A Plot: Adam sets out to create a movie that will tackle racism, but realizes he is out of his depth on the subject due to his sheltered upbringing.
B Plot: Geoff is determined to teach Erica and Barry to become better people.
- Anachronism Stew: Adam tries to make a movie to fight against racism using robots (and Robocop) as an incredibly obvious allegory, which he names after Spike Lee's Malcolm X...which came out in 1992, not the 80's. However, it's downplayed due to Do the Right Thing being in theaters at the right time (the late 80's), and Malcolm X being a real historical figure.
- An Aesop: Both plots ultimately have the same moral: the world may seem horrible, but it shouldn't stop you from trying to "do the right thing" and make it a better place.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Barry and Erica's efforts to fight against Geoff's attempts to make them better lead to Geoff having a breakdown, first stealing food at a grocery store, and then offering to pay for all the food as well as the obviously trumped-up car repairs.
- Bizarre Taste in Food: When Adam's first attempt to talk to his family about racism is turned into talking about pizza, Barry admits he's completely fine with any toppings, including pineapple, sardines, and/or yogurt.
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Broken Aesop: Adam's anti-racism movie ends with the humans and the robots both becoming cyborgs in order to realize that they're all the same, which Mr. Glascott thinks is horrible because it doesn't celebrate their differences and implies that the only way racism will end is for the existence of multiple races to end. - Change the Uncomfortable Subject: It turns out Beverly has been doing this for years to protect Adam from getting hurt by the harsh realities of life; her reactions to him learning about racism include asking if he wants milkshakes and offering an autograph of Wilhelm von Homburg, who played Vigo in Ghostbusters 2. In the end, she realizes that she's made a mistake keeping him in the dark for far too long, and supports his desire to make positive changes in the world.
- Con Man: The guy who owns the car that Erica dings turns out to be local con artist John Calabasas, trying to get a huge settlement out of Geoff when he does the right thing. He's later trying to sell Spanish roof tiles stolen from a nearby house as pieces of the Berlin Wall.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: Adam's announcement of an anti-racism club at school interrupts an announcement by Mr. Glascott that lobbyists from candy companies are paying the school to promote sugar as a basic food group.
- Disappeared Dad: Mr. Calabasas says that he got his injuries when the car was dinged, and they couldn't see him in the car because of his camo blankets, which made him disappear "like an arctic fox, or my dad".
- Don't Tell Mama: Finally feeling bad for the whole mess after Geoff's breakdown, Erica manages to get him out of paying Con Man Mr. Calabasas by doing a little research and learning that the car belongs to his mother Barbara, who he does NOT want learning about his shady business practices...because of her fierce temper.
- Five-Finger Discount: Barry and Erica get Geoff to steal one grape at the supermarket as a "sample" to get him to stop being such a worrywart. It works too well, and soon he goes into what Narrator!Adam calls "the saddest crime spree ever", taking bites out of various items on the store, ending with him surrounded by half-eaten rotisserie chickens.
- The Golden Rule: The Goldbergs have their own version: "Do unto others and they will do unto you." Barry always thought it was "do unto others before they do unto you."
- Guilt by Association Gag: Defied by Mr. Glascott; when he sees that Adam has dedicated his atrocious anti-racism movie to him, he immediately wrecks the tape before anyone else can associate him with it.
- Hypocritical Humor: The Tag is Barry's attempt to reform and become a better person, giving back all of Geoff's stuff he "permanently borrowed" over the years (including a picture of Geoff's Nanna) and stating he'll never take without asking again...while he's wearing a sports jersey with Geoff's name on it.
- I Think You Broke Him: After Geoff's breakdown at the supermarket, Erica says that she broke him.
- Innocently Insensitive: Adam's initial attempt to fight against racism is seen as naïve and insulting by Dave Kim and a black member of the football team, leading them to properly educate him on how their race has led to mistreatment. His second attempt, a movie, does not fare better in Mr. Glascott's opinion due to its Broken Aesop.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Geoff decides to leave a note on the car Erica dinged when she and Barry refuse to...only for the car's owner, Mr. Calabasas, to show up in an obviously fake neck brace and threaten to sue him.
- No Sympathy: Geoff realizes that Barry and Erica are horrible people when they ding someone's car and refuse to accept any responsibility. He quickly learns they got this behavior from Murray, who also enforces a "do unto others before they get a chance to hurt you first" golden rule.
- Sheltered Aristocrat: Adam realizes he's the middle-class version of one when he learns how he's absolutely ignorant of real issues like racism happening in his own school.
- Shout-Out: Adam's crusade against racism is inspired by seeing Do the Right Thing at the theater (after his first choice, Turner and Hooch, was sold out). Later, Murray attempts (and fails) to help by revealing "The Box of Harsh Truths", filled with movies Beverly has tried to protect him from seeing, which includes To Kill a Mockingbird, Sophie's Choice, The Killing Fields, and Platoon.
- Sucky School: Aside from taking bribes from candy companies, Mr. Glascott reveals to Adam that their textbooks only have three fold-out pages dedicated to Black History, and mislabeled Martin Luther King Jr (whose one picture has half his face cropped out) as Lou Rawls. Adam eventually decides that the best way he can currently fight against racism is to start a campaign for better learning material for the school.
- Title Drop: "Eracism" is the name Adam originally gives his anti-racism campaign, before it's considered too childish by people that have actually suffered from racism.
