2. Will is Shot: S5. Ep15
There is nothing funny about getting shot. Long before Columbine made it de rigueur to explore gun violence in prime-time, the only place where you could find anything on gun violence was on the African-American sitcoms of the 80's and 90's. Heck, even Family Matters had a whole show about guns with a
PSA to boot. By season 5, the time came for Fresh Prince to broach the subject. Of course, getting shot, in the strictly immediate sense, is more serious than casual drug use, and even the most groundbreaking shows in the 90's were hard-pressed to mine any comedic gold from the subject of gun violence. For the most part, they were probably right as bullet wound doesn't exactly scream punch line. But the writers on Fresh Prince were surprisingly astute and intuitive in their observations. Yes, gun violence as a concept is not anything to laugh at, but the real world effects and implications of gun violence often demand a humorous response. Sometimes, the only way for someone to cope with tragedy is through laughter. It imparts a certain feeling of normalcy and can help heal the wounds that are more emotional than physical. Carlton was certainly in deep need of some healing. He and Will were both held up at gunpoint and Will was shot while saving Carlton's life. The family was shaken by the incident, but Carlton took it the hardest. A lot of conflict in the show often came from Carlton coming to terms with some of the more unpleasant realities of life (racism, heartbreak, etc.). This was one time where Carlton would take his coping strategies to extreme measures. He took the "eye for an eye" approach and decided to arm himself. Will had to talk his cousin off the proverbial ledge before more people (chiefly Carlton) wound up hurt. http://youtu.be/rJ31eBipr_g It's a marvelous scene: out of all the tools Will could have used to console his cousin, he chose humor. It's a bold choice, but very astute on Will's part. Carlton was already on edge (as indicated by the gun) so jumping into an argument with him probably would not have helped. Instead, Will relies on his natural goofiness to mentally disarm his cousin. He doesn't get immediately upset about the gun or try to downsize what Carlton is feeling; he just asks for a hug and that his food tray remain upright. It's almost shocking to think that you can laugh so hard at someone who just got shot, but Will makes you split your sides. Of course, the laughter eventually dies down and things get serious. Will knows he has to get the gun out of Carlton's hands. However, the scene doesn't stoop to moralizing or soapbox preaching about the evils of firearms. No, Will could care less about causes or movements; all he wants at that moment is his cousin to be safe because he loves him. It's a great scene that serves up a great lesson; never be so caught up in the politics of a movement that you forget the humanity at the heart of the cause.