Race, class, education, and other potentially tricky topics are addressed, often in a joking manner, but the overall theme is positive and hopeful. Characters struggle to find their identities, and perseverance is a major theme. There's also a strong family dynamic throughout. Parents may have plenty to discuss with kids after an episode.
Positive Role Models
some
Eddie Huang is a bit rebellious, but he's also a straight-A student who loves, respects, and spends time with his parents. His tough attitude reflects a desire to be liked, and often backfires on him. He's also dismissive with his brothers, telling them to "shut up." The parents want the best for their kids and work hard to create success for the whole family; Each of the Huangs is a well-rounded character who's trying his or her best in a challenging situation.
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Fresh Off the Boat is a family sitcom about a Chinese-American family and is based on the bestselling memoir by restaurateur Eddie Huang. In a light and often sardonically sweet manner, the show tackles many challenging subjects: race, class, and ethnicity. Characters react in unpleasant ways to various aspects of the Huangs' life; ethnic slurs such as "chink" are used. Parents may want to watch with children to discuss sensitive topics. The young actor playing the fictionalized Huang, who fancies himself a tough guy like his heroes Tupac and Notorious B.I.G., says things such as "What the hell?" and "Shut up!" to his brothers in front of his parents (who scold him).
Good racial discussions, but not the kind of behaviours you want to pass on to kids
As a teacher consolidating an English unit on narratives from the Asian perspective, I was thinking of showing some episodes to my grade 7 students. Upon watching the pilot, I realised this would not be a good idea.
While the issues around racism, mainly from the Asian perspective are especially poignant (while remaining lighthearted about it), especially as an Asian-Australian myself... the behaviour of the main character, Eddie, is completely inappropriate at multiple points, without being properly addressed by his parents, making it seem acceptable.
One of the main behaviours I would not want my students bringing back home to their parents is the consistent swearing that Eddie does throughout the pilot. The mother reprimands him just once at the start, but he simply ignores it and continues to do it in front of her for the rest of the episode, without her mentioning anything about it. This seems to 'normalise' his bad language and rude attitude towards his mother at a young age.
Another very problematic behaviour is Eddie's violent response to being called a 'chink'. While Eddie's negative feelings are completely warranted, his parents actually seem to encourage this response rather than discuss what other less violent approaches Eddie could have taken to the situation. I feel it is dangerous territory to be allowing children to sort their problems out with violence, and thus I would prefer to avoid imparting this message on impressionable younger kids.
This would be a good watch to discuss racial issues, but probably with slightly older teenagers who have a better handle on what sort of behaviours they know is acceptable and unacceptable.
As an American of Chinese descent, I can honestly say that much of what is depicted in this TV show about the Huang family and their experiences is accurate,although with a comic twist instead of the more sobering reality of being different. And much of what I didn't experience but is featured on this show, I have witnessed myself in my Orange County neighborhood, such as the Chinese Learning Center after-school. Much of this show I found to be very humorous. I have concluded that Fresh Off the Boat is an entertaining vehicle for many Asians raised in America, and for the non-Asian it could be a cross-cultural education. Unfortunately, the positive and educational messages are marred by inappopriate language , especially by the parents. Mom's "HELL, NO!" shows up in numerous episodes, and the father kiddingly namecalls a tennis partner "a- - wipe." As mentioned by a previous reviewer, behaviors, not just words go outside the young child viewing category. While 11-year old Eddie embraces the sexy adult-aged neighbor he lets his hand fall to her behind, to the awe of his peers. The woman looks surprised and takes no action. Inappropriate on so many levels. Eddie talks with a lot of swag and pomp, which is entertaining, but in reality, for a child of any age, to talk to his parents with a prideful attitude is not cool. Anyone with a teenager can tell you they don't want their kids to receive any additional encouragement from TV for their children to behave with [a disrespectful] "attitude. " To do so is NOT an Asian trait. I am very sad that this show was unable to be more family-appropriate so I could watch it with my daughter and talk about my own childhood experiences with racism. It won't be through this show anytime soon.
What's the Story?
Based on the bestselling memoir of the same title by culinary entrepreneur Eddie Huang, FRESH OFF THE BOAT presents a fictionalized version of the Huang family: 11-year-old Eddie (Hudson Yang), younger brothers Emery (Forrest Wheeler) and Evan (Ian Chen), dad Louis (Randall Park), mom Jessica (Constance Wu), and Grandma (Lucille Soong). When we catch up with the Huangs, they've just moved from Washington, D.C., to Orlando, Florida, where Louis has opened a Western-themed restaurant. The restaurant isn't doing that well, and neither are certain members of the Huang family. Jessica feels lost among the Barbie-doll-like neighborhood moms. Emery and Evan's school hands out stickers instead of grades. And Eddie is struggling to fit in. The Huangs feel out of place in their new home, but if they stick together, they'll get through it somehow.
On the network of Modern FamilyandBlack-ish, this sitcom seems both completely at home and -- the title says it best -- fresh. In less deft comedic hands, plot lines such as the mother concluding that her sons need after-school Chinese education could come off as stereotyped and offensive. Instead, the jokes feel warm and lived-in and often have a pleasantly absurd twist: When the mother, Jessica, goes to Eddie's principal to complain about the quality of her son's education, the daft principal talks up the school's lone after-school offering: farm animals that come to be petted. In fact, "I have a baby chicken on my lap right now," he says. Eddie's face lights up as he reaches over to pet it.
It's a sweet moment, and there are a lot of them in Fresh Off the Boat, with actors who are appealing enough to carry them off. Eddie's pre-puberty swagger is adorable instead of annoying; Jessica seems like a real mama bear instead of a Tiger Mom stereotype. Even Grandma gets her moments to shine. This is a great show for whole-family viewing; lively discussions of what happened on the show may well follow.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the basis behind Fresh Off the Boat's humor. It's a "fish out of water" comedy. Which others can you name wherein people find themselves in situations where they feel out of place?
What does the title of this show mean? Which "boat" is being referred to? If you haven't heard this phrase before, look it up online. What do you think about the title?
How is the audience supposed to feel about the Huangs? Are we supposed to laugh at them? With them?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
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Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
By Joyce Slaton
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
