'Bob Hearts Abishola' Episode 3 gets inclusive with dialogues in Yoruba language
On this week's episode of 'Bob Hearts Abishola', Abishola is hounded by the people in her life regarding her "relationship" with Bob. While her friends, relatives, and colleagues egg her on, Abishola gets frustrated over her personal life being everybody else's business. Meanwhile, Bob tries his best to know more about Abishola's native country Nigeria and even tries to learn phrases from the Yoruba language for Abishola.
With this scene, we are introduced to two Nigerian men who work for Bob and they have a significant amount of time in this episode as they speak to each other in Yoruba, mainly about Bob. Many viewers were pleased by this, with one viewer stating, "I love that 'Bob Hearts Abishola' doesn’t shy away from having conversations in other languages." Another user tweeted, "Hearing guys speak fluent Yoruba on Primetime US tv just makes my heart melt."
We also got some significant dialogue between Abishola, Kemi, and Gloria, especially regarding the differences in perceptions between Africans and African-Americans. The episode certainly featured some controversial dialogue about how each faction considers themselves better than the other, but as Gloria points out, the white population only sees the color of their skin. Perhaps the most irking moment was when Kemi says that Africans are not pulled over because they follow traffic rules.
As one viewer pointed out, 'Bob Hearts Abishola' is "not shying away from the tough stuff", when dealing with the issues between Africans and Black Americans. However, Chuck Lorre's comedy continues to alienate viewers in each episode. One viewer said that the show had lost an African-American viewer, because "Nigerians looking down on Black Americans ain’t cute." And they're not the only one, others are saying the longer the show continues "the attack against Black Americans", they will stop watching the show eventually. Many viewers are wondering whether 'Bob Hearts Abishola' would accomplish what it intended - which is to tell the story of immigrants - or end up widening the chasm between Africans and Black Americans, and Black Americans and white people.
There is still hope for the show, however, as many African immigrants hope the show is broadcast in their home countries in Africa, with one viewer asking, "how can my people back home in Nigeria watch this program?" Many viewers agree that the show has potential and is heartwarming. They may be right. 'Bob Hearts Abishola' continues to be largely reminiscent of Lorre's previous work, and the writers need to carve out a space of their own in the already-large Lorre sitcom world.
'Bob Hearts Abishola' airs on Monday nights on CBS.