- Network: FX
- Series Premiere Date: Mar 8, 2006
Critic Reviews
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An endlessly curious and unexpectedly intelligent social experiment.
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It demonstrates the potential of reality television to go beyond determining who can eat the most worms or scream the loudest, to illuminate important social and cultural issues.
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"Black. White." makes you think, makes you want to have a conversation about racial issues and makes you examine your own beliefs and biases. How often does a TV show do that?
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As these two families question their assumptions and experiences, we not only get insights into a thorny issue but, through the families on the show, we also get fascinating glimpses into lives we'd never otherwise lead.
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This show goes in for neither cheap gags nor easy stereotypes, crafting a thought-provoking narrative that embodies genuine sociological heft without transforming its subjects into buffoons.
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Uncompromisingly revelatory.
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What may appear at first glance to be a cheap reality TV gimmick... soon evolves into something quite compelling.
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It is quite simply one of the most fascinating TV shows I have ever watched - warts and all.
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Black.White takes the reality subgenre to a whole new level, shining a beacon on American's most excruciating blind spot.
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Consistently compelling.
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Some results are interesting anthropologically. But "Black.White" bogs down in conversation and never fascinates.
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What I've seen suggests an intriguing show, although there's something so contrived about the series that it makes me more than a bit uneasy.
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Ultimately, though, it's not what happens to the folks on this show that is so revealing. It's what goes on in our own minds as we watch and listen to them try to navigate the shoals of racial differences.
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Clearly, the action in ''Black. White." has been manipulated and edited to justify its existence as a spark-filled TV look at black-white relations. Indeed, the show... can be downright hokey. But it nonetheless pushes you into questions about your own behavior and feelings.
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It works best at its most intimate, as family drama, and as another variant on "The Real World," in which people who would not ordinarily live together are made to do so.
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However badly you thought American race relations were going, Black. White. will make you feel worse.
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"Black.White." is most impressive as a feat of cosmetology.
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The show's an entertaining provocation, but it's also only skin-deep.
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It requires a lot of patience to get there, but the lessons may be worth it.
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It's a shame so much of the show is annoying, because it offers occasional small moments of enlightenment.
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An abject failure both as sociology and as entertainment, this incompetent update of Black Like Me is no more than a gimmick in search of an idea.
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"Black. White." is not a provocative study in secret prejudice, followed by growth and awakening. It's a reinforcement of the stereotypes the show claims it wants to examine and expose.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 66 out of 110
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Mixed: 18 out of 110
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Negative: 26 out of 110
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AbbyLJul 6, 2007
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SarahRApr 2, 2007America needs more of this!
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KarenSSep 10, 2006