Fox’s “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” Takes on Racial Profiling

In this episode Sergeant Jeffords Terry Crews pictured at top is off duty and walking through his own neighborhood at night while searching for a toy one of his adorable twin daughters lost amp160She calls the toy amp8220Moo Mooamp8221 amp160As he finds it a white officer in uniform approaches him in an unnecessarily hostile manner amp160Within seconds he accuses Jeffers of not living in the neighborhood and then draws his weapon Jeffers attempts to disclose the fact that heamp8217s also a police officer but the white cop just wonamp8217t let him speakThe show cuts away divulging that the situation was later resolved off screen without incident but the officeramp8217s blatant profiling still understandably outrages Jeffers The problem with that is even though his resulting urge to file a formal complaint is obviously justified the act of snitching on a fellow cop is frowned upon and could adversely affect his careerThis is a pretty interesting direction for the show and it may be a small sign of a greater overall shift in tone to come amp160The cliffhanger episode that was telecast before winter break abruptly ended after Gina Linetti Chelsea Peretti was hit by a speeding bus and was the first notable tone shocker this season Sure given that the characters are cops there is usually a reasonable amount of danger around but this was something else The Gina bushit was jarring enough mostly because of the openendedness of its outcome in the weeks leading up to the showamp8217s spring return but racial profiling is a much more serious storyamp160Acknowledging so serious an issue in so organic a wayamp160gives the impression that the showrunners are ready to stretchamp160their legs a bitMost sitcoms dabble in social commentary to some extent but theyamp8217re usually shows that revolve around families amp160Brooklyn is a little different because the family shown isnamp8217t a traditional one but that hurdle is handled quite cleverly through the inclusion of Jeffersamp8217 daughters Cagney and Lacey amp160During this whole thing thereamp8217s a subplot where Peralta Adam Samberg and Santiago Melissa Fumero are babysitting the twins while Terryamp8217s busy and the girls act as a mouthpiece for the viewer by asking honest direct questions about the situation Fumero and Samberg are pictured above amp160This forces the couple to answer the hardhitting questions the episode poses in a simple and frank way that really cuts to the heart of what the writers are trying to sayWhen the white cop first approached Jeffords my kneejerk reaction was amp8220Uh oh this canamp8217t be goodamp8221 and as it turns out it wasnamp8217t amp160The feeling that a person of color canamp8217t interact with the police without the situation going south is one that many Americans share and even though this fictional situation ended nonviolently Jeffords only avoided an even shittier night because heamp8217s a police officer I still shudder at the possibility of what could have been amp160The sad truth is racial profiling does happen and the sadder truth is it doesnamp8217t often end with a finger wag and a warning amp160This isnamp8217t the kind of show where the main characters die amp160Even Ginaamp8217s close call as alarming as it was still felt like a pump fakeThatamp8217s not to say that I ever truly believed Jeffers would die but there was a moment where I instinctually feared for the characteramp8217s life because real life has taught us that death is all too real a possibility during these incidentsAll in all Brooklyn NineNine handles the topic well taking a firm stance on affecting change in the most effective way possible amp160The comedy is still as present as ever but itamp8217s never used to trivialize the issue at hand amp160Furthermore filtering the harder truths through the sort of language one would use to explain things to a child made the information accessible in a way that simplifies it but doesnamp8217t talk down to the audience and that was a masterstroke as wellThis show is built on lovable characters and levity but this crack at something a little more serious is a satisfying one and I would welcome more of it Thereamp8217s a reason this series has made it this far and itamp8217s pretty dope to see that itamp8217s still capable of growthClick the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this article are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated bloggers

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Fox’s “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” Takes on Racial Profiling

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Ainsley Andrade

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Fox’s “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” Takes on Racial Profiling

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Ainsley Andrade

FEMA and the Ad Council Encourage AANHPI Communities to Enhance Disaster Preparedness in New PSAs - Ad Council InSites

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