Throughout the years, we have seen many different shows on the air make their mark by creating episodes that tackle more of the harsh topics in our world today. Whether it was school violence, domestic abuse, or just going through the tough times as a teenager, nothing has ever truly been off limits. We have recently seen a similar episode come about on the show ‘Grown-ish’, who decided to tackle the consent on campus issue that plagues colleges all throughout the country, and the world. ‘Grown-ish’ is one of the newer series on primetime television, set as the spinoff for the popular series ‘Black-ish’. The series centers around the eldest leaving the nest and heading off to college, figuring out life on her own for the first time. In this article, we are going to take a look at how the execs were able to make this episode work and speak to so many audience members in the world, and why it was so important for our time. Let’s get started.
1. What The Episode Actually Covers
In the episode that aired, we saw a half hour long debate (essentially) that centered around a new ‘sober consent policy’ that was instated at the campus where Zoey is enrolled. Basically, the policy in the episode states that it must be mutual voluntary consent that is verbally said between both parties before and during any type of sexual activity that may ensue. Sounds pretty basic, but just because it is written on paper doesn’t mean that it is followed by every person in the student body. This is why debate ensues between Zoey and friends, hashing out both pros and cons of this new policy that is instated, and how it is really going to help any type of issues that may or may not be happening on campus.
2. What The Execs Were Getting At
Obviously, consent is a huge issue. Period. It is valid and it is necessary regardless of the situation or the age in which any type of activity is taking place. However, we have heard so many horror stories in our world today of abuse, assault, and worse because these types of policies (as used in the show) were considered null and void, or are not even stated in a campus setting. Regardless of what side of the debate you lie, it is crucial that these types of situations are always addressed, and the ‘Grown-ish’ execs felt the same way. They wanted to make consent, throughout the episode and in general, seem like something that was sexy, something that sounds appealing and not awkward or uncomfortable. They also wanted the viewers to see that it is okay to take your time, to make the right decisions, and to know when something doesn’t feel right, whether you are on a college campus, or at a party, or somewhere else. In short, what execs were hoping to come from the episode was for viewers and other individuals all over would see the idea of consent, sober consent, and any other form of the word in a different light, and reopen the debate to shed light from that new perspective.
3. How We Actually Talk About Consent
One of the other sublines of the main point of the episode was how we talk about consent, and it is really eye opening. Honestly, when you think about how some individuals and groups talk about consent, they often lean toward the side that women are most often the victims, and if it happens to a man, it is not as big of a deal, something that can be laughed off, in a sense. We may not realize it the majority of the time, but there are many people who have different opinions and perspectives than we do, and by opening debates like this, we can all get new ideas about what we truly think is right.
It may be a difficult topic to discuss, especially with younger people in our society today, but it is something that needs to be addressed and talked about on a daily basis. The idea of consent gets thrown around in both bad and good light, and can be something that makes many feel uncomfortable or awkward. With the help of ‘Grown-ish’, we were able to see as audience members what talks about this subject may really sound like in a campus setting, or rather how it should sound. You can view this specific episode, and other episodes of ‘Grown-ish’ on ABC.
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