I know I talk about this show too much but I was reminded of the issues I had with the K.C. and Val storyline when I read this post on Racialicious so blame them.
They said over on Racialicious that:
“Interestingly, the Single Ladies approach to interracial dating veers away from the norm in a couple of ways. First, and foremost, there hasn’t been one of those “very special moments on race,” that we’ve all come to loathe. Instead, April’s relationships with black men (and Val’s dalliances with white men) are presented as part of their overall dating landscape.” (QUOTE)
Well I don’t agree but I thought it would be better to list everything here instead of make a posting of a long comment on their website.
Okay according to the still on JULY CONTEST Val already did the race moment but it was the updated 2.0 when she asked him (1) if he ever dated a black girl, (2) if he ever brought a black girl home to his parents, (3) what his parents think of him dating black women in general.
For Single Ladies in my opinion, the main problem with the interracial relationships on this show is that I don’t feel as though the show or the characters give the men a chance. I am going to have to be real here: Val plays with white guys but dates black men.
Which is fine for the show since it seems like she is on the opposite scope of IR dating (i.e. she is one of the legion of women who widen their net because there aren’t enough top crop black men to go around).
So now when: “The opportunity arises – they take it.” (QUOTE)
In comparison, I am now addicted to Franklin & Bash and though Hanna’s fling(?) with Franklin had the same kind of start that Val’s did with K.C.’s I feel as though Hanna gave/is giving Franklin more of a chance (though I feel like the character K.C. deserved it more LOL).
It is the same opportunity arising kind of relationship but with K.C. there was less utilizing. I mean at the final moment when Val’s planned dates wouldn’t go though she would call up K.C. for some man-time (and not even the sexy kind). When Hanna’s relationship with Karp (another white man) ends, she sees a Franklin as a cute guy who is interested in her and then she’s thinking – “I’d hit that!” and then does.
I feel like that hooking up is more evenly balanced. A clearer example of this balance would be on the episode 4 Bro-Bono, when the whole law office starts in on rumours that Hanna and Franklin hooked up, Franklin starts telling everyone they did not have sex in order to protect her. She finds him in the day and has a chat with him.
Hanna says to him: “I don’t care what people think ever and if they find out the truth that we had crazy headboard banging sex and that I had 19 orgasms that made me see flying unicorns—that’s fine my me. Because I’m a big girl and I’m responsible for everything I do whether it’s in the courtroom or in the bedroom.” (Smile)
This moment is when Hanna becomes the Queen Mother of Ass Kicking in My Book. Instead of denying the rumours, she sets him straight and sticks by her choice and OWNS IT!
This is the kind of representation of interracial dating/hooking up/relationships that I like because we are all big girls/women and boys/men. I see women and men everyday just OWN-ing the choice of dating a person of another culture **without** apologizing, back paddling, explaining their choice to random strangers on the street, so I’d expect my good TV to reflect that lifestyle.
P.S. I wanted to drop in a little knowledge at the end of it because it felt like I was just complaining about Single Ladies and the lack of K.C. which I totally am. I miss seeing his face on Single Ladies! Is there a petition out there that I can sign to get him back on for the second season at least? Or if he can’t be on my TV screen than he can at least be on me LOL. Send me his address ladies!
But overall Val never OWNS anything in my book out of her decisions until her new steady boo appears...but she half owns it. Bottom-line if you want a show where a beautiful intelligent black woman is being totally fought over but OWNS her choices then watch Franklin & Bash. But I still like my fashion on Single Ladies! Just don’t use their examples as a dating template everyone on the show is pure screwed with relationships.
I haven't gotten into Single ladies. From the clips, I dont feel like it has a lot of substance. On the other hand, I love Hannah's character in F&B. She really does give Jared the respect that he ought to get. Overall,the writers really did step out of the box with this show. Other than the colour blind flirting, there's also the height difference between Hannah & Jared - Despite being on the short side, Jared is incredibly self-confident. I would say more confident than Peter, even though Peter can be considered to be more good looking. So it's quite nice that the writers made Hannah intelligent enough to notice this strong point about his character. I really wish this show got more promotion. In terms of the writing, it really does surpass all the other shows that have been on tv for the past couple of years.
ReplyDeletePs. Another good show is "Suits." It's about a cute rookie lawyer that is hired by a partner at a law firm despite not having a law degree.