

This is where the internet has its usefulness. You can catch the racist hidden message and no one can respond or feel the same way for years. You gave a voice to a feeling you weren’t quite sure of. Thank you for that and it was legitimate.

Then someone else, me, catches it — so now we’re two. Two different sides of time (2014 to 2018) and locations and saw/felt the same thing.

Which means there will be others and that confirms a reality giving the next google searcher confirmation that things were driven by racist idiots in the background. Idiots still producing television programs or behind the camera.

But I promise you this: We keep making films. We keep studying television production. We keep filling the spots left empty by their opioid drugged out, backward and rapist lifestyles…. serious flaws in their community… we’ll be in the room more often to catch these subtle insults before they go live.

Understand that was, and in some cases still is, the reasons they don’t want us there in the first place. People of color add just that: color. They want to paint with a palette of one color, afraid to utilize other colors and insult others on the outside. I know this much: the best art have a multitude of color.

I also know I used to throw out the white crayon in the Crayola box. It was boring and useless. Oddly enough, only came in handy when the picture was Black first.