TV Feature - FX's Black. White.

The phrase "Reality TV" has such a stigma around it created by shows like Temptation Island and My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance that when you hear about a show like Black. White. you're naturally on edge, thinking that it's got to be more gimmick than genius. Trust me, it's much more of the latter. In fact, Black. White. is the best new program on television so far this year. Far from a gimmick, the show is a continuously fascinating dissection of race in America, with more to say about how we all get along (or don't) in five minutes than the entirety of this year's Best Picture winner. Because, at least outside of the Valley, we don't crash, we co-exist and that's where Black. White. wants to take us.

Black. White. features two families - the white Wurgel family and the black Sparks family. Each is a trio, with the Wurgels having a teenage daughter and the Sparks a teenage son. For six weeks, the families swap races. Using state-of-the-art, incredibly believable makeup techniques (from the team that did The Passion of the Christ), the Wurgels turn black and the Sparks turn white. And, even more interestingly, the two families live together and discuss, at length, the differences between the races. Discussions get heated almost immediately and don't die down. These are two incredibly smart families looking to get at what separates the cultures.

The greatest thing about Black. White. is that it raises questions that have no easy answers and it doesn't try to come up with its own. So much of our television today (and even more of our film) needs to tie things up with a nice bow, even with an issue like racism that just refuses to stay tied. Filmmakers and television writers push some buttons and send us on our way with a few issues to think about but Black. White. doesn't work to put a message or a ribbon on everything because that's not the way people work. Is Brian, the patriarch of the black family, looking for racism that isn't there because of his past experiences? Does Carmen push too far when she calls a woman a "beautiful black creature?" It may not be overtly racist but could you imagine her calling someone a "beautiful white creature?" When he's in his makeup, should Bruno be allowed to use the N-word? That word, arguably the most powerful and divisive in the human language is, naturally, an essential part of the show but, and this is the genius of it all, conclusions are never fully reached (at least not in the four episodes I've seen so far). Brian not only believes that Bruno shouldn't be allowed to use the word in any context, makeup or not, but that white people have a subconscious, almost primal desire to say that word and that Bruno is secretly enjoying it. It's an impossible point to prove but just as hard to disprove, much like many racially sensitive issues across the nation. Black. White. taps into those issues to, hopefully, provoke discussion, not with the typically bone-headed idea that those issues can be resolved with a television program.

If there's anywhere that Black. White. does try to hint at resolution for the issues between the races it's in the younger generation's take on the project. Nick, the black son, doesn't believe racism even exists. Will it go away if it's ignored? He doesn't look for it and doesn't care, so he doesn't choose to give it any power. And yet he seems to fall into so many of the stereotypes for black men of his generation. There's an amazing scene in the third episode when Nick spends a ridiculous amount of money on a bling-bling watch and his parents go crazy. It's fascinating on so many levels from the feeling that perhaps the camera may be having an impact on Brian and Renee's reaction to Nick feeding into his stereotype and then Bruno's reaction that it's Brian and Renee that are going against the stereotype of lax African-American parents, which then causes you to think about why Bruno would automatically assume that the Sparks would just let Nick get away with anything because they're black. Most of the best scenes in Black. White. have that kind of circular motion, where neither side is necessarily right or wrong, but just honest about an emotionally sensitive issue.

And then there's Rose, the incredibly emotional and articulate daughter of the Wurgels. Her journey could have been its own show by itself. The producers sign up Rose, in black makeup, for a black poetry class, where other students, all African-American, are spilling their guts about prejudice, poverty, homophobia, and more. Watching Rose "play along" and read her own poetry and actually try to rap is uncomfortable but it's as Rose starts to realize not only how brilliant and honest some of her black peers are but how dishonest she's being with them by pretending to be black that things get really interesting. The reactions of her classmates to the inevitable reveal of her secret is one of the most riveting things on television in a long time.

Black. White. doesn't look to solve any of our problems and it's not going to change the world. Anyone not wearing idealistic goggles knows that racism exists. When Brian, dressed as a white man, gets a job as a bartender and has to hear the kind of disgusting hatred that we all know is out there, it's not surprising. Sad, of course, but not surprising. It's the discussion later between the two families that's fascinating. Black. White. gets to the heart of the racial divide by recognizing that it's not something you can put your hands on or resolve in a television program. It's much bigger than that and as long as we're discussing it, we're making progress. Black. White. will get thrown in with other "Reality TV" programs but it's much more than just another reality show. Let's face it, there's nothing "real" about Survivor or The Apprentice and most of the shows dubbed "reality" are closer to Family Feud than daily life. Black. White. is actual reality television and it's the best new show of 2006.

Black. White. premieres on FX Network March 8, 2006 at 10pm.