They know us as "foos"

Will Hulu's new show make Raza the butt of all jokes or will it be something else?Look at it closely...

So, Hulu is doing a new show called ‘This Fool’ which is set to premiere on August 12. The tagline is: You down? And already you can see where this is headed. Recently, a friend asked my opinion on this show so I’m sharing that here and I’m curious what other people think.

The show is inspired by comedian Chris Estrada’s life and is being described as:

“Set in working-class South Central Los Angeles, This Fool centers on Julio Lopez (Estrada), a 30-year-old who works at Hugs Not Thugs, a nonprofit rehabilitation center for gang members. While he's doing some good in the community in his work life, the rest of it? Well… he still lives at home, with his mom and abuela. His love life is messy — he has been dating his girlfriend on and off since high school and though she still has the right to take his car whenever she wants, they are currently not together. Or are they?

His family takes in his older cousin Luis, an ex-gang member who just got out of prison after 8 years. Luis mocks him every chance he gets.”

So, what I’m getting out of this is that the “foo” character will be mocked at every opportunity and be the butt of the majority of jokes. Sounds great…

According to IMDB, the show is, of course, produced by white dudes, and written by majority white dudes as well. What a shocker.

That said, I have not seen the show and reading that it’s at least inspired on a real person’s (I assume he’s Chicano but who knows? He’s at least from South Central L.A.,) life so that’s at least something. But here’s my two cents on this.

Hollywood pays attention to what happens online now and they have obviously taken notice of the “foo” phenomenon, so why not cash in on it?

The problem I see with this is the same old problem we’ve had with Hollywood since day one; it’s exploitation and at our expense.

The word “Chicano” is virtually unknown outside of our own circles now, thanks to Wokoso activists making it a pejorative, and certainly unknown to the mainstream. But! They know us as “foos.”

The word “foo” has caught on like wildfire from coast to coast and if you mention the word to idiots in non-Chicano areas, they will most likely know what you are referring to..and that is the buffoon. The idiot. The menso. The clown. The lowlife cholo, ex-con fuck-up. The guy with the long socks, bald head and tats, and so on.

They know us as “foos.” We are a joke, nationally.

The title of this show was obviously ripped straight from the Foos Gone Wild song, “This Foo.” I would not be surprised to learn that they were consultants on the show. The damage they have done, in my unpopular opinion, and as evidenced by this show, will reverberate for years to come.

No longer are we known as Chicanos. Latinx didn’t catch on (thank god), but “foos” are known worldwide now. We have allowed the country to change the perspective on Raza from passionate take-no-shit activists and proud, fierce warriors and guardians of our culture and history, to… “foos.”

We are the modern day India Maria for all the world to laugh at. Sock check, anyone? Look at it closely…

Will this show be any good? I doubt it. Will it do damage on a national level to a people already the butt of all jokes? Count on it.

If this show is successful, get ready to watch “foo” become a household word.

• S/C