Sometimes the irony of a situation is just too much to ignore. I'll get to that in a minute. This is really about the new show, "Harry's Law", which looked pretty good to me because it had Kathy Bates, whom I think is an underrated actor and was developed by David Kelly who had a hand in stuff like L.A. Law, Picket Fences, and Boston Legal. At first I treated to some classic smart-ass Kathy Bates, and I began to think I was going to enjoy this. But then it happened - Bates's character, Harry Korn,got fired from her white-shoe law firm doing patent law and moved into an abandoned office in - (guess where?) - the inner city. This is the part of town we used to call the "ghetto", but apparently we realized that the term told too much truth, so we renamed it the "inner city".
But the failures of the program itself, in generally flat dialogue and two-dimensional characters, are nothing compared to the most offensive aspect of the show - the plot-line, once again, of the do-gooder white folks coming in to save the po' black folk. Think about how many movies, plays, and TV shows this have this plot. Off the top of my head, I can think of "Radio", "The Soloist", "The Blind Side", "Remember the Titans" (to some extent), and on and on. Think hard - I'll bet you can come up with some of your own.
I understand that some of these are "true stories" in the sense that a basic story has been taken and romanticized to portray the wonderful rescue of black folks by white folks. But where are the "true stories" about African-Americans fighting hard enough against the system to create success? Where are the stories about the community organizers who help their neighbors advocate for justice in their own neighborhoods? With every one of the "White rescuing Black" stories, I am concerned that we strengthen the stereotype that Blacks aren't capable of improving their own situation.
Now for the irony - this show premiered on January 17th, the day when we celebrated the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. If anything, Dr. King's message was exactly the opposite of the "White rescue Black" myth. Let's be conscious of what messages we send with shows like Harry's Law, and spend our energy on providing the tools and resources for people to help themselves.
Standing ovation, Don!
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering if you are familiar with John Perkins? You might be interested in reading some of his books - And Justice For All - is a good overview of how his work emerged. I had the privilege of having lunch with him a couple years ago. What a man. He'll be in Buffalo some time this year.
Also wondering how interested you are in this topic. There is a Christian Community Development Association in Buffalo based on John's model. If you're interested I'll hook you up.
I watched it and felt that it was a pilot episode that was just out there to try and define characters and setup possibilities. I too like Kathy Bates enough to give the show a chance and hope I'm not wrong.
ReplyDeleteThought there was an even mix of black and white characters much like in NBC's Law & Order SVU and that the black protagonist in the show was given the opportunity to portray a fairly diverse character.