B&B: July 2021 Discussion Thread

[FrenchBug82]

I have always said B&B works best when it embraces the camp and that kind of dialogue worked for me.

[ranger1rg]

I see people mentioning those two gave looks to each other, but I just didn’t see it. I even watched it a 2nd time on the DVR, and still saw nothing. I think people are tripping.

[AbcNbc247]

Idk... maybe it'll amount to nothing but why else would Paris be moved into Steffy and Finn's orbit? Maybe Finn's parents will be connected to it somehow.

[SFK]

Yeah, they were dropping anvils having Steffy say things like she and Paris will share EVERYTHING, and those lingering closeups at the end of their scenes. All I could think was, "Great, let's have yet a third black person betray their trusting white employer." When Paris sang the baby to sleep I knew straight away they were going to ask her to move in and quasi-nanny. It was giving me Sofia and Miss Millie vibes.

Edited July 25, 2021 by SFK

[Faulkner]

Indeed. No one on staff sees this odd story pattern right now with the black cast? Because if it’s intentional, it’s beyond effed up.

[Videnbas]

True. We have, over the past few weeks, had three black characters in storylines involving them being basically servants.

Eric magnanimously lets Carter keep his job on the condition that he is loyal to Eric personally, not professionally (by not pursuing the wife Eric already kicked out).

Justin (who was always more or less Bill's servant) gets fired and immediately goes to Ridge looking for a new "master", and pledging his loyalty (again, not related to any professional role) in exchange for his freedom (literally!). He even handed Ridge Bill's sword (which is basically a symbol of Bill's power over Justin, which Justin now transfers into Ridge's hands - almost as if Justin was a genie that Ridge could summon using the sword necklace).

Paris who has a career of her own becomes Steffy's live-in nanny and may or may not end up stabbing Steffy in the back.

So yeah, this pattern of color-based status imbalance, and the notion that the black employee is unreliable and a threat to the white employer, really is pretty uncomfortable to watch.

I don't get easily offended when it comes to fictional characters, and I probably wouldn't have taken notice of any one of these storylines as an isolated occurrence, it's just that when it happens to ALL the black characters at once (Zende excepted but he is barely on screen), and it's basically the same story, it kind of makes you wonder what's going on in the writers' minds.

And I don't really think the writers are being deliberately racist, I think they are just pretty tone-deaf with regards to how their writing comes across on screen. It wouldn't be the first time they wrote something with unfortunate implications and seemed completely oblivious.

[Faulkner]

And the writers have been giving Ridge dialogue that’s extremely offensive in regards to both Justin and Carter (more or less calling both men “boy”). 

And they had a scene with her basically performing as a singing mammy.

Freakin’ Douglas Sirk was more enlightened about race than Bradley Bell. Everything we’re seeing is right out of the 1950s, which appears to be his worldview regarding gender roles anyway.

Still, he got the memo to feature his black cast (out of isolation from the white cast), and this is how he does it? By emphasizing their subjugation, giving them no inner life to speak of (or, in Justin’s case, giving him a POV out of the blue in a very plot-driven way), and implying that the audience should root against them in relation to their white counterparts? It’s actually a huge regression from the portrayal of the Avant family (which wasn’t great).

I’m also reminded of the character that Brad gave Wayne Brady, the paper-thin, baby-stealing Dr. Buckingham…

Edited July 25, 2021 by Faulkner

[SOAPSFOREVER]

And the writers have been giving Ridge dialogue that’s extremely offensive in regards to both Justin and Carter (more or less calling both men “boy”). 

CURIOUS? What "extremely offensive" dialogue would that be? I can't recall a thing Ridge has said that would lend such an interpretation. 

And they had a scene with her basically performing as a singing mammy.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Paris volunteered to help quieten the baby. Steffy didn't ask her to; neither did Finn. She was a colleague and a friend who sang a lullaby to soothe a crying kid. That's all, IMO. How you go from that to a "singing nanny" is what's offensive to me. 

[Faulkner]

I’m not talking about Paris’s motivations. I’m talking about the writers putting the character in that position in the first place. I’ve already discussed B&B’s problematic history of having its black actors sing (trotting out the Avants to sing at Forrester holidays when they were no longer featured in story). It’s very stereotypical, and actors themselves have mentioned it on other shows (like Timothy D. Stickney).

And Paris is a character who was recruited to be a top executive at Forrester moving in and offering to be a caretaker for Steffy’s child. There’s nothing wrong with being a nanny, but it’s odd optics and a weird direction for a character who could eventually be a power player at FC.

And I’ve mentioned Ridge’s condescending comments toward Justin in previous posts (like “your boss is talking to you!” when Wyatt was questioning Justin). 

Edited July 25, 2021 by Faulkner

[Chatty Cakes]

I find Eric dictating Carter’s personal life to be very cringeworthy.  Carter needs to tell Eric, Ridge and Brooke to get stuffed.

[edgeofnik]

Yeah, this the same show that had KM languishing in the background for years. After they finally figure out what to do with her:  the stellar Ridge/Caroline/Rick/Maya AND the first time B&B actually had a POC as a leading lady - they vanquished the character for a stunt and PSA.

Even though I was furious they boxed KM like that, the impact of the reveal could have lasted months - both the positive and negative aspects, reactions. Rick and Maya should be on canvas. 

When B&B does a sudden story shift - it IS obvious. It's usually in your face for a 2 weeks as a test, goes to the background for a week or 2 as they analyze whether it's working, then it returns to get wrapped quickly or move into next phase.  B&B is the king of pivoting plotlines. Sometimes it's a benefit, oftentimes, they just burn through too much story far too quickly.  

[Chris B]

The writers seem to like Paris, but this is going to be a disaster and lead to her exit. She'll probably end up either sleeping with Finn or getting obsessed and likely will steal that baby knowing how Brad Bell works. I just can't see this story being a positive for her on a show like B&B. Steffy is their female lead so nobody is going to win against her. It's a shame they couldn't think of anything better because Paris is a good find for them.

[Videnbas]

I just had to take a moment to comment on the absurdity of the scene where Paris visits Steffy, Finn and the baby.

Steffy, who used to juggle a CEO position and single motherhood of two infants, and Finn, who is a doctor and (one would assume) used to a lot of responsibility and not enough sleep, are struggling to care for one infant, forgetting to eat, misplacing notes and diaper packages (which must have contained a maximum of 5 diapers), and telling Paris how impressed baby Hayes would be with her... if he could understand a word of what was going on.

Meanwhile, Paris steps in and takes over when the exhausted parents are at their wits' end after nearly a full minute of the baby crying, and magically makes baby Hayes go back to sleep (or into a shocked silence) by belting out the concert version of "Rock-a-bye Baby" while throwing smug glances at the amazed parents in between phrases. The unanswered question "maybe he needs a diaper change" that the parents asked when Hayes first started crying, remains unanswered as Paris puts him back down in his crib (because no one bothered to check underneath that mountain of blankets meant to conceal an obvious doll).

Steffy, who has always been portrayed as competent and independent, is all smiles and gratitude when a social worker steps in and basically shows her how to soothe her own baby.

The conclusion we are meant to draw from the above is "Paris is wonderful with babies". The conclusion we do draw is "the writers are not parents".

Edited July 26, 2021 by Videnbas

[Forever8]

I wouldn't be surprised by the fall that they have Paris be the "Rebecca De Mornay" to Steffy's "Annabella Sciorra". This show doesn't have the best track record when it comes to Blacks and POC's. I knew when they first had Paris come onto the show something like this would eventually happen to this character. 

 

They hardly show Zende (Thank God) the actor and the writing is to blame for that. He should be having scenes with his family more. If you just started watching this show you would think Zende was just another employee instead of a Forrester who was adopted by Eric's eldest daughter and her husband in Africa twenty years ago. 

Edited July 26, 2021 by Forever8

[Ponds]

He also lives in Eric's home but is NEVER seen!