TV Shows: Everybody Hates Chris

When a friend of mine first recommended Everybody Hates Chris to me I was sceptical. I had never been a sitcom fan, nor did I like the Cosby Show. But I gave it a try and the minute I finished my first episode I was hooked.

Everybody Hates Chris (2005-2009) is a sitcom produced and narrated by a stand-up comedian and actor, Chris Rock, who was inspired to create the series by his own childhood in Bed Stuy, Brooklyn, New York. The show ran for four seasons and there were 88 episodes in total.

 

The series revolves around the life of a working-class family living in Brooklyn, New York in the 1980s. There is 13-year-old Chris, his two younger siblings: Drew and Tonya and his parents: Julius and Rochelle.

Chris is the most level-headed member of the family. He's a good and obedient kid and it is only due to his sheer bad luck that he gets into trouble at the end of each episode.

 

Drew is everything that Chris is not – tall, good at sports, popular at school and lucky. He can also pick up different skills such as martial arts just by copying other people that he sees on TV.

Tonya is the most bratty and spoilt kid you will ever meet. She always tells on Chris and makes sure that blame for all her bad deeds is on him. She loves watching cartoons and drinking hot chocolate

Julius is what you call a “cheapskate”. He hates spending money and loves finding it in the street. When he shops, he goes straight to the damaged food section because it's cheaper.

Rochelle is a ghetto snob. She hates food stamps and generic products and loves shopping for name brand food. She spends her days lazying about and eating chocolate turtles.

Given the time of the year, I would like to suggest that you watch the episode called Everybody Hates Kwanzaa. Unfortunately, I could only find links without subtitles:

part 1

part 2

And some general information about this holiday:

Kwanzaa is a seven-day holiday celebrated between December 26th and January 1st by the African-American community in the United States. It was initiated by Maluana Karenga in the 1960s. It is based on year-end African harvest festivals The name comes from the Swahili phrase "matunda ya kwanza," which means "first fruits of the harvest”. The holiday is neither religious nor political. It is meant to celebrate the African-American heritage and culture.

The seven-day holiday is based on seven principles: Unity, Self-Determination, Collective Work and Responsibility, Cooperative Economics, Purpose, Creativity and Faith that are represented by seven symbols:

• the crops (fruit, nuts and vegetables),
• a place mat,
• corn,
• seven candles,
• a candle holder, (kinara)
• the unity cup,
• gifts.

It is estimated that some 18 million African Americans celebrate Kwanzaa.

GLOSARRY:

to give something a try – spróbować czegoś

an episode – odcinek

hooked – uzależniona

stand-up (comedy, comedian) – when a single person tells jokes

Bed-Stuy – short for Bedford-Stuyvesant in central Brooklyn, New York

in total – w sumie, razem

to revolve around – opowiadać o czymś/ koncentrować się wokół czegoś/ kogoś

working-class – robotnicza

siblings – rodzeństwo/ a sibling – brat/ siostra

level-headed – zrównoważony (calm and able to deal easily with difficult situations)

obedient – posłuszny

sheer – zwyczajny (complete)

bad luck – pech

pick up skills – nabywać umiejętności

martial arts – wschodnie sztuki walki

to copy – naśladować

bratty – rozpuszczone, rozwydrzone

spoilt/ spoiled – rozpieszczone, zepsute

to tell on somebody – skarżyć na kogoś

deeds – uczynki

a cheapskate – sknera

damaged – uszkodzone

food stamps – kartki, za które można kupić jedzenie/ kartki żywnościowe

generic food – niemarkowe, wyprodukowane pod marką danego supermarketu (a product that is advertised with the name of the shop where you buy it, rather than the name of the company that made it)

name brand food – markowe

to laze about – leniuchować

given – biorąc pod uwagę, zważywszy

subtitles – napisy

a community – społeczność

to initiate – zapoczątkować

harvest – żniwa, zbiory

heritage – dziedzictwo

principles – zasady

self-determination – wolna wola (the ability or power to make decisions for yourself)

collective – zbiorowy

cooperative – wspólny

purpose – cel

crops – płody rolne, plony

a place mat – podkładka pod talerz

a candle holder – świecznik

some – około