Dynamism of the African American Culture - Assignment Example

Dynamism of the African American Culture The African American culture has long since been the fascination of many, whiteand black in equal measure. Its roots can be traced back to the slavery era when Africans were forcefully taken from their homes as slaves. Their work in European plantations was under dehumanizing conditions. Thus, the customs and norms of behavior depicted by modern African American folk have been handed down from generation to generation, with a number of variations. However, some aspects of their culture and behavior have arisen as a reaction to real or perceived racial segregation and prejudice imposed on them by the white folk. The dynamism in the black culture is depicted in their family life, relationships and marriages, education, economic standing, language and life events. This essay, therefore, attempts to describe this culture with illustrations from three selected sitcoms, which include Tyler Perry’s For Better or For Worse, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and Everybody Hates Chris. Firstly, the African American people value the family unit. Their family structure encompasses both the nuclear and extended family members. The grandparents, aunts, and uncles assist in the upbringing of children and play a key role in imparting in them their customs and life lessons. There is mutual aid social class cooperation. This is illustrated in Fresh Prince of Bel-air where Will’s aunt and uncle accept the responsibility of raising him in their household as part of their family when her mother is unable (Borowitz & Stevenson, 1990). They treat him as one of their children, with the same rules and values that they apply to their son and two daughters. The nuclear family unit may also consist of children born out of wedlock. In addition, in most cases, problems arise when the other children’s birth parents have contrasted views on how the kids should be raised. This is clearly shown in For Better or For Worse, when Angela’s stepdaughter, Dominique, calls her a whore in front to her son M.J. Angela gets mad and confronts her husband to deal with his daughter’s disrespect, claiming that his ex-wife Keisha put her up to it. Such fights sometimes cause disastrous consequences as seen when Angela and Keisha engage in fistfights and hair-pulling antics. Secondly, the African American marriages and relationships are usually characterized by adultery and drama. This trait is believed to have originated from the polygamous way of life of their ancestry in Africa. The men have roving eyes and believe that they can cheat as long as their wives cannot catch them. This belief has triggered outrageous behaviors in their women, who have become deeply insecure and resort to dubious means to prevent their men from straying including tapping their phone calls, reading their text messages and contacts, and even trailing their men to work. In For Better or For Worse, Angela constantly checks Marcus’s phone and masters all the contacts (Tyler Perry, 2011). She even calculates the mileage and time it takes for Marcus to drive to and from work each day. In addition, African American women are loud, vindictive and aggressive who frequently engage in catfights and screaming matches as shown when Angela stacks Marcus’s clothes and shoes in his car, drives it to his workplace, and sets it ablaze. However, not all women are aggressive. A section are nurturing, soft-spoken and civil in their actions as shown by Will’s aunt, who rarely raised her voice and resorted to family talks to straighten out issues. The African American women can be domineering in some marriages and relationships, leading to self-depreciation of the father and his respect, bordering on fear of the mother. This is illustrated in Everybody Hates Chris, where Rochelle (mother) is ill-tempered, loud and easily paranoid. Julius (father) constantly lives in her shadow and fears crossing her. Most often, his opinions depend on what his wife says, even in disciplining his kids. Thirdly, most of the African American population is economically impoverished, trapped in the inner-city slums, often called ghettos. These settings are dangerous and degrading, characterized by lower quality schools, hospitals and less effective policing. They constantly chase the immortalized concept of the ‘American dream’ and sometimes resort to quick ways of getting money that land them in jail. In Everybody hates Chris, his uncle runs a shop as a cover-up to his fake ID business. Chris even steals his mother’s money in order to purchase a fake ID to enable him attend an adult concert in town (LeRoi, 2005). Children raised in these settings are street-smart and face numerous temptations posed by gangs, weapons infiltration, and illicit drugs. However, with a strong family unit, they can surmount such temptations and still emerge upstanding citizens. However, a few African Americans have managed to secure middle class and even wealthy social status through their own genuine efforts. The Fresh Prince of Bel-air portrays a rich black family where the uncle is an attorney and the aunt a scholar. They manage to send their son, Carlton, to an all-white school and raise their kids on strong family values of honesty, love and success (Borowitz & Stevenson, 1990). The experiences from these two completely different upbringings portray the range of socio-economic levels that truly reflect the black culture. Fourthly, the African American folk have distinctive language patterns. This can be attributed to the prohibitions against education, thus, the poor command of Standard American English. However, the ghetto slang is somewhat accepted as a form of identity and fosters close ties among the black folk. In some cases, when an educated black individual abandons this language form for a more fluent English format, their kin criticize them as being ‘white’. The racial segregation imposed on them has made them dislike their white counterparts, and hatred is even more for black individuals who acquire the white folk tendencies. In Fresh Prince of Bel-air, Carlton attended an all-white school and was influenced by their culture as opposed to Will who had attended a public school in the ghettos of Philadelphia before moving to Bel-air. As a result, Will always criticized his cousin for being ‘white’ and betraying his black kin. In another episode, Carlton faults Will for believing that they were pulled over by the cops for being black. However, Will turns out to be right (Borowitz & Stevenson, 1990). Their language often has obscene undertones, which are off-putting to others, especially the white folk. Some critics have argued that this form of communication has worked, further deepening the rift between the white and black fraternities. African American people believe in entrepreneurial ventures as a key solution to eliminating poverty. They may not have quality education and some may not even finish high school but despite all these, they all have dreams of owning businesses in the future. This has been prompted by their strong will to overcome challenges, ambition to succeed, and the aggressiveness with which they pursue their dreams. The hardships they face in their upbringing has made them street smart and wise on issues to deal with the law. The young teenagers often engage in athletics in order to secure college scholarships that will jumpstart their careers as shown by Marcus, in For Better or For Worse, who was a former professional football player. Others start their own ventures that support their families as shown by Angela, who owns a hair salon and sells hair products (Tyler Perry (2011). This portrays the ambitious nature of the black women, which sometimes comes off as being obnoxious and arrogant when they defend their wealth and success. This is depicted when Angela threatens to dissolve her marriage to Marcus after he empties her bank savings in order to replace the clothes that Angela had set on fire. This entrepreneurial nature also portrays the male-female equality advancement among the African American folk. The males see their female counterparts as equals and capable of shouldering some of the financial responsibilities. It is common for both genders to secure jobs in order to support their families. In Everybody hates Chris both Rachelle and Julius are engaged in blue-collar jobs and had strict rules as to how the money is used (LeRoi, 2005). However, the cause of disagreement is the means through which some few individuals secure the money to start these ventures. The belief in getting quick easy money is rampant among the youth and has been a common phenomenon in the ghetto neighborhoods. They believe that if they can get away with the muggings, robbery and theft, then the risk is worth taking. In Fresh Prince of Bel-air, Will’s friend is uneducated and lazy and often comes up with quick ways of getting money that often lands him in trouble (Borowitz & Stevenson, 1990). He believes that he will one day be rich, and education is just a waste of time. At one time, he convinces Will into allowing a film crew to use his uncle’s house to shoot a movie episode. They disarrange the living room and put the furniture outside where they are rained on, landing Will into trouble with his uncle. Despite his views, they remain best friends. Other aspects of their way of life are portrayed in their dressing and lifestyle. Most of them prefer a casual look. The women prefer hairstyles such as afro, braids, dreadlocks, and weaving, for their curly hair. The men prefer shaving their hair. They are mostly religious, especially the women who often coerce their husbands to accompany them to church every Sunday. The women believe in wearing their best dresses to church and carrying bibles with them. This is illustrated in one of the episodes in Everybody hates Chris, where Rochelle insists on taking everyone to church on Sunday, and Julius fakes an illness so that he is exempted from going (LeRoi, 2005). The black Americans mostly enjoy music of the hip-hop genre. In conclusion, the African American fraternity has its high and low points. Its high points border on the close family ties, social class cooperation, mutual aid, male-female equality, racial and religious consciousness, and entrepreneurial nature. They value money and success, which are often acquired through legal means. However, a few engage in illegal activities to get their way. The low points include racial prejudice imposed by white folk and the black people perceived to have acquired ‘white’ tendencies, the domineering nature of the women who frequently engage each other in screaming matches and catfights, and the rampant criminal activities. Furthermore, these sitcoms have been blamed for depicting an image of segregation and helping perpetuate a belief that black and white cultures are so different that integration is unworkable as shown by Will’s constant criticism if Carlton. However, there have been marked efforts to bridge this gap as depicted by Chris having a white friend called Greg, who tries to defend him against being bullied by his racially prejudiced schoolmates. These African American sitcoms have also been accused by some critics as depicting blacks in roles that do not accurately reflect their culture and reinforce the negative stereotypes accorded to black people such as being stupid, lazy, irresponsible, violent, and uneducated. Tyler Perry’sFor better or For Worse has been accused of portraying women as adulterers, short-tempered, bossy and loud. However, there have been marked improvements in the positive portrayal of African American cultures as middle-class citizens, who talked intelligently and about important matters. Every culture has its own way of life, attracting friendly and critical opinions alike. However, this dynamism is necessary if a culture is to grow and develop. Works Cited LeRoi A. (2005) Everybody hates Chris Retrieved November 24, 2013 from www.tv.com/shows/everybody-hates-chris/ Borowitz A. & Stevenson S. (1990) Fresh Prince of Bel-air Retrieved November 24, 2013 from www.tv.com/shows/fresh-prince-of-bel-air/ Tyler Perry (2011) Tyler Perry’s For Better or For Worse Retrieved November 24, 2013 from www.tv.com/shows/tyler-perrys- for-better-or-worse/ Read More