This post may only be for me but as I get older I think about things more. I look for the meanings or implications that may not be so up front and in your face. The other day while watching the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, I realized just how much of an effect pop culture has on our evolution as human beings.
We all know the story of Will Smith the "hood" boy that was battling the pressures and sometimes difficulties of urban life in West Philadelphia, whose mom sent him to live in Bel-Air, California (affluent community) to live with his Princeton University educated, Juris Doctor holding Uncle Phil and artsy, Professor Auntie Vivian....
Now, that i'm older I can appreciate the contribution that The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air has made to the African American community by just using imagery & positive images.
Quincy Jones' show starring Will Smith depicted the life of well known entertainment manager Benny Medina (manages Tyra Banks along with others)...in an era of gangsta rap, word to ya motha, hip hop beefs and a lack of political influence by African Americans and young people in the United States.
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air illustrated that we can be just as affluent, educated as the next person or race for that matter.
As we already know, that lack of political influence would one day come to a head and change November 2008 with the election of our present President Barack H. Obama & thank GOD it did!!
Think about the MANY shots of the house that Will lived in with his family in Bel-Air...that house was, in the early to mid 90s, a big thing to those in the Black community that didn't frequently see people that look like them in a house so "massive" although it is a regular occurence now. It also, from the outside shots, sort of favored the White House to me, our beloved Executive Mansion.
To me, while looking at the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air the other day with my older, more aware mind, the images of that house meant something more than that is the house Will lived in with Uncle Phil, Aunt Viv, and cousins Hillary, Carlton and Ashley...it reminded me that WE (young people and the Black Community) HAVE ARRIVED!!
Through images, Quincy Jones produced a work that told us we can earn an Ivy League education, hold professional degrees and jobs, have successful marriages, well rounded children, AND occupy the most famous address in our nation, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue!!!
That epiphany re-inspired me to be all that I originally set out to be, chase my full potential, and seek to convey a message to Black America's youth, that WE HAVE ARRIVED and that ANYTHING we want already IS OURS for the EARNING!!!!
Each one of us are the cream of our crop, so realize and sit back and enjoy the reaping of your harvest.....YOU HAVE ARRIVED! FOLLOW YOUR HEART TO PEACE, HAPPINESS, PURPOSE AND ACCOMPLISHMENT!!!!
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