I am big on entertainers and athletes using their platforms to address social issues. In the world of entertainment, very few people are more recognizable than Will Smith. Although he currently is in the news for reasons he definitely regrets, the reimagining of the show that propelled him into stardom, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, is likely to redefine how popular sitcoms of yester year will be reintroduced to new generations. Bel Air, produced by Smith’s Overbrook Studios, takes a more socially conscious approach to the iconic 1990s TV Show.
In doing my research for this blog, I came across interviews and read articles on how Will Smith was approached almost annually for the better part of the last two decades with ideas on how the show could be rebooted. Smith discussed themes pitched to him such as The Fresh Princess of Bel Air, with the lead being a female (that would’ve been kinda dope in my opinion) or a scenario where the lead character moves from Bel Air to Philly. All of which were ultimately shelved because Smith said none of them ‘felt right.’
However, in 2019 a self taught film writer and director, Morgan Cooper, uploaded the now viral YouTube video reimagining the Fresh Prince. Beaming with undertones of gang violence, redemption and a mother’s love having no limits, the three and a half minute clip took the internet by storm. Less than 48 hours after the video was uploaded, Cooper and Smith were face to face discussing Cooper’s vision for the show. Needless to say, Morgan Cooper’s life had changed forever and Will Smith 'felt' that this was the route to take to bring the show back to life. With the Season One finale now streaming on Peacock, lets take a closer look at how Bel Air addressed both social issues and family dynamics through the vehicle of a Black Family.
I Got In One Little Fight And My Moms Got Scared...
The undoubted genius of Bel-Air is creator Morgan Cooper (more on him later). Cooper took the most quoted line from the original sitcoms theme song and placed it in context of why a kid would have to go across country after a fight. As a fan of the original show, the line was merely used to set the stage for what played out in the weekly show. A charismatic inner city teen moves to an elite predominately white section of Los Angeles. When the show originally aired in the 1990s amidst the drug and gang epidemic that would come to define the decade, most people gave it little second thought because for a kid to be sent away to relatives for their safety was not a foreign concept.
Cooper brilliantly digs deeper into what led to the fight while simultaneously revealing what I felt was the overarching theme of the entire show, Identity… In the pilot episode, we encounter the lead character Will (Jabari Banks), falling victim to hood narratives and essentially his pride. A budding basketball star, Will has a scholarship to VCU in the bag and more importantly the undying love and support from a mother, Vy (played by actress April Parker Jones) who is working hard to make sure that he doesn't blow his opportunity. She consistently implores her only child with the symbolic encouragement of his "crown" awaiting that he "puts it on."
However, due to his immaturity, Will places a higher value on his hood reputation. When his mother affectionately speaks of his opportunity to go off to school, Will immediately rebuttals with his desire to remain in West Philly. Later in the fast moving yet intriguing pilot episode, Will is challenged to prove his talents on the court to a former friend and teammate turned drug dealer. When his closest friend Tray (SteVonte Hart) attempts to talk him out of going to play the meaningless and potentially dangerous streetball game simply because Will has nothing to prove, Will retorts “I have to prove it to myself… That scholarship don’t mean sh*! If I don’t got respect in my own hood…” In this moment, Bel Air artfully accentuates a narrative that has robbed many talented youth of sometimes more than just their hoop dreams.
The scenario quickly escalates to Will and Tray getting the better of their competition. Although a monetary wager was placed on the game, pride and ego was always the only thing ever at stake. What happens next is where I feel that Cooper shows his genius, by illuminating the reality and fear that resonates from senseless gun violence in the Black community. While the truth is that it was “...one little fight…” his mom’s fear and subsequent actions were justifiable as we know all too well what comes of young black boys like Will who don’t have an ‘Auntie and Uncle in Bel Air.’
No One Wins When The Family Fueds
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was largely designed around the charisma of Will Smith. All of the other actors on the show were essentially static characters that rarely showed growth. However, the absolute mastery of their roles made them household names as actors. Growing up watching Carlton (Alfonso Ribeiro), Ashley (Tatyana Ali) & Hillary (Karyn Parsons) they were more than just characters on the show, as time went on they almost felt like family. They were that good in their respective roles.
In reimagining the show, viewers are being delighted with the opportunity to see the new Hillary (CoCo Jones), Carlton (Olly Sholotan), Jazz (Jordan Jones) and Geoffrey (Jimmy Ankingbola) as fully developed characters who are much more than the comedic relief they provided in the shows original version. Although Ashley (Akir Akbar) has played a limited role thus far, she is presented as an aspiring youth who cares about social issues. The reimagined characters in Bel Air have genuine emotions and motives that provide the depth the audience needs to keep coming back.
A perfect example of this is the Aunt Viv and Hillary power struggle dynamic. This aptly written sublplot is used to display a multitude of social and familial factors that people regardless of color deal with. Hillary’s “millennial mindset” or as it is called today, “Betting on myself” highlighted the new school versus old school train of thought as to what is the ideal path to success as one enters adulthood.
This fully developed version of Hillary is written with a unique blend of strength and flaws. The writers exemplify this by allowing her to make prideful mistakes as she attempts to strike out on her own. Despite her mistakes her talent and an unrelenting belief in her ability to succeed are undeniable. Hillary is ultra self aware and confident in the domains that she understands, yet realistically struggles in unfamiliar territory. Along her journey fans applauded her rejection of a lucrative job offer due to the conditions of her being asked to cater to a "less ethnic" audience. We also rooted for her, when she was told that she would have full autonomy to cook whatever she wanted in an influencer house. The eager Hillary took the unique opportunity to build her brand and simultaneously put it in her moms face. On the surface, the deal appeared to give her the freedom she desired. In reality, that freedom was limited to the kitchen and by failing to read her contract she found herself in an unfortunate predicament once things didn't go as she would have hoped.
On the flipside, Aunt Viv is written as ever protective of all of her children but that firstborn hits differently. We meet this Aunt Viv in a place in their relationship where she has grown frustrated with Hillary’s strong will. Aunt Viv calls in favors for Hillary amongst other things to help her realize her dream. From the pilot episode it is pretty evident that she doesn’t agree with Hillary’s methodology. The two clash largely in part because Aunt Viv is opinionated and persuasive which prompts the constant pushback from Hillary. Eventually, Aunt Viv cuts the financial rope and gives Hillary a deadline to move out on her own to do things as she sees fit. Amid the verbal sparring, Hillary ignites a part of Aunt Viv that had long been dormant as she focused on raising her three children, her own God-given ability as a visual artist. As Philadelphia based rapper Meek Mill stated in his hit song Dreams and Nightmares “dreams on hold / nightmares come true.”
The reimagined Aunt Viv revives her journey as an artist in what could be best described as the most peculiar of circumstances. The writers kept the audience intrigued in this storyline by implementing a seductive art dealer (Michael Ealy) to give her an extra push to rediscover her gift and share it with the world. Her awe-inspiring talent leads to her being selected for a fellowship and subsequently some tough yet honest conversations with her husband who got wind of the art dealer with sketchy motives. Adding yet another layer of situational drama that helps develop the characters.
Throughout the season, Bel Air repeatedly showed how relationship dynamics tend to shape the identity of our human experience. Nowhere in the series was this more evident than the relationship between Will and Carlton.
Lowkey, it could be argued that Carlton played the villain of Season 1. But if we keeping it a buck, I would say it was the white chick who was sleeping with the married chief of police whose wife was dying of leukemia. I know I could have just said Fred Wilkes or Lisa’s pops but that white chick was sleeping with a married man whose wife was dying from leukemia. And for that, she is the villain. She’s one and Carlton’s white homeboy “Connor” would be number two, especially after he pulled that ops move and tried to get Will expelled. But I digress.
Being that the reimagining of the show is written in a more serious tone, the show needed an antagonist to counter the protagonist, Will. Carlton who is played by Olly Sholotan, should get some award consideration for the way he played this role. The reimagined Carlton was designed to display the mindset of the out-of-touch Black elite that looks down on their “cousins” from the hood. Carlton was skeptical of Will coming to live with him from the jump and wore it on his sleeve. Carlton never gives Will the benefit of the doubt and assumes the role of a snobbish entitled teen with money from the moment he appears on the screen.
Carlton sees Will as a disruption to his carefully crafted social life that allows him to fit into the white elite power structure in the upscale Bel Air community. Initially, Will brushes off the shade Carlton throws at him upon his arrival. However, when Carlton and his all white lacrosse teammates are in the locker room turning up to rap songs and using the word Nigga, Will’s West Philly mentality and innate Black pride comes out as he checks Carlton and his crew. This sets the stage for a season long, back and forth in-fighting between the two. Well that and Will takes his girl, Lisa. But again I digress, lets get to the more serious side of Carlton's character depth.
The writer’s creatively used the irony of Will’s “hood mentality” which Carlton initially turned his nose up at to develop their relationship organically although, Aunt Viv and Uncle Phil (Adrian Holmes) did at times attempt to force the connection between Will and Carlton to grow. Carlton’s most important storyline was designed to show viewers how some youth are struggling with anxiety. Throughout the season Will had multiple opportunities to rat him out about his drug use, but Will stood on his belief that men aren’t supposed to snitch. This undeserved grace afforded to Carlton on behalf of Will served as a foundation of what will likely be a stronger bond as the show accumulates more seasons. The seminal moment between the two came after Carlton had an anxiety attack before his choir performance. Will was there to provide the needed emotional support. Much like the Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Carlton and Wills’ once rocky relationship is very likely to grow closer in time.
First Things First Big Props to Uncle Phil... For Real
It could be argued that Season One of Bel Air was reimagined around the most serious and iconic moment of the entire Fresh Prince of Bel Air series. No one will ever forget the moment Will Smith cried before being embraced by James Avery (The original Uncle Phil) in the episode in which Will’s father Lou, (played by Ben Vereen) comes back only to walk out on him again. Many feel that Smith’s acting in that scene served as a springboard for what would lead Smith becoming one of the greatest movie stars of all time. But back to Bel Air.
Throughout the first season of Bel Air, Uncle Phil (and his wealth) has an impact on every subplot of the story. In some capacities, the influence is minimal, (Hillary’s decisions as an influencer and the lack of attention being paid to Ashley) and in other cases it is much more dramatic, the major contributor to Aunt Viv’s career path and definitely Carlton’s struggles with anxiety. Nowhere in the show is Uncle Phil’s impact felt more than the storyline of the show’s protagonist, Will. It was Uncle Phil who gave Will a lifeline out of Philly after the incident despite the risk that it could have on his campaign for District Attorney. Moreover, it was Uncle Phil who provides the stabilizing Father figure for Will once he arrived in Bel Air. Will is in desperate need of this stability because his well manufactured bravado is merely a mask he wears to cover the void left by the absence of his biological father.
As a person who grew up without my biological father, I empathize with Will’s character. I know all too well the feeling of wanting answers to a part of yourself that only your biological father can explain. I was fortunate enough to have a mom who told me the reality of my conception and what happened to their relationship. This truth only strengthened our mother-son connection. In contrast, Will’s character eventually feels betrayed by his mother Vy, Aunt Viv and even Uncle Phil, all of whom decided that it was in Will’s best interest that he not know the truth about his biological father. Despite their best efforts, the truth always finds it’s way into the light. With the help of Geoffrey’s "special agent services", (the reimagined Geoffrey maybe in line for an Equalizeresque spin off, lbvs) Will has the opportunity to find out the truth that had long evaded him. Again, Will chooses loyalty over everything and decides against reading the information provided to him about his biological father from Geoffrey. However, Geoffrey’s research led to Will’s father showing up in Bel Air.
In the season’s climactic scene, Will gets to finally confront his biological father and ….. Naw I ain’t going to give that up - you actually got to go watch. I will say that the normally funny actor who plays his father, did a great job of playing a serious role.
All in all, the Bel Air reboot is a must watch in my opinion. In this recap I purposely left out various storylines that play intricate roles in the overall story. I gave little if any mention of Lisa. I didn’t delve into how Will and Tray’s once tight friendship becomes strained and nor did I go in depth on Uncle Phil and Aunt Viv’s relationship and aspirations. It is my hope that this blog leads readers to check out the overall dopeness of the show, which all credit belongs to Morgan Cooper and his unique vision.
Morgan Cooper is a Visionary Ahead of His Time
Underneath everything that this show is and will be, lies the inspiration of having a vision and working relentlessly to make it a reality. Morgan Cooper is the epitome of this often uttered key to success. As I watched the trailer, I just knew that this was the work of some ultra talented film student. However, nothing could be farther from the truth. The man behind the viral video was a then 26 year old aspiring director, who taught himself to use a camera in his family’s basement. Cooper worked tirelessly at his craft and began funding his dreams with money he made filming and editing videos of Kansas City drug dealers who aspired to be rappers. Cooper’s vision was and is ahead of its time. Cooper’s clarity on immersing oneself into the world you aspire to live in, led to him receiving a “vision” that inspired the aforementioned trailer. Once Smith signed on and the show was casted Cooper's vision would manifest into Peacock green lighting an unprecedented two seasons after seeing the pilot.
Cooper’s Bel Air will very likely usher in a new era of television as the reimagining of shows that we have come to love is inevitable. TV shows that originally aired as dramas can be reimagined as comedies, hit action shows will transition to horror, so on and so forth. All because of the revolutionary mind of Morgan Cooper.
Only Morgan Cooper knows the ups and downs that he encountered thus far on his journey, but now that he has arrived on the scene, I think we all can learn the lesson of what art and even our lives could be if we take the time to reimagine it…
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