I need to rewatch but thoughts:
I dont like how the show tackles some of these issues.
Good thing: adressing sexualization of young girls,Specially girls of color but Im suspicious of the fact its only been men of color displaying these behaviors. I hate the treatment of Jasmine by the characters and the writing. I guess being a fat girl automatically makes u a punchline. Cesar is barely a character, he's more like a plot device for everyone else. I love Olivia and I love her friendship with Monse but for a show that denounces sexualization of teenage girls it wasted no time turning her into just an object for Ruby to conquer. She wasnt fleshed out until halfway thru the season and even then it was a shoddy job. And I definitely definitely hate the whole gang stuff it's treated terribly. Dedicating a whole episode to how Cesar actually matters to his brother but at the end instead of protecting him he pushes him to kill bc brown men are cold and unloving which. Makes zero sense. Im not even going to delve into season finale, of course cute brown kids get shot and r shown covered in blood, brown kids r never granted the innocence and protection white kids do.
This is my main takeaway from this show. It could be a great show abt brown and black kids growing up but the writing is very white. I havent even talked abt the treatment of Jamal by everyone else. Wonder what sets him apart from all the other characters?[/spoier]
So I'm going to respond to a few things but I just want to say that I'm not trying to personally attack invalidate your opinions and if it comes off like that in any way, I'll edit my thoughts better so as to not make it sound personal.
On My Block is a coming of age story about Latinx, Black, Afro-American kids in South Central LA. The entire cast is comprised of Black & Brown people and really the only white people we see are in one episode in the entire season. The framework of this series is about making these B&B kids the heroes and even the villains. Because that's how that works. In real life and in reel life. POC can be both, they can be in-between, and they can be neither. That's what multidimensional writing is.
" Im suspicious of the fact its only been
men of color displaying these behaviors." Only MOC are displaying those predatory behaviors because this show only has MOC and because MOC are just as guilty of sexually preying on women as white men are. The show never for a minute lets us believe that this behavior is somehow
exclusive to MOC. It treats it as what it is, wrong.
"I guess being a
fat girl automatically makes u a punchline." Jasmine wasn't a "punchline" because she was fat. Jasmine was the "comic-relief" side character and it was shown and said time again that the main group didn't like hanging around with her because she behaved obnoxiously, was rude to them, and said/did gross & inappropriate things. They didn't fat-shame her and Jasmine herself made it a point that she was body positive.
"for a show that denounces sexualization of teenage girls it wasted no time turning her [Olivia] into just
an object for Ruby to conquer." I wholeheartedly disagree with this. Olivia was introduced as someone for Ruby to crush on but she was never just an "object to conquer" and Ruby's own feelings showed that. Ruby treated Olivia with the utmost respect and wanted to be good to her but he also knew her boundaries and not to cross them. I agree that the integration of Olivia into the group was weird & kinda awkward pacing wise but by the end I considered her part of the main characters even if she didn't get as much screen/story time as them.
"he [Oscar] pushes him[Caser] to [REDACT FOR SPOILERS] which. Makes zero sense" Again, this show has not framed their story or characters in a way that would suggest that these B&B characters are anything but multi-layered and complicated people.
{Spoiler}Oscar pushes Caser to kill Latrelle because they're all in a GANG. It's about balance, power, and respect. If Caser didn't take out Latrelle, who threatened him with a gun, then that would make Oscar and the Santos look weak to rival gangs and if rival gangs think Oscar/The Santos are weak then they will try to move in on their turf and that's how gang wars start. Also, because Caser is Oscar's little brother there's a certain amount of responsibility they both have in the gang.If Oscar, again, seen as weak in his own group then that will also spell bad news for Caser because then he'll be a target and Oscar won't be able to protect either of them of the Santos turn on him. Oscar is and has always been using his position to protect Caser his entire life but now Caser is older and *has to be* inducted into the Santos life like Oscar and their other family members were. I think bottom line is that Oscar loves Caser but is not above manipulating him to protect him for as long and as much as he can and that includes doing whatever needs to be done to ensure that Oscar's position of power isn't taken from him.
"of course cute
[REDACT FOR SPOILERS]" Again, again, this show has nothing BUT B&B kids/characters. This show isn't about white people, it's about the unique environment in which
some B&B kids group up in. They don't get the same treatment as white kids because they don't have the same privileges that white kids do. They do, however, have innocence but that innocence is also wrapped up in the reality in which they live. They clearly have
similar hangups, goals, and general teenage shenanigans going on as white kids do (Jamal worried about the football team/letting his parents down, Ruby wanting his crush to like him, Monse/Caser transitioning from friends to dating, etc) but it's not going to be exactly the same as with white kids.
"It could be a great show abt brown and black kids growing up but the writing
is very white." It IS a great show about brown & black kids growing up because
despite being created by a white person, it was molded and developed by a POC who's life experiences were used as inspiration for the show. Not to mention that all of the screenwriters on the show were black & latinx. A white person thinking up the concept of the show shouldn't invalidate all the POC who worked so hard to make it was it is. And yes, this is a *Hollywood* mirror of what life is like for some B&B kids but it's still authentic in a lot of respects. It's still a valid look at life for those not born into the suburbs or gated communities.
"I havent even talked abt
the treatment of Jamal by everyone else. Wonder what sets him apart from all the other characters?" Jamal the MVP of the show? Because even tho his own storyline went off kilter a bit towards the end, there was nothing to suggest that he was being trashed on by the writing. If anything, the writers showed us what terrible and neglectful friends Ruby and Monse are. Caser, I could understand given his situation but the other two were just selfish and obnoxious. Jamal was living his life and trying to help his friends in the best way that he could.
He wanted to find that money, not just to solve the decade's old mystery but to also save Caser. Ruby and Monse were dead wrong about Jamal and we all knew it.
So, like, I honestly don't know what you were expecting from a teen dramedy about B&B American kids living in the inner city but this show was a really good depiction of it. It's not perfect by far and really I don't think any Hollywood show will be but it's a great effort.
