Race and Bebe's Kids
Forgive me if my thoughts seem to be all over the place.
I just watched a video in which a Black man, Mario Woods, was killed by police in San Bernadino, CA. It won't seem significant when people read this later on, but I watched that video.
And then, I started watching "Bebe's Kids" and I'm enjoying it, which I always do. It gets to the part when Robin, Jameka and the kids enter Fun World and Khalil is getting some water and he is IMMEDIATELY surrounded by park security. They started asking him what trouble he was into and what "gang insignia" was on his hat. Basically, they're harassing him. And they tell be "watching him" and they, thankfully, leave him alone. On hand, it could be interpreted as funny because they don't know to be scared and wary of him because he will cause havoc, but not because he's Black, but because he's Khalil.
On the other (and more important) hand, they're afraid of him and they have no reason to be, he hasn't said or done anything, but be young and Black in their park. But because the security officers have been trained to think that young, Black people can do nothing but wrong, they treat him like a criminal before he even as a chance to prove otherwise.
I mentioned the video in the beginning because it didn't take six or seven officers to apprehend or detain Mr. Woods, nor did it take six or seven security officers to approach Khalil. It's not right or just. And while it is "just a movie" and shouldn't be taken so "seriously," I think movies like "Bebe's Kids" have something more to offer than their comedy (which is above par).
There's also a point in the movie when Khalil points out that the other kids (white kids) are misbehaving and acting just as wild, if not more, but they're not being punished. It makes sense that even as a young child, he can point out the differences and see that he's been mistreating. And while it doesn't excuse his behavior, he knows that everyone should be treating fairly and they're not.
"Do you even remember what you came here to find?"