Black and White

[MorganGrayson]

A long held disgust for so-called "reality" shows took a hit in my life when I became intrigued with the commercials for "Black and White" on F/X. For those of you who don't know, two families - one white, one black, "trade" races via the magic of some really effective make-up. The families live in a house together, "help" each other in "becoming" the other race...and get along about as well as you'd expect.

I tossed the first two episodes down on DVR and watched them last night. I was actually fascinated.

Things I learned...well, had reverified. I already knew most of them.

White people are impossibly naive. They really think that putting on some make-up and walking around in that skin tone for the day can give them "the black experience."

The white father, who thinks that "you get back what you give," is from another planet entirely. He can't possibly be from this one. I do think the black father will eventually just kill him. The white guy thinks the black guy is paranoid and "looking for" examples of racism rather than reacting to an entire lifetime of being black.

The black mother has a particularly grating personality and the white mother is a sheltered little hot-house flower who cries at the drop of a hat. There's going to be a death, there, too.

The white daughter is positively lovely as a young black girl, and rather plain as a white girl.

The black son is a teenager and as annoying as most teenagers. I wish I could have been there when his parents first hit him with the participation in this project. I bet it was interesting.

The entire make-up process is fascinating. Absolutely astounding. The black father has a job - as a white guy - in an all white bar. For anyone who's ever tended bar, you know how often your hands and forearms get wet and how often you have to wash your hands. The make-up is staying on, which impresses me.

I actually can't wait to see what happens next.

The attached is a "good" pic of Rose, the white daughter. She's wearing make-up here or has been airbrushed to hide typical teenage skin.