Everybody Hates Chris

Everybody Hates Chris is the name of the show I've chosen, which has a social class or inequality theme. Based on the turbulent adolescent years of comedian Chris Rock in the 1980s, the show is an American period comedy. The show's time period is 1982–1987( (Everybody Hates Chris). The television series depicts the 1980s struggle for survival of a young African American youngster with his chaotic home and all-white school. Racism is a major social issue that I will touch on and which permeates the entire curriculum. Subtle forms of racism usually go undetected and the only affected party is usually the person who feels belittled or judged. Racism can manifest itself in form of judging other cultural practices, body language example disapproving glances and verbal words that depict distaste.

There are various scenes in Everybody Hates Chris that can be related to acts of racism. One of the incidence where racism is portrayed in the program is when Ms. Morello enters the classroom and finds Greg is asleep and assumes that Greg is drunk since he slept at Chris (who is black) place and she goes on to comment that Chris people have a history of being up when the rooster crows to go work in the field. In another incidence, when Albert a new student who is black joins the class, Ms. Morello tells Chris that he must be so happy to have a fellow ‘brother’ after years of being alone and exorcised. She further comments that “Seeing you two together will make your leaders like doctor King proud. “In another episode, where Ms. Morello asks the class who was the first president to be impeached, Chris answers that it’s George Curter and she comments that George is the black peanut genius and he should know that since he is black.

There is also a scene, where there is a fire alarm and Chris is still in class, MS Morello tells Chris to come out and says “You might be black but not fireproof.” Another scenario where racism is evident is when the teacher asks Robert a question and it turns out that he does not know the answer, she proceeds to ask if he read the assignment and says, “You can read, can’t you? “Basically because Robert is black and she assumes he may be illiterate. Another case of racism is when a lab technician comes out of the class when there’s a fire alarm and says to Chris “Thank you, another 30 seconds in there and we would have been blacker than you.” Verbal racism is also portrayed when Ms. Morello finds Chris and Greg taking lunch and she seems surprised that Chris brought lunch and comments that sometimes she forgets how strong Chris’s (blacks) people are. In a different class, Ms. Morello announces that they are going for a field trip to Washington D.C, She then specifically turns to Chris and says, “If your people can’t afford to pay cash, I will see if we can accept food stamps. “This is discriminatory since she assumes that since Chris is black he cannot afford to pay cash.

Aside from the verbal utterances that portray racism in the program, there are also non-verbal cues like body language and facial expression that depicts racism. One of the facial expressions in the program is the look of askance expressed by Ms. Morello when Albert the new student didn’t know the answer to a question. The look shows that she didn’t approve of him and she did not feel certain about his capability. Curling of lips upwards is also another expression that describes racism in the show. The teacher curls her lips upwards when Chris gave the wrong answer about who was the first president to be impeached; this expression basically shows that she did not respect Chris and she was also annoyed and bored. Ms. Morello also made a pull face when addressing Greg and Chris about Africa which is an expression that showed dislike about the specific area or person.

In a different episode, the teacher smirked when talking to Chris and said she did not expect him to bring food since it’s usually hard on them at that time of the year. One of the gestures that show racism is putting the head or chin down when Ms. Morello is specifically addressing Chris on various issues, this expression can be interpreted as a signal for a negative or judgmental attitude towards Chris since he is black. Another gesture that depicts racism is the picking of imaginary lint by Ms. Morello when Chris tries to explain something in class. This gesture shows that she disapprove what he is saying or does not like what she is saying though she seems to be agreeing on the outside. One of the posture that shows racism in the book is a contrast how the teacher handles Greg and Chris differently when talking near them .With Greg, she bends really close near him and even rubs his back asking if he is okay while with Chris ,the teacher mostly stands straight and rarely leans in.

The interpretation of the non-verbal is very critical in understanding how racism is shown in the program since most people usually focus on the utterances and forget that gestures and postures say a lot about how one feels on the inside. Some of the facial expressions and gestures come naturally to the individual and they do it without knowing the negative impact it has on the next person .This may be due to how they were raised and the perception that they have gotten about a specific race throughout their livelihoods. It is, therefore, very crucial that societies are very sensitive on how they address people they interact with in order to promote equity and eradicate social barriers.

In conclusion, racism is a reality that occurs in both subtle and blatant ways. The program clearly shows what is happening in the society and how it’s hard for people from a different race to be integrated into a new system. Racism affects how we socialize with other people and has negative impacts on those that are targeted. This include depression, anxiety, and low performance in school and at work and in extreme cases it can result in mental and health problems. It is therefore very important to create awareness that any form of racism is unacceptable and the society should not condone with those expressing it.

References

Everybody Hates Chris. (n.d.). Retrieved from . http://www.cbs.com/shows/everybody_hates_chris/

Freeman, C. (2010, February 9). Ms. Morello #2. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJOi0ykRGPs