Commentary
CW's 'All American' Is Ambitious Drama Series About Race
- by Adam Buckman , Featured Columnist, October 9, 2018
In the new CW drama series “All American,” a promising African-American football star from an inner-city high school in Los Angeles is recruited by a coach in Beverly Hills to move on up and play for him.
After a period of inner turmoil and indecision, the football star says yes. Basically, that's the show.
It is about his struggle to fit in among the rich kids at fictional Beverly High School (it's supposed to be Beverly Hills High, but in this show, the word “Hills” is omitted from the school's name).
As well-meaning as this up-from-the-ghetto football recruitment story seems to be, aspects of it feel a tad unsettling. What is this show trying to say? That the only way to succeed in life if you grow up in a neighborhood that is not affluent is to somehow become "lucky" enough that someone in the rich neighborhood will ask you to live with him and play football at the rich kids' school?
advertisement
advertisement
And what of the team this young star -- Spencer James (played by Daniel Ezra) -- leaves behind in the Crenshaw section of L.A.? In the series premiere of “All American,” the reactions of his Crenshaw teammates and coaches is not shown.
Surely, he must have been friends with at least some of them. How do they feel when their friend and star player ditches them to go play with the rich kids? The premiere provides no answer.
Clearly, “All American” is a drama about race, which is an ambitious topic to take up. Spencer encounters few, if any, other black students at Beverly High.
His Beverly High coach (played by Taye Diggs) is just about the only African-American person at his new school. And the coach happens to be married to a white woman -- a successful attorney.
The show draws parallels between the coach and Spencer, portraying Spencer as a younger version of the coach. This impression is given by the coach himself.
His own career in the NFL was cut short by injuries, he tells Spencer. So he is hoping to guide Spencer toward a better NFL career than he had.
It just so happens that the coach's own son is the star quarterback on the Beverly High team. And the son does not like all the attention the coach is paying to this outsider from the inner city.
This forms one of the show's central conflicts as members of the Beverly High squad try and drive Spencer away by conspiring to undermine his efforts on the practice field.
Despite the show's mixed messages about race and privilege, it is not a bad show at all. As the show's central character, Daniel Ezra gives a standout performance, and one of the best by a young actor in a new drama series seen so far this season.
“All American” premieres Wednesday (October 10) at 9 p.m. Eastern on The CW.
I have an idea for a show about race. And because it's TV, it doesn't even have to seem real.
How about we take a liberal black man with zero exeperience in business, or governance, and get him elected to President of the United States (I know, I know... as hateful, racist, and bigoted as America is, this seems like a complete impossibility, but bear with me).
While campaigning, this black man promises to be the most inclusive, reach across the aisle, get bipartisan things done President in history. He also promises to lift up the horribly put upon, and horribly mistreated African-American community, as well as the universe of denigrated women in the country with jobs programs, and other "step-up" measures designed to help these people.
As each episode of this new program unfolds, we see that the African-American POTUS not only proves utterly incapable of "lifting up" the African-American community as promised, but, in fact, mires them deeper into unemployment, and inexplicable violence against each other. We also see women treated worse than ever during his Presidency, with him attempting nothing of consequence to effect change.
Then, as Season One continues to unfold, we see that President REFUSE to reach across the aisle in any way, shape, or form... and become one of the most imperial, get nothing done presidents in history despite his promises to UNIFY.
Then, in the season finale, an insolent buffoon businessman that was a former reality TV star wins the Presidency (supposedly a racist, and misognynist) and he goes on to ACTUALLY lift up the African-American community (lowest unemployment level in four decades) and the universe of women through his racist ways, and misogyny (worth noting, for the sake of television drama, that he was known for providing women with equal pay for equal work in his companies prior to being elected President).
I know, I know. This is probably too far-fetched to "get made"... I guess I'll stick with my current line of work.
Something is definitely wrong with you....maybe too much Kool Aide.
What Kool-Aid would I be drinking, Paula? I'm a fairly independent guy that voted for Clinton in '92, but went Libertarian in '96 when the real "Slick Willy" was exposed. Voted for Obama in 2008, but went Libertarian again in 2012 when his true "do-nothingness" and "stand for nothingness" was exposed. Voted Libertairian again in 2016 rather than deal with the stench of the Republican and Democratic candidates, even long enough to pull a lever.
I'm guessing that you've never pulled the lever for anybody but a Democrat, and that you've consumed more than your fair share of liberal Kool-Aid.
Surely you see irony in the truth that eight years of an African-American president resulted in things becoming far worse for the African-American community economically, and societally (even though he promised to make things better for his community with the standard laundry list of liberal "Kool-Aid" non-starters) and then the "racist" Trump comes in and lifts that community up in a variety of ways within two years? Ironic. Paradoxical. Weird. True.
No Kool-Aid required.