In West Philadelphia, a boy grows up and lives without paying much attention to the police. One day, playing basketball with friends, some guys from the neighborhood get him into trouble and his mother sends him, with his aunt and uncle, to Bel-Air. Sung on a hip-hop base, this short story gathered the plot premise and formed the header of one of the most popular sitcoms in history, The prince of Bel Airbroadcast between 1990 and 1996 by NBC, whose chapters came to gather nearly 15 million viewers in their country of origin alone.
The leading actor, then-emerging rapper Will Smith, became a world star who, as soon as the series ended, would lead million-dollar productions such as independence day (1996) u men in black (1997) and is nominated this year for the third time for an Oscar for Best Actor for king richard. Three decades later, the Peacock platform (not available in Spain) has released a remake of the series, titled Bel Air and produced by Smith himself, whose trailer went viral a month ago for being, almost, a point-by-point review of the famous headline in a completely serious tone.
Although there have been critics and tweeters accusing this new dramatic proposal, focused on issues of race or class, of being a politically correct update or being passed through an alleged filter woke up (expression used to refer contemptuously to people aware of some form of social inequality), in fact, the original series already abounded in these aspects. Far from the reasoning used by those nostalgic for a supposed Arcadia of depoliticized entertainment, in the original 1990 pilot of The prince of Bel Airfor example, the character of Will Smith (called the same as the interpreter) began to respect his uncle Phil after learning that he had met his hero, the activist Malcolm X.
In another episode, the protagonist was annoyed that his high school history subject only covered the experiences of the white population. And in one of the most remembered moments of the series, cousin Carlton discovered the limits of his class privilege by being the victim of police discrimination, when some agents stop him and Will because they don’t believe that two black people can travel in such an expensive car without having stolen it. In this way, it cannot be said that the new Bel Air add these elements to your plots, it highlights them.
Smith, as producer of the new version, has insisted during the promotion that a dramatic perspective can bring the themes of The prince of Bel Air to a new generation of viewers. Asked by ICON, the Spanish screenwriter Adolfo Valor, author of comedies such as ghost promotion, elite corps or the series the kings of the nightdoes not believe that today’s public necessarily has less “desire to laugh and have fun” than before: “We are in a time when everything is emphasized a lot and there is a desire to transcend, but I think they are specific fashions that have more to do with the people who make the movies or the series”.
Although Valor admits that the most discursive aspects of the original series were what interested him the least, the writer believes that now he is looking for a “relevance” and is betting because “the message is seen a lot”, something that can make you lose ” the fun side.” “the wacky platoon It is apparently a stupidity of two ranchers who try to survive doing the military, but for me it is also a superanarchic movie, which can be seen as political and anti-militarist, “he argues.
Among the novelties of the version of Bel Air 2022, the character of Hilary Banks has gone from being a frivolous fashionista to a influencer On Instagram, Uncle Phil is campaigning to be District Attorney, Will is looking for a dangerous gang leader to kill, and Carlton functions more neatly as a nemesis for the main character: to delve into the fish-out-of-water dynamic in which supported his argument, the cousin is now popular, more powerful socially and successful in studies, while Will is openly an outcast.
The reviews, so far, have not been very positive. “With an hour per episode and no jokes, Bel Air It has all the time in the world to build a drama about race, class and coming of age, but it ends up being less complex and cunning than the original series.” writes journalist Jack Seale in Guardian. “A suffocating seriousness dominates Bel Airwhich reminds us of the incalculable value that an intelligent comedy can have when it comes to dealing with important issues”, says, on the other hand, Inkoo Kang in Washington Post.
“There is a perception that the public wants more complexity, which sometimes materializes in a kind of darkness without humor,” he says, also consulted by ICON, journalist Daniel D’Addariotelevision critic for the magazine Variety. For screenwriter Adolfo Valor, even comedy creators participate in this trend towards self-importance and affectation, as exemplified by the case of director and screenwriter Adam McKay, whose latest feature film, the Netflix production don’t look up, is nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture: “I think he, in his early goofy comedies with Will Ferrell, talked about the same issues and did much better than he did at this stage of political analysis and trying to save the world. I see again The Reporter: The Legend of Ron Burgundy every two or three years, but the vice of powerAlthough I liked it, I don’t think I’ll see it again in my life. Which is better movie? I don’t know, but it’s clear to me that I enjoy much more with The reporter or brothers for balls”.
the high drama
In recent years, a concept has emerged among film critics that tries to differentiate some acclaimed contemporary horror films with respect to the genre cinema of a lifetime. Described as “high horror”, the term has been forcefully rejected by many of the directors to whom it alludes, such as Robert Eggers (The witch) or Ari Aster (hereditary). “It is a shame that the genre has such a bad reputation among the elite that there are those who need to differentiate if a film is a celebration of horror or an overcoming,” Aster declared at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. Equally without much appreciation among fans pure, with a multitude of articles on pages specialized in horror movies charging against its use, it does not seem that the label aspires to have a too rigorous route, beyond offering ammunition for parody in films such as the fifth installment of scream.
This does not mean that the genre has not equally permeated sensitivities and currents of its time: a case that could recall that of Bel Air (although with quite a few new ideas and a much better reception from the public and critics) is that of the film Candymanwhose latest installment, in 2021, was hailed as a reinvention with a fresh perspective on racism or discrimination in real estate pressure… topics that, again, were already present in a less explicit way in the original version of 1992.
“I think that in the years after the premiere of The dark knight in 2008, there is a sense of seriousness that is treated as equivalent to having something important to say. It’s certainly possible to explore those ideas without being so solemn and serious,” explains critic Daniel D’Addario. Just as in the Batman trilogy directed by Christopher Nolan, among many other things, the not-so-loved nipple shields were removed from the suit that the character had worn in the previous version by Joel Schumacher, the remake from Walker Texas Rangerpremiered last year in the United States, which can be seen for a few weeks in Spain through Movistar Plus +, also radically changes the tone that made the series that Chuck Norris starred popular, with no room for irony around the almost superhuman martial skills of your hero.
With the title reduced simply to Walker, the new series incorporates a foundational trauma to the protagonist, now a tragic family man wounded by the murder of his wife. But that does not imply that the series is deeper than its original model, but rather a simulation that it is, as shown, for example, in relation to the actions of the forces of law. “It raises questions that you can’t or don’t want to address, beyond simply mentioning them. It is not surprising that he shies away from these concerns; things were easier, perhaps, when actors could punch and kick their way to glory, no more thinking about it,” D’Addario wrote in his review of the series in Variety.
In the original cast reunion special episode of The prince of Bel Air premiered on HBO in 2020, the actress Tatyana Ali, who played the youngest of the Banks family, Ashley, recalled that on her Instagram profile, every time she posted a publication related to the series, it was common to find comments with the hashtags #BlackExcellence (“Black Excellence”). In the absence of seeing if the new dramatic version, of which only three episodes of the two confirmed seasons have yet been broadcast, reaches that category, the British journalist of Nigerian descent Saidat Giwa-Osagie commented, in an article on Atlantic, excuse me The prince of Bel Air had helped him as a teenager to embrace his identity and he stopped to analyze the hidden power of one of his most emblematic recurring gags, that of Carlton unleashed dancing It’s not unusual by Tom Jones: “This silly dance represented a subtle act of defiance. As fun as it was, it allowed him to resist the scrutiny he faced for being black in his way. With the dance, he declared that his skin color was not a restriction, but could also be his own form of freedom”. The creators of Bel Airfor the moment, they have not confirmed that the new Carlton will dance.
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