Ice Cube is being called to the podium to explain himself after a clip from his 2006 FX reality show Black. White. popped up on Twitter.
Social Media Has Questions About the 2006 Ice Cube-Produced Reality TV Show “Black.White.”
Needless to say, most were confused as to how the show made it to air in the first place. The premise of the show was that a Black family and a White family would “switch races” via make-up and experience the world in another person’s skin.
It’s kind of the 2006-version of Black Like Me, a 1961 novel where Texas writer John Howard Griffin darkens his skin to experience the contrast between being Black in the segregation-era South and how he navigates as a White man. The book was made into a film starring Tora! Tora! Tora! and The Shawshank Redemption actor James Whitmore.
No, I’m not the first one to draw that comparison.
The show ran for one six-episode season and garnered mixed reactions. It was hailed as a respectable “social experiment” on one hand but seen as low-hanging fruit even for reality TV on the other.
As with anything on Twitter, things tend to resurface when people had long forgotten about it. Some users have their memories jogged instantly while others are surprised that whatever resurfaces was floated as a good idea.
In reality, the 2000s was a time when something was only an awful idea if it didn’t land or hit it out of the park. The number of people around to say “Yeah, this is gonna over like a fart in church” wasn’t as vast as it is in 2022.
That is the case with Black.White. The series is available on YouTube and most of those who viewed it after the clip was posted on Saturday, April 6, roasted the show for being pretty ridiculous even for the time.
Others roasted it for the premise of raceplay being able to allow people to experience the other side and some epiphany would be achieved on both sides. There were also users who defended it as a social experiment—which tends to fall flat more often than people actually taking something away from it.
You can check out the first episode above and tell us what you thought of the show. Should it have gone two seasons or was one season enough? Do you believe a reboot is in order?
Let us know down below!
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