Black-ish (2014) s07e10 Episode Script

1 DRE: Back in the day, you didn't know all that much about people around you your co-workers, acquaintances, your mailman.
Most people were strangers who lived a life of mystery, because there was a thing called privacy.
But since the explosion of social media, everyone knows everything about everybody.
And in these politically divided times, this onslaught of social media means we know everyone's thoughts on every single issue.
That can really change your perception of a person.
Take Bow's cousin Gary, for example.
I knew he lived somewhere in L.
A.
and thought you should go for it on fourth and 1.
But social media introduced me to a whole other side of Gary.
That's where I found out he was BLM's newest, whitest ally.
So, with George Floyd's murder and the uprisings, I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when this happened.
[Cellphone ringing.]
Hey, Gary! I've been waiting on this call, man.
When is the fantasy draft? GARY: What are you talking about football, man? Turn on the news.
America doesn't care about Black people, okay? We need to make a change ASAP, and you need to help me.
GARY: Hey, man, I'm sorry to call again, but Bow isn't picking up, and I just got to say this country is so behind.
It feels like the '80s.
Or the '60s.
Whichever decade is the most racist.
Call me back.
This is Gary.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
This is the sixth one that he left me.
Mm-hmm.
Bow, our relationship isn't meant to handle this.
The only time I should see Gary cry is when they're reuniting a soldier with a dog at halftime.
Gary has been emotional his entire life.
He cried four times during the movie "Face/Off.
" That's why I don't answer any of his calls.
Eh, ah, uh, Bow I feel that White people are losing their mind, all right? - [Chuckles.]
- They've all been reaching out because some meme told them to check on their Black friends.
Oh, I know.
- I know, Dre.
- Hmm? - Listen.
- [Cellphone beeps.]
WOMAN: [Sobbing.]
What happened to Americ - [Cellphone beeps.]
- WOMAN #2: I just feel so terrible about my own privilege.
- If you want to skip tennis - [Cellphone beeps.]
WOMAN #3: I think my daughter needs a Black hero right now, and I Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Enough.
None of those people are my friends.
Not a one.
And that last woman she's just someone who found my wallet in 2005.
That's crazy.
Bow, you know what? I feel that the people who are calling are drowning in guilt and are looking for a Black life preserver.
But I didn't expect that from Gary! The best thing that you can do here is pretend that this call never happened.
- Mm.
- It's Gary.
All right? So in a few weeks, when "The Great British Bake Off" comes back on, he will forget that Black lives ever mattered.
- Yeah, you're probably right.
- Mm-hmm.
- I'll delete them.
- Yeah.
Maybe it'll all go away on its own, just like a jury summons or a red light ticket.
- Pshh.
- [Cellphone chimes.]
Oh! Look at this.
CVS is alerting us that Black lives matter and there is 20% off of all Tussin.
Oh.
Babe, you are so sweet for helping me with my psych homework.
I don't mind at all.
I feel like psychologists are real doctors.
I don't care what my mom says.
[Toaster pops.]
Oh, no.
Jack, we have talked about this.
It is hot when it comes out.
No, no, no.
I-I chipped the icing.
Well, it's still gonna taste the same.
It's not for me.
It's for Diane.
She places a high value on the aesthetic of the toaster pasty.
Well, if she's that particular, wouldn't it just be easier for her to make it herself? - [Laughing.]
- [Laughing.]
Junior, school your girl.
She's clearly never been on the business end of Diane's wrath.
[Exhales deeply.]
Mnh-mnh.
Whoa, Junior.
Your brother is acting out this theory in my textbook.
- [Toaster clicks.]
- Jack clearly has what the book calls a fearful attachment.
He will do anything to make his twin sister happy.
Wow.
That does make sense.
You know, one time, Diane got the flu, and Jack immediately tried to register - [Toaster pops.]
- to be an organ donor.
[Inhales sharply.]
Ah.
You know, Jack, just because you love your sister doesn't mean you got to burn your fingerprints off for her.
If you ever want to talk about ways to assert yourself in your relationship and break free from your fear of rejection, I'm here.
I'll think about it.
Whoa! Whoa! Jack, you should feel lucky that Olivia has blessed you with this knowledge.
You know, some day, Mom is gonna spend hundreds of dollars for you to get this same kind of therapy.
Good.
Because I saw Grandma changing for the pool once, and it really messed me up.
Ugh.
- [Cellphone chiming.]
- Even though Bow told me to ignore Gary, it didn't seem like he was going to let me do that.
STEVENS: Hold everything.
Dre's got a problem.
My money is on bad credit score.
DRE: No.
Bow's White cousin Gary he wants to talk to me about race.
How is that a problem for you? Yeah, you talk so much about race, Dre, I watch "American History X" totally differently now.
I don't talk about it that much.
- [Laughing.]
What?! - [Laughs.]
You talk about race so much, we basically owe you tuition.
Dre, I thought Rodney King was King of South L.
A.
real estate until I met you.
Because of you, Dre, I now have a relationship with my daughter's boyfriend, Lamar.
Your daughter has a Black boyfriend? Yes, Dre, she has a Black boyfriend.
And because of you, I didn't assume that he wanted fried chicken for dinner.
Well, you know, now that I think about it Gary didn't call just any Black friend.
- No, he did not.
- He called the - Yep.
- Black friend.
You're damn right.
You know, he needs me.
It's time I answer his call.
Yeah.
Feel that, Dre? What? Come on.
That's progress.
This is the dream Rodney King was talking about.
The guys were right.
I had to take advantage of the opportunity to build a better White man.
Gary! Hey, man.
Oh.
[Exhales deeply.]
Hey, thanks for being down to talk.
Hey.
Well, you know what? You picked the right person.
I am excited to be your race master.
[Inhales sharply.]
Lesson number one let's lose the word "master.
" It gets weird real quick.
Like a lot of White people, it turned out Gary had a ton that he wanted to get off his chest to his Black friend.
I guess just since the uprisings, I've felt very lost and discouraged that I haven't done my fair share of really trying to understand the Black experience, and I just want to do better.
Mm.
So, that is just the first step.
Yeah.
What if I were to give you an opportunity to learn more about the Black experience? Yes.
- Ask me anything.
- Anything? Yes.
Anything.
No question is dumb.
Great.
Um what is Bruno Mars? He's Black, right? That's your question? I don't know, man! I froze! This whole thing feels like a setup.
No, no, no.
It's It's not.
Honestly.
You're Gary, ask me anything, man.
Just ask.
Anything! - If I'm singing along to a rap song - Mmhmm.
and they say the N-word, do I just go silent, or can I say "ninja"? [Exhales deeply, chuckles.]
Wh You almost had me there, Gary.
Uh you know, I-I think it's safe to say that you should never sing along to a rap song.
Ever.
But what about Macklemore? Eh You know what? Uh Let me break it down to you.
- Hit it - Once Gary and I got going, something beautiful happened.
[RoJ E-Z Rock's "It Takes Two" plays.]
It takes two to make a thing go right It takes two to make it outta sight It takes two to make a thing go right It takes two to make it outta sight Hit it I wanna rock right now I'm Rob Base, and I came to get down I'm not internationally known But I'm known to rock the microphone All right.
Let me ask you this.
How many Black friends do you have? No, not a loser Not counting family members and co-workers.
Ladies love me, girls adore me I mean, even the ones who never saw me Like the way that I rhyme at a show The reason why, man, I don't know So let's go, 'cause It takes two to make a thing go right It takes two to make it outta sight It takes two, i-it takes two I-It takes two to make a So, that's how redlining prevented Black people from even participating in the greatest accumulation of wealth in American history? That's right.
See, they didn't teach us that in school.
- Ha! - They taught us that every American had the same opportunity.
Well, that's what they wanted you to think.
Because if Black people were responsible for our own oppression, then that would make it easier to reinforce the narrative of White success and Black failure.
And if our failure was our fault, then White people wouldn't have any responsibility to make change.
I hear you, man.
And I got to say, I want to be responsible, you know? - I want to do something.
- Okay.
Well, these books can explain it a whole lot better than I can.
If you want to put in the work, that's a great place to start.
Thanks, man.
Can't wait to read.
All right.
Hey, good luck on your journey, grasshopper.
- All right.
- [Chuckles.]
Oh! Uh, one more thing.
Yeah? Is it weird to like "Hamilton"? Our future's at stake, Gary.
We don't have time for non-"Wiz" musicals.
- Right.
- All right? - Now, ease on down that road.
- [Laughs.]
[Exhales deeply.]
JACK: Hey, Olivia.
Once I started thinking about what you said about Diane, it made a lot of sense.
I came up with a lot of grievances.
And once I got going, it didn't stop.
- Good job.
- Wait.
Wait, wait, wait, wait.
All of this is about Diane? Mm-hmm.
[Chuckles.]
You're not planning on giving this to her, are you? No, no, no, no, no.
This is great progress, Jack.
You've identified your issues.
Now you just got to find the time where you can both look each other in the eye and you tell her what's bothering you.
Good job.
Or now that you have gotten your feelings out of your body and onto this paper, you can burn it.
That way, no one ever gets to read it, and no one will ever punish you for writing it.
Ooh, that reminds me of what she said when I tried to wear that fedora.
- Let me see.
- Wh Be right back.
I need more paper.
Wh Isn't this great? Jack's gonna heal his attachment issues.
Oh, I feel really good about this.
[Chuckles nervously.]
H-Hey, babe, you know I I love when you feel good, but, um I feel like maybe you don't know Diane well enough to give this kind of advice.
You know? Oh, really? Um I see what's going on here.
You want to protect Jack, but you're also worried about hurting my feelings.
Textbook anxious attachment.
You have abandonment issues.
What? No, I don't.
You're so terrified you'll say or do the wrong thing, you try to keep me happy, even if that means not standing up for yourself.
What? Okay, that is ridiculous.
Maybe "ridiculous" is too harsh a word.
What do you think? [Smacks lips.]
I am gonna get a book out of this family.
[Chuckles.]
And I will buy it.
[Inhales sharply.]
I had done it.
I had molded a squishy mind.
And I knew that, thanks to me, Gary was going to be an ally.
You and Gary were up late last night.
[Refrigerator door closes.]
Your cousin and I had an excellent conversation.
- Did ya? - Yes.
I led a horse to water, and I taught him how to fish.
I am pretty sure that you can't cure 40 years of racist conditioning in one night.
Bow, Bow, Bow.
This is just like the Magic Eye all over again.
No.
Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it's not there.
That was a defective painting.
- Ha! - And you need to trust me.
I grew up in a mixed family.
And my cousins and I had these conversations about Reagan all those years ago, the same way you're having them now.
This is never ending, and it is not yours to fix.
I don't mind, Bow.
It's what I do.
It's w Stevens.
- [Sighs.]
- Josh.
Oh, my God.
Gary.
[Chuckles.]
Give me enough time, and I can convert any AM radio host in this country.
Huh.
Watch.
I can't believe I was ever attracted to this side of you! [Cellphone rings.]
Hey, Gary.
My man.
What's up? Dre, we need to talk.
Uh Hey, d-does it have to be right now? You know, I'm, uh, I'm taking care of the baby.
Can I please come over? Sure.
Why not? Good, 'cause I'm outside right now.
- What? - [Door closes.]
Did you know that right now, as we speak, White gentrifiers are moving into Black communities? Okay, and starting their own charter schools, which takes away the funding from the public schools that everybody else has to go to? So that leaves the Black schools completely understaffed and underfunded.
It's terrible.
You are totally right, Gary, and I agree with you.
So, tell me this what's your plan? Ha.
I'm glad you asked.
First of all, I'm starting a parents' group.
We're gonna write letters and make calls every day - to politicians.
- Okay.
And I think I can also organize a Zoom fundraising concert with the bassist from The Goo Goo Dolls.
- He's a friend of a friend.
- Okay.
- I don't know if - Okay.
Okay.
Gary, let me ask you this are you putting your kids in public school? Well, [clears throat.]
great question.
And we are considering it.
I haven't talked to Jennifer about it, but it is on the table.
Are you sending your kids to public school? I mean, I wish I could.
The school that we're zoned for, the the testing scores there are not great, so Okay.
Gary, let me let me get this straight.
- So, you want to topple the system - Yes.
but you're not willing to do the one thing that you can do? I hear ya, but why do my kids have to be the guinea pigs? I mean, your kids don't go to public school.
That's the whole thing! When White kids go to these schools, they suddenly find resources! But my Black kids going there doesn't change a thing.
So if you're not willing to do that, you know, there's not much that we really need to talk about.
Hey, I'm just trying to be an ally here.
Okay.
Hey, look, Gary.
You know, I really thought this was a great idea, but I'm starting to feel like this is just a big mistake.
I'm sorry, but I can't take you on.
Okay? Bye.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Look.
I'm just a White man standing in front of his Black cousin, asking him to solve racism together.
I can't do it, Gary.
Hey.
Lose my number, man.
Wh Yeah.
I understand what's going on.
This is part of the process.
- Hey.
- Hey.
What are you doing out here by yourself? [Gasps.]
Oh, no.
Did you find the Playboy that your mom was in? I told you those pictures she sent to Hugh Hefner were unsolicited.
No.
I had to drop Gary.
He got to be too much.
[Sighing.]
Dre.
Dre, Dre.
Dre.
Did he surprise you and do exactly what I said he would? Thanks for not rubbing it in.
I knew you would end up here because I have done this so many times before, Dre, and I didn't want you to be disappointed, the way I was.
Gary wanted to jump in and fix the entire system without owning his own part in it.
Sometimes I think it's easier to post "Black lives matter" and shame your grandma online than look in the mirror and realize that you are complicit.
Yes! What is it about this moment that so many people are finally comfortable saying Black lives matter? Where were they for Aiyana Jones, Trayvon Martin, Mike Brown, Sandra Bland? I think that after four years of overt tiki torch racism, it's socially acceptable for White people to finally fight for the dignity of Black people.
That's what scares me.
I know.
If they can flip a switch and care, they can just as easily flip a switch and go back to not caring.
Agreed.
And what are we supposed to say next time we see Gary? Oh, my God.
Dre.
You still want to engage him? He's the only one of your family members that I like, Bow.
What?! I'm not ready to let that go.
Oh, my God.
He goes for it on fourth and 1 no matter where he is on the field! What's fourth and 1? See? You wouldn't understand.
Okay.
Okay.
When I win the Nobel Prize for psychology, I'm gonna shout you out.
You better.
[Chuckles.]
Um Oh, hey.
How'd it go with Diane? Oh, well, uh, about that Actually, I've got to talk to you about this psychology stuff.
Okay.
I don't think it's a good idea for you to diagnose my family.
Yeah, we have our problems, but what family doesn't? Plus, if you would've tried this on my grandma, she probably would've shot you in your belly.
She's done it before.
Why didn't you say this the other day? It's my usual MO to squash my feelings to make other people happy.
But I love our relationship, and because of that, it's important that I let you know how I really feel.
Ohh.
I'm so sorry.
I did it again.
I'm always screwing something up with my dumb psych major.
No, baby.
Even my own family got tired of it.
Honestly I'm just trying to impress you guys.
Aww.
You do impress me.
DRE: Okay.
Ah.
All right.
Well, thank you for the beer.
That's not all I did.
I had a long talk with Jennifer, and it looks like we're not gonna be sending our kids to public school next year.
And before you say anything, I know, man - I'm a hypocrite.
- Mm-hmm.
But I just don't know if I can make a huge sacrifice like that without knowing for sure that it's gonna pay off.
That's what a movement is many people sacrificing parts of their lives to move the needle, even if the needle barely moves.
Look, man, I know your eyes are newly open to all of the injustice in this country and you want to change everything all at once.
Yeah.
But what matters to me most is that in five days, five months, five years, you're still doing the work.
You're so right, man.
There's so much for me to learn.
And there's just racism everywhere.
Got to just open my eyes to it.
Yep.
Okay, let's go watch Chiefs-Redskins.
It's the Washington Football Team.
- It is? - Yeah.
And I don't know how the Chiefs got out of changing their name.
And, uh I'm gonna get some more beer.
Oh, well, they only brew this every three years.
It's kind of special.
Uh, maybe they should brew it every five years.
Hey, did you read any It's good that more people are talking about things they wouldn't talk about even just a few years ago.
That doesn't mean that the work is easy.
But it shows we made progress, and that's what's important.
- But then you smear it - Dre.
Thank God you're here.
Okay, Josh and I are having what I can call a disagreement Sure.
about what technically constitutes blackface.
What do you think? Are you serious? Oh, yes! Dre rant! I got some popcorn! Hold.
And go.
You know what? As a little treat, I made my rant into a song.
What? How could you possibly have known what we were gonna ask you? So, you find yourself wanting to ask a Black person a question about race.
- Uh-huh.
- Well What a friend we have in Google All your questions answered there What a privilege to Google Instead of asking your Black friends Hey, Dre, is it racist if I make this song my Oh, what peace it is You know what? I'll just listen to the words.