Bel-Air and Moving Up in Society
The moral case for understanding the difficulty of moving up in society.
Most of us aren't rich.
It's a sad reality that not everyone has enough money to function in society. Some of us struggle more than others to get the basics we need to survive. When you know that some people have more than you though, it can be difficult to come to terms with. To see that other people don't struggle while you have to make difficult choices about what you can and can't afford. It creates resentment among those who have less and can some times make those who have more try to separate themselves from the people who don't have what they have. This naturally creates divisions and problems which are hard to resolve. Especially when the obvious choice, namely being able to take from those who have more and give to those who have less can't be done easily. If you do it in a way that seems unfair to those who have more, you can just add more resentment among people who have more. They will find ways to hide it from those who want to take it.
Despite this reality, it is possible to move both up and down between these two groups, often called the haves and the have nots. Someone who has more can choose to give to those who have less. Not through force, but through a desire to help those around you. This generosity is sadly not frequent but when it does happen, there are benefits. People who have less can have a better life if given the opportunity, or if they create it for themselves. When it happens to such a person, there's a strange feeling they can get. Suddenly having things they didn't have before. Opportunities they couldn't have gotten on their own.
Learning to move in this type of environment is difficult. You don't want to upset the people who are giving you this chance, but at the same time you want to be able to point out how unfair it all feels. Knowing what they have which could help more than just you. It's a real struggle to find the right balance, but it's important to find one. Otherwise you might find yourself on the wrong side of the people being generous to you. That doesn't end well for anyone.
Bel-Air is very much about the struggle to come to terms with moving up like that. Will Smith, as played brilliantly by Jabari Banks, has been given a beautiful opportunity. He's lived most of his life with a lot less than other people have. He has had to struggle for what little he has managed to get, which sadly isn't much. Yet because of his family members who have more, he's given the opportunity to have things he's never had before. Get access to those he never would've been able to. Naturally, he doesn't know what to do with this change. He doesn't want it to go away, but he also can't help but notice the lack of fairness.
It's a fascinating thing to watch and I encourage you to explore the problems of moving up in society by checking out Bel-Air as soon as you can.
You can watch Bel-Air on Peacock in the United States and Amazon in Canada.