Not only is ABC's planned sitcom version of the popular Geico caveman commercials a bad idea in general, it is also shaping up to be very questionable, racially speaking. Very.
ABC has already had to reshoot the pilot after receiving intense heat from television critics. Apparently, the cavemen are experts on the dancefloor, in the bedroom, and on the basketball court and football field. Hmmmm, are Cro-Magnuns honorary black men? Sounds incredibly offensive to me.
Wednesday's panel discussion here was the first time "Cavemen" producers have discussed the show in public, and they said people are reading too much into what they called a "fish out of water" story.
"Unfortunately, in our society, if you pick an offensive stereotype of any kind, it's going to bump into some ethnic group," said Mike Schiff, one of the executive producers. "Is the show about race relations? No. Is that a background to the show? Yes, of course."
Lawson, who wrote the original Geico commercials as well as the pilot, said that if the Cro-Magnons are an allegorical stand-in for anybody, it's not black people but outsiders.
Can I get a Hot Ghetto Mess-inspired boycott, here? Actually, I'm not sure we have that much to worry about — it can't air more than a few times before ABC pulls it and tries to pretend like it never existed.
[PDN via Racialicious]
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I think I am the only person on the planet who is looking forward to this show. No one, and I mean no one else seems to be. My friends give me the L-Boogie sideways eye when I say I think it's going to be hilarious.
The commercials always had a racial tinge. What if you lived in a society where your race was a caricature to all the other races. Asians had fu man chu beards and wore bamboo shoes and knew karate. All the black ppl had little white friends named Huck Finn and we all lived in the bayou? See? That's a hit TV show right there. Hahahahaha. Ok…I can't even keep a straight face while typing that.
*stop giving me the sideways eye*
Finally, someone else sees the comparison as well. For whatever reason, I thought they were mocking black america since the commercials premiered. Atleast its evident now and I'm not crazy.
But are they mocking us? The commericals are about a group of ppl who are evolved, but no one else realizes it and treats them different. If anything they make the "majority" look stupid. I don't think they're mocking us. Usually the cavemen come off looking pretty good in those commericals.
I just want another funny show. There are no funny shows on tv right now except for 30 Rock. I need another. Just one more.
I agree with Blackmistressdiva. What was great about the original commercials were that these guys, who were thought to have rock in their heads, were intelligent, cultured men…except for that one who worked as a camera man - he had a definite trash vibe about him.
Granted, I haven't seen the promos to the new show, but from what I've read above, they seem to excel at physicality: which is something you'd expect from someone living in the stone age battling beasts for food. If the show can play that angle and still keep them intellectual, I don't think it would be too offensive, at least to me. And this is from a guy that thinks that each version of King Kong is a different take on race relations in America.
[...] But nevertheless, the major networks are still rolling out black shows for the fall. Don't forgot about Cavemen. [...]