About BMC 277: Media and Diversity

This course asks students to critically examine the role of the media in facilitating and challenging the social constructions of race, class, gender, and sexual orientation in U.S. culture.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Ideology and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

Ryan Radke

A SCWAMP analysis is an intersectional analysis that explains that ideological positions are interconnected and relational. These relationships are shaped and affected by the society in which they come from. The ability to identify the dominant ideologies in the media provides us with a way to consciously conform, or resist these norms that are forced upon us defined by SCWAMP. SCWAMP stands for Straight, Christian, White, Able-Bodied, Male, and Property holding. These are the norms that the media today portrays. To be these things is to be desired, to be the opposite of these things is to be inferior and not good enough. One television show that exemplifies the SCWAMP ideology originally aired back in the early 90’s. This show has reemerged as a piece of popular culture thanks to its reruns being showed on multiple networks during multiple parts of the day where it can be watched. This show is the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

S=Straight
Throughout the show Will and Carlton constantly have on thing on their mind, girls, girls, and more girls. One does not realize when this is the case how much this pushes heterosexuality as the norm on you. However, the fact that you are never shown a homosexual relationship tells you that heterosexuality is the norm. There is one episode however where homosexuality is made fun of.



Thus, by watching the Fresh-Prince of Bel-Air one can be conditioned without even realize it to consider heterosexuality the norm, and act negatively toward homosexuality.

C=Christian
Although religion is not often something that is focused on during the show, however there are two weddings during the show. In one of them Will’s Aunt is getting married in what is undoubtedly a Christian ceremony. In the other Will’s buddy Jazz is getting married. Will’s uncle Phil, at this point a judge, presides. However, the ceremony still contains the traditional Christian construct. These two weddings train you to see Christianity as the norm, thus, any other wedding service is not the way normal people get married.

W=White
The W in SCWAMP stands for white. On the surface this does not seem like it would apply. After all, the show is about a would black family. Upon further examination however, one can see an ideology that values whiteness. Fore example, one of the things that Will picks on Carlton the most for, is acting like he is white. Carlton is constructed as holding white values; acting white.



Will comes from the streets of West Philadelphia, in the “hood”. Carlton should be different than white people because he is black. Will thinks that Carlton conforms too much, to what would be considered the good thing to be. Carlton is too much like his white friends from the prep school, he just acts to normal, to much like the other kids, and to Will he should be different. However, Will’s mother sent him to Bel-Air to become more like his Carlton. In a sense his mom sent him away from the largely black neighborhood where he grew up, to the largely white neighborhood where his normal cousin lives. Thus one can conclude that being white is of value, and that people of other races should try to act white.

A=Able Bodied
The A stands for able-bodied. Throughout the show, Will makes fun of people in the family. Will makes fun of Carlton for being short. Carlton’s lack of stature is his imperfection. Carlton is constructed as holding white values; as acting white. At the same time he is made fun of for not being masculine. Furthermore, Will make’s fun of his Uncle Phil for being overweight.



Again, Uncle Phil’s weight is his disability, which makes it something to be made fun of by the cast. Will on the other hand is tall, and is a star athlete, a spectacular basketball player. As a result, Will, and his physical appearance and ability is constructed as superior.

M=Male
It is obvious to see how being male is the norm in the Fresh Prince. Will and Carlton get into most of the trouble, and Uncle Phil is the bread winter in the house. Although Will’s Aunt Vivian is a College Professor, this is rarely referred to. Aunt Viv is rarely seen leaving or coming home for work, where as in every episode Uncle Phil is seen in one of those two roles. The norm is thus male. It is normal to be male in the professional world. Furthermore, Will and Carlton go to an all boy school until the middle of the show when there show starts allowing girls. This is frowned upon by Carlton initially because he feels like it is not normal for girls to be able to go to school with him. His school seemed more normal when all boys went to school there.

P=Property Owning
Will’s Property-Owning Uncle Phil is looked at as being normal. When Will got in to trouble in Philadelphia, his mom sent him to Bellaire to live with he rich uncle because that would provide Will with a better place to grow up and get him away from his poor hood life in Philly. This creates the thought that being Property Owning is what is normal, and what every boy needs.
From all of this we can see that despite a façade which would make this show seem like it promotes a different look for black people in America, it really denigrates the black race. In the end the show states that Will’s uncle’s family is better because they are more white. They are more civilized, they live the way all people should live, the white way. Will was sent to his aunt in uncle to change himself, to stay out of trouble, essentially to turn white so that he could live in normal society. This is the true message of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

From all of this we can see that despite a façade which would make this show seem like it promotes a different look for black people in America, it really denigrates the black race. In the end the show states that Will’s uncle’s family is better because they are more white. They are more civilized, they live the way all people should live, the white way. Will was sent to his aunt in uncle to change himself, to stay out of trouble, essentially to turn white so that he could live in normal society. This is the true message of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

4 comments:

  1. I would say 'SCWAMP' is a progressive theoretical social construct conceived by liberal educators. This analysis clearly pushes the homosexual and racial minority agendas - specifically through mass media pop culture entertainment - where it was not as prevalent in the early 1990s as it is now in the 21st century. Surely, these interpretations of the presented factual examples are highly questionable - even a clear and direct attack on traditional American and Christian family values regardless of race.

    Moreover, this analysis did not aim at a comparative study of other contemporary pop culture tv sitcoms of the early 1990s. This most likely would have demonstrated that traditional American and Christian family values were upheld much more so then than they are in today's postmodern culture.

    Today's homosexual agenda attempts to portray homosexuality as 'normal' more and more in contemporary pop culture including much watched tv sitcoms. Yet there is recent compelling scientific evidence to highly suggest the contrary.

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  2. Here is another thought. This theory demonstrates the blatant contradictions of moral relativism, multiculturalism, and the philosophy of tolerance.

    Carlton's penchant for white cultural norms and values (i.e. the only character that does this by the way) does not necessarily mean that he is superior to black (i.e. African-American) culture. By the same token, a white person who prefers certain cultural elements of the black ethnicities does not necessarily mean he or she is inferior to white culture.

    In truth, neither is ethnocentric. It is developing a sense of appreciation and deeper understanding of the good and positive and right and true things about the other culture. So Will rather than to mock Carlton for 'acting like he is white' should learn to toss his negative stereotypes of white culture and seek to better understand those norms.

    Moral relativism says that any and all ideologies are equal in truth and value. Yet this theory is clearly biased against 'White', 'Male', 'Christian', and 'Capitalism' and thus contradicts itself.

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  3. Oh, and it is biased against 'Straight,' too

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  4. Wow, that article was awful! You are assuming Will's character is a representation of black culture and his uncle's family is a representation of black characters try to assimilate into white culture, instead of thinking there are many sub-cultures in black culture based on location, education, income, and racial mixing. The writer of that article doesn't know the first thing about black culture, only a small stereotypical interpretation of black culture as seen on t.v., he totally missed the point of the show.

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