The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
WARNING : Spoilers ahead forBel - Airepisode 7 !
While the majority of storyline have been changed , Bel - Airvery nearly repeated one of the most important scenes fromFresh Princethat would have worked in the reboot . Bel - Air ’s dramatic and seriousreimagining ofFresh Princeisn’t much of a reach , as the foundation for such important theme and conversation on Black life in America was already laid in the original series . A few scene , in particular , fromFresh Princedid effectively degenerate the temper for an emotionally poignant , dramatic commentary on society ’s discourse of Black Americans , andBel - Airepisode 7 was close to recreate one of these moments .
When Will first arrive inBel - Air , he and Carlton instantly get off on the wrong foot when he sees that Carlton does n’t quite understand how Black men are typically treat alfresco of Bel - Air ’s exclusive right . As a wealthy , popular , privileged child who is one of the only Black human beings in his Bel - Air community , Carlton is fair forgetful to the reality of stereotype and racial profiling that Will has known his entire life sentence . It is n’t until the end of instalment 7 thatBel - Air ’s antagonistic Carltontruly experiences systemic racism first - manus ( or at least recognizes it ) , as he ’s nearly stop when an angry Connor sends the cops to halt the party at the Banks residence .
connect : Bel - Air Cast Guide : How Each Character Compares To Fresh Prince
When the cops arrive inBel - Air , a positive Carlton come below and explains that it ’s his star sign and everything is o.k. , only for the cops to neglect what he says and tell apart him to terminate in his track with his hands up . With the cop continuing to look Carlton and interview who the star sign really belonged to , an apprehension would have been sure had Lisa not come down the stairs with her law chieftain begetter on the phone to clear up the billet . This situation functions almost exactly the same asFresh Prince ’s extremely important season 1 episode , “ Mistaken Identity , ” in whichCarlton and Willare pulled over while drive the expensive car of Phil ’s colleague to Palm Springs .
At this decimal point inFresh Prince , Carlton , like the same character inBel - Air , is largely forgetful to the declamatory racial profiling and racialism on behalf of federal agency like the police – he does n’t consider this would ever come about to him , or think the constabulary are " just doing their job . " When Carlton is pulled over , the cop believe he stole the automobile , which Will instantly predicted by tell Carlton that when the police see a unseasoned Black man in a nice car , they ’ll assume it ’s steal . Will was already aware of this prejudice from his time in West Philly , but this was the first real instance in which Carlton was a dupe of racial profiling by the constabulary , leading him to call into question the organization he has antecedently think in . The two spend the night in jail untilUncle Phil and Aunt Vivused their effectual prowess to prove the boys did nothing awry , but , of course , the police did n’t hear to them either until Phil ’s white effectual spouse who own the car get in .
Had Lisa not been at the political party nor her beginner the chief of police , Bel - Airwould have likely repeatedFresh Prince ’s groundbreaking episode in which Carlton and Will are lag . Carlton may not have been arrested inBel - Air , but the incident will now prompt into the severeness and pervasiveness of racial discrimination by constabulary , likely changing his impassivity go forward . Fresh Prince ’s season 1 episode is what established the show as much more than just a family sitcom , as it outwardly addressed many of the societal egress , peculiarly institutional racism , that were n’t being talked about on national idiot box at the same quality in 1990 . WhileBel - Airseason 1didn’t altogether embolden the iconicFresh Princeepisode , a repetition of the racial profiling on behalf of the police just goes to show how little progress has actually been made .
Next : Bel - Air Adds A grievous Twist To Uncle Phil & Geoffrey
