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| The Fosters Characters from Left: AJ, Mike, Mariana, Lena, Brandon, Stef, Callie, Jude |
One particular episode (Season 3 Episode 5) the show unearths and tackles the topic of police racial profiling and discrimination. Mike a San Diego police officer, and also the ex-husband of one the Foster women, is with his newly adopted foster kid AJ who is African-American with an athletic build. AJ and Mike, who is in uniform, are leaving from visiting AJ's grandmother at a nursing home, when Mike gets a police call about a situation near their area. Mike calls in saying he is on his way and that he has a ride-along with him, AJ. They arrive at the house where the other police officers are already combing through the house and the area around it for a suspect/suspects. Mike tells AJ to stay in the car while he goes and assesses the situation. Mike disappears into the house for a while, so AJ becomes curious and walks out of the front seat of the police cruiser, within seconds he is roughly tackled to the ground and handcuffed by a white police officer. Mike quickly runs out of the house to diffuse the situation and let the officer know that AJ is his ride-along, but the white officer still refuses to un-cuff and release AJ, until Mike tells the officer that AJ is his adopted son, which the officer then only apologizes to Mike. This situation also reminds me of a similar story in the news about James Blake, a retired professional tennis player who was tackled and cuffed by several undercover white officers because he was the same race as the suspect they were looking to apprehend. He wasn't running, he wasn't "fleeing the scene" he was simply standing outside his hotel waiting for a car to take him to the U.S. Open Tennis Tournament. Just like AJ who stepped out of the front seat of police cruiser and who was labeled as a ride-along was profiled and forcibly tackled to the ground, many people of different ethnicities have been brutally handled by police in similar ways. This article, talks about the reasons why this type of warrior-like policing came into existence within society. The merging of "kill or be killed" police education and training along with individual prejudices and racial biases creates this dangerous concoction of police brutality towards certain races. Hence, why people like James Blake and AJ are handled in a very violent manner instead of being questioned and treated like a human being.
Shows like The Fosters that use their media platform to bring light and awareness to racial biases and stereotypes within our society really opens up the dialogue for people to discuss why these types of situations happen. I would love for you to comment any other shows, movies, or books that use stereotypes within the plot as a way to bring awareness.
This is really interesting. The show is so cool because it portrays so many different marginalized groups simultaneously, which isn't done that frequently in popular media. I think the article you included about the police education and training - it really speaks to the idea that the racism we have in America today may not be as blatant as it was in the 1960's, but it's still here and it's still institutionalized in our everyday laws and biases.
ReplyDeleteThe show really does do a good job of including all types or social issues in it's episodes. I can agree with you that racism within our society has become more systematic and subtle in how it affects different people groups making it even more dangerous.
DeleteABC Family has always done a really good job of representing real problems and depicting real social issues that modern-day families and people are faced with. I really admire their bravery when it comes to that, because not a lot of networks are willing to call such controversial things to light.
ReplyDeleteThis is totally true! ABC Family (or i think it is called FreeForm now?) has a new show out called Recovery Road about a party girl in high school who struggles with addiction. Its not like no one knows alcohol consumption occurs in high school, but there is such a stigma attached to addiction that many never seek help especially in high school. So ABC family is really not afraid to tackle these tough issues.
DeleteThis is one of my shows! I love this show because of the diversity and the message that it gives. It is actually positive ... Not only does it highlight lesbian love but how love has no color at all! That one episode I clapped and screamed when mike took up for AJ! I wish this show got a lot more recognition but it's not because it accepts diversity and that is unacceptable in this society !
ReplyDeleteI agree! I wish this show got more recognition as well. As we talked about in class about how media should or should not accurately reflect our social reality, there are different levels of reality reflected. Shows that tackle real social issues and realities tend to not get as much popularity where as fantastical shows are more attractive because people like to escape or have a break from their "real life".
DeleteI have never seen this show before but from the great responses I can see, I would be more than happy to look into a couple of them, diversity when it comes to anything is a great thing, and also with them showing modern day events shows a sign of great change.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely! The awareness the show raises about the decaying foster system, systematic racism, and even more personal issues like adoptive children seeking out their biological parents, is really multi-layered and engaging. You should check it out.
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