Professor Played In Nicki Face And Wasted Her Time

If you are anything like me, you might have grown up watching a classic black sitcom called, The Parkers. I was excited that Netflix decided to add the show to their streaming platform as I wanted to rewatch the episodes of my childhood. Suppose you are not familiar with the show. In that case, The Parkers is about a mother-daughter duo named Nikki and Kim Parker, navigating their lives as students at Santa Monica College. When Nikki was in high school, she became pregnant with Kim and had to drop out. She did not have the opportunity to go to college as she focused on being a mother and wife to her child’s father. Eventually, Nikki obtained her high school diploma and started to attend school with her daughter. In the show, Nikki displays herself as a strong, independent, and confident black woman who is not afraid to stand up for herself, as you can see from the first episode. I admired Nikki’s character as she was a plus-size woman who was sure of herself. In the media, plus-size women are often displayed as having low self-esteem and are always the but of someone’s insensitive joke. It was refreshing to see that the show did not fall into this stereotype.
The show highlights one focal point: Nikki’s undying love for Professor Stanley Oglevee. As I rewatched the series, I realized that Nikki had an unhealthy emotional attachment to Professor Oglevee that he often manipulated when he needed to get his way. An example of this was in Season 1, Episode 8 when Nikki and Kim were preparing for a trip to Mexico; instead of wishing them a safe trip, he comes to see if she can buy him cigars from Mexico. The Professor tells her that “Well, you know, Ms.Parker, you know there’s always been a special place in my heart for you.”, and then proceeds to ask for cigars. He tells her to write the place to buy the cigars and then leaves once he gets what he wants. Everyone in the show tells Nikki that the Professor has no interest in her, and he even shows her that she repulses him in more ways than one. Despite this, Nikki still does everything that she can to show the Professor that he will love her one day and she is convinced that he will one day see that she is worthy of his affections. Whenever anyone asks Nikki about the Professor, she says that he is her man, boo, or future husband; she believes he belongs to her.
Each season, you see Nikki going above and beyond for this man without getting anything in return as he continues to break her heart. In the last of the series, episode 1, Professor Oglevee gets married to a woman who has the intention to kill him. As the Professor and his new wife go on their honeymoon on a yacht, Nikki travels to save the Professor and rescues him from the deranged woman plotting against him. Even though she saved his life, the Professor did not return her love and affection and continued to use her in the later episodes of season 5. She still has hope in her heart that he will return her love. In season 5, Episode 17, Nikki is set up on a blind date by her friend, Andell, who is tired of tagging along on her dates. As she is on the blind date, she is set up with Johnny under the same delusion of loving people who do not want them. The two quickly bond over the shared experience that they have. Nikki states to Johnny, “My boo was sick in the hospital, and I gave him my blood to save his life. You’d think he’d take me out for a thank-you dinner.” The two continue to talk about how they have done for these lovers. They agree that it will be worth it in the end. As the evening comes to an end, the two of them state that if they didn’t have these other people in their lives, they would be courting one another and then proceed to share a passionate kiss. After all of Nikki’s years of unrequited love, she has a man who is genuinely interested in her without her having to chase him or do things for him to like her. In the next episode, 18, Nikki is panicked as she thinks that she cheated on the Professor and is under emotional distress because she fears what will happen if the Professor finds out even though this man does not want her. As Nikki is sitting worrying about the Professor’s feelings, her friend Andell states, “Girl, forget him. Look, at some point, you got to move on.” You can’t spend the rest of your life chasin’ somebody that doesn’t want you.” Nikki’s response to her friend is that he wants her and needs more time to realize.