Editing The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (section)

== Cultural impact and legacy ==
''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'''s success is considered to be a watershed moment for [[Hip hop music|hip-hop]] and black television,<ref>{{Cite news |title=The story behind Will Smith's iconic 'hug' scene in 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' |language=en-US |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2020/09/11/fresh-prince-bel-air-hug-father-scene/ |url-status=live |access-date=2022-02-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220225095419/https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2020/09/11/fresh-prince-bel-air-hug-father-scene/ |archive-date=February 25, 2022 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Uschan |first=Michael V. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uVlmDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22will+smith%22+%22fresh+prince%22+%22watershed%22&pg=PT94 |title=Will Smith |date=2009-03-13 |publisher=Greenhaven Publishing LLC |isbn=978-1-4205-0201-5 |language=en |access-date=March 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220328111051/https://books.google.com/books?id=uVlmDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22will+smith%22+%22fresh+prince%22+%22watershed%22&pg=PT94 |archive-date=March 28, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> with many publications referring to it as one of the greatest sitcoms of all time.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Becoats |first=Kellen |date=2022-02-10 |title=Sitcom or Not, 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' Knew How to Pull Off Drama |url=https://www.theringer.com/tv/2022/2/10/22925520/sitcom-or-not-the-fresh-prince-of-bel-air-knew-how-to-pull-off-drama |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220226030749/https://www.theringer.com/tv/2022/2/10/22925520/sitcom-or-not-the-fresh-prince-of-bel-air-knew-how-to-pull-off-drama |archive-date=February 26, 2022 |access-date=2022-02-26 |website=The Ringer |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Fresh Prince GOAT |url=https://www.gq.com.au/entertainment/film-tv/the-fresh-prince-of-belair-is-returningas-a-gritty-drama/news-story/512fe75a6658412fb66f442d0d0dc9bd?amp |website=GQ Australia}}</ref> Professor Andrew Horton stated: "Smith's genre of comedy, popularized on the sitcom ''Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'', translated well into commercial box-office appeal. ''The Fresh Prince'' watered down and capitalized upon the then growing popularity of hip-hop and almost anticipated its dominance on the American scene".<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Horton |first1=Andrew |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NB2zCQAAQBAJ&dq=%22will+smith%22+%22fresh+prince%22+%22significance%22&pg=PA345 |title=A Companion to Film Comedy |last2=Rapf |first2=Joanna E. |date=2015-12-14 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-119-16955-0 |language=en |access-date=March 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220328111052/https://books.google.com/books?id=NB2zCQAAQBAJ&dq=%22will+smith%22+%22fresh+prince%22+%22significance%22&pg=PA345 |archive-date=March 28, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Author Willie Tolliver noted: "What ''The Fresh Prince'' did accomplish was to put Smith and his character Will into an environment of affluence and possibility, thus changing the terms of his own Black identity. This social and cultural mobility is central to Smith's racial significance, and this will become evident again and again; he moves the image of the Black male into unaccustomed spaces just as Smith himself was in the process of conquering Hollywood."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tolliver |first=Willie |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dD1ZEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22will+smith%22+%22rapper%22+%22significance%22&pg=PA46 |title=Deconstructing Will Smith: Race, Masculinity and Global Stardom |date=2022-01-06 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-7569-5 |language=en |access-date=March 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220328111053/https://books.google.com/books?id=dD1ZEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22will+smith%22+%22rapper%22+%22significance%22&pg=PA46 |archive-date=March 28, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref>