Jews Talk Racial Justice - Ep 77: When you think you’re The Good Place 😇 but you’re really Schitt’s Creek 😮

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QUICK EPISODE OVERVIEW

A couple of weeks ago, we did a Facebook Live where we used popular tv shows to help us playfully make a point about how folks sometimes overestimate their skills when it comes to DEI work–or really anything. In this episode, we revisit that conversation and add some additional commentary. If you tuned in the first time around, stick around for a whole lot more. And, fair warning, there are some definite spoilers of the tv show the Good Place in our follow up conversation.

All of our episodes have closed captioning.
Access the audio version with a full transcript here.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  1. At the beginning of April and Tracie’s Facebook live (the beginning of this episode), they each talk about which TV/fictional character they embody at their racial justice best (and encourage viewers to think about that for themselves). Who are you embodying your racial justice best? Which character(s) inspires you in this way?

  2. They also mention that the summer of 2020 was significant for many folks and compared it to the show The Good Place, noting that many white folks (and non Black folks specifically) realized what they thought was more or less the good place was actually the bad place. What was your experience of summer 2020? What is similar to what they are talking about here, or did you witness other folks having a similar experience?

  3. April recalls an exchange she has with another Jewish professional where they ponder the fact that this comparison of where the Jewish community is right now (Schitt’s Creek) with where they think they are (The Good Place) is maybe not quite as black and white as this. If you’ve seen these shows, what do you think about this? How does this sit with you? Do you have any ideas or thoughts to add to their analysis?

  4. Tracie points out that in The Good Place they actually reimagined and rebuilt the system after realizing that it was incredibly flawed. What lessons can we learn from this? How does this comparison match up with our current reality? 

  5. April briefly explains that some folks may see this comparison as harsh but often there is a collapsing beliefs and behavior. What does she mean by this?

SHOWNOTES

Find April and Tracie's full bios and submit topic suggestions for the show at www.JewsTalkRacialJustice.com

Learn more about Joyous Justice where April is the founding and fabulous (!) director, and Tracie is a senior partner: https://joyousjustice.com/

Support the work our Jewish Black & Native woman-led vision for collective liberation here:
https://joyousjustice.com/support-our-work

Learn more about Racial Justice Launch Pad and watch our free masterclass:
https://joyous-justice.mykajabi.com/registration-page-74797390-07fe-42d0-b340-4f91077480d9?cid=3265a927-dad0-4c41-baa1-24e3f4386574

Learn more about the series TV “The Good Place”:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Good_Place

Learn more about the TV series “Schitt’s Creek”:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schitt%27s_Creek

Learn more about the series “Lucifer” and the character of Dr. Linda:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucifer_(TV_series)

Learn more about the TV series “Pose” and the character of Blanca:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pose_(TV_series)

Join our private Facebook group, Joyously Pursuing Racial Justice:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/590922415522750

Read more about prison and police abolition:
https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/the-emerging-movement-for-police-and-prison-abolition

Learn more about Mussar:
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-musar-movement/

Read Michael Schur’s book, How To Be Perfect: The Correct Answer to Every Moral Question:
https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781982159313

COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS?

Let us know in the comments below!