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Ladytex
Member
09-27-2001
| Thursday, March 23, 2006 - 10:57 am
I watched last night. Bruno will not learn anything, he has his mind made up. Carmen, I think, did learn something last night. She seemed very affected by what happened. When they were basically blackballed at the redneck bar and she felt it and he said he didn't feel any different, I knew he was a lost cause. I felt bad when they felt the hostility as a black man and white woman in the black community, but do they honestly think that they would be treated any better in a white community? It's not been that long since black men were lynched for dating lil white blondes.
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Mocha
Member
08-12-2001
| Thursday, March 23, 2006 - 11:04 am
So true. Well I'm glad I fell asleep then.
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Roxip
Member
01-29-2004
| Thursday, March 23, 2006 - 1:15 pm
I thought this episode was interesting in that it dealt with more of Bruno and Carmen's experiences than it did with Renee and Brian's -- and how there might be such a thing as reverse discrimination and how it shows itself in somewhat different circumstances. I also thought their perception of it was interesting - whereas Bruno didn't notice any discrimination when he was among "his" kind (white people) and yet he felt quite threatened among the "others." I still think Carmen is just kind of a nutcase. Nick's situation was quite interesting, and I like how Rose challenged him on some of the things he did. I cringed, however, when I heard his parents verbally berate him...their use of language was quite enlightening. Obviously they are not worried about the effect of verbal harrassment on the long-term psyche of their son! (I'm kind of kidding by the way.)
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Wendo
Member
08-07-2000
| Thursday, March 23, 2006 - 10:57 pm
I missed last nights episode. Have to wait for the rerun; scheduled on the Tivo.
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Cliotheleo
Member
03-13-2002
| Friday, March 24, 2006 - 7:49 am
Wendo, I don't know if you saw the cast on Oprah but Brian admitted that the fact the salesman in the golf store put his shoes on for him probably had more to do with the store than his temporary ethnicity. I felt bad when they felt the hostility as a black man and white woman in the black community, but do they honestly think that they would be treated any better in a white community? It's not been that long since black men were lynched for dating lil white blondes. As someone who has the been "the white chic with the black dude" for almost two thirds of my life, I honestly thought Bruno and Carmen were over-reacting to the situation in the park. Obviously I wasn't with them at that time but I've never been made to feel uncomfortable while in an African American setting and I've been in those kinds of settings all over the country and with all different kinds of people. Whites of course have been a lot more hostile but, sadly, that goes without saying. Any discomfort I have felt in those kinds of situations have been because of my own insecurity not anything being directed at me.
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Pamy
Member
01-02-2002
| Friday, March 24, 2006 - 11:39 am
I have never felt that way either and I have been to Lemert Park
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Pamy
Member
01-02-2002
| Friday, March 24, 2006 - 11:42 am
Anyone else surprised the son isn't in school?? I know he said he was kicked out but why haven't they gotten him in another school or a continuation school??
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Mocha
Member
08-12-2001
| Friday, March 24, 2006 - 11:48 am
I didn't watch so I do not know. You two are fortunate. But it doesn't mean it doesn't happen to others.
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Pamy
Member
01-02-2002
| Friday, March 24, 2006 - 11:51 am
I totally agree and I know it happens or has happened to others.
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Ladytex
Member
09-27-2001
| Friday, March 24, 2006 - 12:05 pm
he was expelled for having a weapon in school. the mom said by the time he will be able to go back, he will be almost 18. Here it is a one year expulsion, but they expect the kid to go to a charter school or be homeschooled. I, too, was surprised that he would have not been in school, but allowed to run around with that kind of cash ... IMO that's asking for trouble.
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Mocha
Member
08-12-2001
| Friday, March 24, 2006 - 12:23 pm
A weapon? Where did he get it? What was it for? What did he do with it? Was it for defending himself? Cuz that's the only reason my child would have done that and still be walking around without limping. I think here he'd have had to go to one of those special schools for kids that were kicked out of regular school.
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Mak1
Member
08-12-2002
| Friday, March 24, 2006 - 2:19 pm
Rose asked him about why he isn't in school. He said he got kicked out for having a knife in his bag. He told Rose it belonged to his best friend. As Rose asked more about the friend, why he had the knife, etc., the answers were quite vague. It didn't sound like Nick knew much about his "best friend". He also told Rose he had been held back in 6th and 8th grade. I'm puzzled as to how Brian and Renee are handling the whole situation. I'm also a bit puzzled about why they wanted to be on this show. It doesn't seem like Nick knows, or cares, what the show is about. Of course, considering his age, he could just have decided to see what he can get away with on television.
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Mocha
Member
08-12-2001
| Friday, March 24, 2006 - 2:24 pm
Yeah I want to know why they wanted to be on the show too. I've already read that Bruno and Rose are actors so them wanting to be on is obvious. Early on Nick said he didn't want to be bothered and he was jut gonna be him.
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Mocha
Member
08-12-2001
| Friday, March 24, 2006 - 2:41 pm
Somewhat interesting article... <snip> The biggest challenge was finding the right families. Casting, Cutler says, took about six months. Nearly 250 families were considered. "We were looking for people who had a relationship with diversity and a conviction that America should be a place where race should not hold you back," he says. "We weren't looking for people who are walking around all day saying, 'I want to be on a TV show.' We were looking for people where it might have never occurred to them to do something like this." After finding the Sparkses and the Wurgels, the next hurdle was perfecting the make-up. "If the make-up doesn't work," says Cutler, "there's no point in doing it." It took several months to find the right make-up that satisfied both FX and the producers. Still, the racial makeover isn't totally convincing. While the Wurgels do look African-American — especially Carmen and Rose — the Sparkses look more like walking corpses than your average middle-class white family. Nick, for instance, could easily pass for Michael Jackson's oldest son. "It wasn't perfect," Landgraf admits. "If you watch the show, it's far from perfect and yet it's still quite moving." And it was also quite difficult for the families. Bruno and Brian don't even speak now. "I thought we were on the mend," says Bruno, "but then I saw him on Inside Edition and he called me a racist. That really hurt." Cutler says he saw the toll filming took on the families. "It was very trying and it was courageous of them to do this show because they were open and faced up to their own limitations," he says. "They allowed themselves to be exposed and they didn't shy away from conflict. Whatever you think of their individual beliefs and traditions, these guys really put it on the line for us." Says Bruno: "I was exhausted and frustrated. My nerves were frayed. It was very intense." link
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Wendo
Member
08-07-2000
| Friday, March 24, 2006 - 2:54 pm
Clio, thanks for the info about the shoes at the golf store. Interesting to read that about Brian. Not surprised that Bruno and Brian aren't speaking to one another. Those two are like oil and water. Both are very stubborn and two stubborn people do not get along very well.
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Pamy
Member
01-02-2002
| Friday, March 24, 2006 - 3:01 pm
I wondered why the museum owner went to Lemert Park with Bruno and whatsherface...I would think that should have been Renee, I wonder if she refuses to interact with them after all that has happened
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Pamy
Member
01-02-2002
| Friday, March 24, 2006 - 3:11 pm
I agree Mojo about the son. I am totally shocked that the Spark's don't even act like they are concerned he is out of school or are anxious to find him a continuation/home school...if they were I don't think they would have signed on for this show. It also kinda pisses me off, racist/clueless white ppl will say 'figures' and sterotype that it is typical that a young black man got kicked out of school for a weapon and the parents don't seem to care about getting him in another one. Looks like they have had trouble with him since 6th grade. If it was me and my son flunked 6th grade I would be riding his ass and he wouldn't do anything but homewk!!! You would think they would have been cking with the school weekly making sure he was doing well, making sure he was doing homework...I don't think that happened or he wouldn't have flunked again. How old is he? When he does go back to school it sounds like he will start in 8th grade, he looks like a high schooler, how long has he been out of school?
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Mocha
Member
08-12-2001
| Friday, March 24, 2006 - 3:21 pm
I disagree with you Pamy. Just because we aren't seeing what they're doing about their son being out of school doesn't mean they're doing nothing. They show us what they want to. And actually that has nothing to do with the show itself. The show was filmed over 6 weeks but when was the 6 weeks? Over summer vacation? And he's 17. Actually he doesn't have to go back to school, he can take his GED and go on from there to college or whatever. But he has that I know everydamnthing issue too. And when a kid's like that, then they have to learn the hard way. Also seeing how his parents are I can't and don't believe they're doing nothing.
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Pamy
Member
01-02-2002
| Friday, March 24, 2006 - 3:47 pm
I hear what you are saying but how did they let him flunk the 2nd time? I know you or I would be on our kid's butt if it ever happened a first time. I also know with some kids it doesn't matter what ya do, they won't listen.
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Mak1
Member
08-12-2002
| Friday, March 24, 2006 - 3:57 pm
He told Rose he was 16 when he was in 8th grade. His parents do want him to take his GED and go to college. It looks like they had a serious talk about that, from the small parts we were shown. Brian said, to the camera, that he thinks Rose is a nice level-headed girl and he thinks she can be a good influence on Nick. Interesting article, thanks Mocha. I'm not surprised Bruno and Brian don't speak, either. Yeah, Pamy, I wondered why Carmen's museum friend was her liaison to the black community (or whatever Carmen called her) instead of Renee. Things must have been very tense in that house. Maybe it was snarky, but I had to laugh when Renee told Brian he should call Carmen a beautiful white creature to see the reaction.
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Denecee
Member
09-05-2002
| Friday, March 24, 2006 - 4:42 pm
If somebody called me a beautiful white creature, I would say "Thank you!"
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Mocha
Member
08-12-2001
| Friday, March 24, 2006 - 5:04 pm
quote:I hear what you are saying but how did they let him flunk the 2nd time?
Maybe they will answer that in an interview somewhere. And I don't think it's about letting him flunk.
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Bluejaxrock
Member
04-23-2004
| Friday, March 24, 2006 - 7:31 pm
I was always able to make the grades in school, but I would never stay in school. My parents didn't let me skip classes - they did everything but walk me from class to class - but I usually could find a way around whatever measures they and the school tried. I was obstinate. My dad jokes (now) that one year of high school, he and my mom were at the school more than I was. It's true. All this to say that sometimes, no matter what the parents do, it doesn't work. I've only seen bits of the show, and don't know the specifics like y'all do...just commenting on the situation.
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Kappy
Member
06-29-2002
| Saturday, March 25, 2006 - 2:51 pm
I'm going to say upfront that I have not seen all of the show yet. From what I saw on Oprah with the tension between the two couples and the obvious stereoptying and negativity, I really wasn't anxious to watch. But I've just got to commnent on the shoe situation in the golf store ~ I haven't had anyone put a shoe on my foot, let alone with a shoehorn, in over 15 years now, maybe longer. I just always assumed that it was due to changes in the world of retail. From what little I have seen of the adults involved with this program, I don't want to watch any further. But I do hope it improves for those still interested in it.
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Jhezzie
Member
07-05-2001
| Sunday, March 26, 2006 - 12:45 am
Bruno's got to always be right, so he's a lost cause. That and he's acting half the time, like he's the lead in a drama for the network. Guess he can use the footage when auditioning? I can see why Carmen went to the other woman to check out stuff. She's a different point of view. Luckily, they have better chemistry than she and Renee. You know, some of that deal in the park was talked about in that article. What Carmen's friend said on the show was true, but a whole lot of it was that they were rather aggressive. Bruno was his usual hostile self, and Carmen was trying too damn hard with people who don't know her from Adam. I just had to roll my eyes when Bruno claimed he didn't feel anything different in that c/w bar. I guess he's waiting for his favorite 'n' word to make it official. Yeesh.
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