NETFLIX REVIEW- #blackAF

Netflix has come out with a plethora of different shows during this lockdown and quarantine, and I have mainly been watching comedies to keep a more positive outlook. A series that I will be reviewing is #blackAF, created by Kenya Barris. Barris has quite an extensive line of works such as being a writer for The Game, Girls Trip, and Black-ish to name a few. #blackAF has a similar premise to the show Black-ish; however, in #blackAF Kenya Barris is playing a somewhat fictitious version of himself. Barris, who is an Inglewood native. In the show he depicts  a wealthy Black man, from the major successes from his works (such as Black-ish); and is trying to have his family assimilate into this predominantly white neighborhood, without losing what it means to be black in America. The show delves into certain aspects of black culture that has been recently deemed as “ghetto” or “hood culture”, and shows the roots of why those things are rooted in the Black struggle for survival and acceptance. One examples of this is the episode when Barris talks about the reasons why Black people spend so much on clothes and accessories. Appearance being deeply rooted in acceptance into white society during slave times, which stems from the term “Sunday Best” where slave owners would present their slaves on Sundays for church, and wear their best clean clothes to show other owners their own wealth, which was reflected in their slaves’ appearance. 

#blackAF has been regarded as some as a more adult and raw version of Black-ish, mainly due to the profanity, and subject matter, but it is still well written and acted. Some subjects in the show can be hard to handle due to the reality of race in America, and especially now it is a great comedic tool to help educate people on aspects of Black culture.