The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

Issues Addressed

While the show addressed many serious issues, these episodes were often lauded as very special episodes. Also many of these episodes did not have bloopers during the credits to keep the seriousness of the show.

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• While largely a comedy, this show commonly addressed African American issues.

:*In the very first episode, for instance, Will accused his uncle of having forgotten "where he came from," or having forgotten that he is black. His uncle was furious, and pointed out Will's frequently-mentioned belief in the philosophy of Malcolm X. "I heard the brother speak," Phil angrily informed his nephew.

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:*In a later episode, Will and one of his old school friends, Ice Tray, reminisce about how Ice Tray frequently had to save Will from bullies who attacked him because he tried to be a good student.

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:*In another episode, Will and Carlton try to join an all-black fraternity, but Carlton is singled out for being a "sell-out," because his family is wealthy and "acts" white.

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• In an episode where Will is shot in the back during an attempted robbery at a bank ATM and then hospitalized, Carlton found himself pondering the idea of carrying a gun for self-defense.
• In another early episode, Will and Carlton are delivering a car to one of Phillip's friends, but are accused by the police of stealing it only because Will and Carlton are African Americans.
• The issue of absent fathers was touched upon when Will finally meets his father Lou (played by Ben Vereen) in one of the series' more emotional episodes. When Will was still an infant, his jobless father had one day walked out to "get a pack of smokes" and just never came home. Years later he returned now employed as a trucker but by then Will was going to college. Phil and Vivian gave him the cold shoulder for abandoning Will and his mother, Phil going so far as to say to him accusingly "How dare you set foot in my house." Will tried to remain conciliatory towards his father since this was his chance of meeting him, but the episode concluded with Will having to confront his grief when his father abandons him a second time. Symbolically Will accepts the fact that his Uncle Phil is the closest thing to a dad that he has ever had.
• The issue of teenage pregnancy was brought up in one episode in which Ashley was curious about sex. Her parents, unsure about how to talk to her about it, try to ignore the issue as far as possible. Will and Carlton, determined to find a way to talk to Ashley about it, go down to the local pregnancy center and find out about the issues.
• The issue of interracial marriages is addressed in one episode where one of Vivian's sisters announces her engagement to a white man, which Will's mother at first has doubts about. The episode ends with a wedding scene.
• Drug use is addressed in an episode where Will, busy with finals, basketball, and his girlfriend, is having trouble staying awake. When one of Will's classmates gives him some amphetamines to help him stay up, Carlton takes the pills, which he presumes to be vitamin pills. After Carlton's near-fatal overdose, Will confesses that although he never used the drugs, he is to blame for Carlton's using them.
• The issue of alcohol abuse is explored as well. While at a party, Will and a rival drink shots to see who can drink the most. When Will passes out from drinking so much, some bullies drop Will off at a graveyard and Will meets the other dead spirits who are stuck playing an eternal game of poker. While the poker sequence is shown humorously, the mood gets somber when a ghost child (who was with the other spirits) tells Will that he died when a man hit him with his car from drunk driving. Will realizes that his rival hit the boy and wakes up from the fantasy.