I was a little skeptical when I first saw the trailer for ABC’s new comedy, “Black-ish.” It looked a little corny, and I wasn’t sure how much Anthony Anderson I could take weekly. He’s a funny guy for sure, but would the material be his style? Would it work?
Episode four of Blackish is what sealed the deal for me. In this episode, “Crazy Mom,” marketing executive dad Andre (Anthony Anderson) tells his lovely doctor wife Rainbow (Tracee Ellis Ross) that he will take on all her duties for a week.
First up: making two dozen cupcakes for the twins’ class. Instead of making them from scratch or at least picking up a couple from the grocery store, Andre goes to where? The liquor store. (Was I the only one who thought, they sell cupcakes at the liquor store? Must be a nice neighborhood.)
It was such a “YES THAT IS WHAT MY HUSBAND WOULD DO” moment. He’s not going to pull out the cake flour or even a box of Betty Crocker. Off to the store, with no hesitation! Ain’t no scouring Pinterest for “creative cupcake recipes.”
And when Rainbow told her husband, “Moms do everything and no one ever notices,” and how she pulls a second shift once she gets home from work, I damn near rolled off the couch. Yes, speak to my life, Black-ish writers! Speak to my life!
It was real dialogue about real issues facing working women. As much as I love Modern Family, one aspect of the show that bugged me for years (before Claire took a job at her father’s business) was that none of the women on the show worked. Stay-at-home moms definitely need to be represented and there’s no denying that Claire’s version of a SAHM was always, always busy. But dang, for a supposedly “modern” family, they sure were not representing for the working mom (a phrase, by the way, that I hate).
But I loved hearing about the second shift and wondered how many women were giving their husbands the same arm punch I did when Rainbow delivered this line:
“We both have huge jobs. When I come home from mine, from you know, saving lives and whatnot, I start a whole other second huge job. When you come home, you play video games….There’s like a thousand invisible things I do around here that aren’t even on your radar.”
In a later scene, Andre was late to a meeting after handling some kids’ stuff. “Family comes first,” his colleagues said, giving him an approving head nod. A few seconds later a female co-worker comes into the meeting late with the same excuse and was reprimanded for not being professional.
MESSAGE!
Black-ish’s “Crazy Mom” episode reminded me of a day, early in my marriage, where I had enough. I had been working 14-hour days, would come home and check homework, make dinner, fill out school forms, pack lunches, bathe the children and read them stories before bed.
In the midst of doing all this, I looked up and said out loud, “Who decided I was in charge???”
To me, I see our family as an endless to-do list. Wash clothes, double-check backpacks, volunteer in the classroom, etc. For my husband and a lot of men I know, they see their family as just that: family, or “those other people that I live with.” Not necessarily “things to do.”
Is that good or bad? I don’t know. But I’m grateful to Black-ish for resurrecting the conversation.
I definitely feel like the work we do goes unnoticed. Regardless of whether we work or not, we’re just expected to take care of everyone. Definitely love that Black-ish is tackling some real life issues.