A Message to BET:
BLACK EMBARRASSING TELEVISION
by
Andre Brown
With only one national black television station, this writer wonders why
BET chooses to show music videos all day. From nine o'clock in the
morning until nine o'clock in the evening (Eastern Standard Time), there
are shows like "Hits From the Street," "106 and Park,"
alongside a few other music video shows. Throughout the day there
are reruns of similar video shows, all featuring half naked women, thugs,
and drug dealers. The images of African Americans being projected in
this programming are of artists who are obsessed with money, sex, and
popularity. The characters the artists play in music videos are
willing to do anything for the almighty dollar, including rob, cheat, pimp
women (or themselves), steal and kill. No, this is not the Playboy
channel or HBO, both of which have the freedom to show such things.
This is bad entertainment disguised as good entertainment for blacks and
it comes in the form of the network BET (Black Entertainment Television).
Ms. Cita, the host of "Cita's World", highlights the afternoon
and primetime lineup of programming for BET. She is the epitome of
"ghetto-fabulous." She too is half-dressed, very loud and
obnoxious, and never has anything intelligent to say. Her vocabulary
is limited and dripping with improper English. What makes this show
worse is the fact that she is a cartoon and many people write to her for
advice. Men also write in, asking her for dates and telling her what
they could do for her. This writer often wonders what person would
ask a cartoon character for advice or a date?
As nine o'clock rolls around, it is now time for "Oh Drama," and
what drama it is. This cheap knockoff of ABC's "The View"
consists of three women who get together and pretend to talk about things
that are informative and interesting. The topics for discussion are
based mainly on sex. These topics range from how to get a good man
to how to keep your man, from gold diggers to transvestites.
Not surprising to this writer, these women are not always fully
clothed-wearing scantily clad outfits: leather, skimpy dresses, and tops
showing excessive cleavage.
Next up on the evening schedule is "Comicview," a comedy show
featuring mainly black comedians. The show begins with the host,
coming on stage with a dozen women who are two seconds away from being
naked. The host is dressed in vibrantly colored suits, complete with
his diamond jewelry and permed hair that is neatly pulled back into a
ponytail. He then dances around on the stage with women surrounding
him, and they all continue to dance until the actual " show"
starts. This scene is very reminiscent of a minstrel show-complete
with-dancing and smiling while telling jokes for amusement. The show
goes on to feature comedians who usually tell tasteless jokes about sexual
related matters more than anything else.
After "Comicview," there is a one-hour news program (which will
be touched upon later) that reportedly covers news that affects Black
people. After the news programming, there are more videos followed
by a repeat showing of "Comicview" and another episode of
"Oh Drama." At three o'clock in the morning, the
"craziest" show of all is aired. It is another music video
show tastelessly entitled, "Uncut." This show airs music
videos that are deemed too risqué to be shown during the earlier video
shows. Now you may wonder what could possibly be worse than the
sexual innuendos presented in the previous shows, but please believe-it
gets worse. This show is very vile and only features women as sex
objects. There are two videos that are regulars on this show that
stand out the most. In the first video, there is a rapper that goes around
town to different women, puts his hands down their private areas, and asks
them "what it smell like?" The next video oozes with
sexual content as well. This video by a couple of members of the
infamous 2 Live Crew has a segment that features a woman onstage at a
concert about to perform oral sex on one of the rappers.
After "Uncut" goes off, there are the hours of mindless
infomercials that promote everything from Ron Popeil's newest invention
(does this man ever quit?) to the newest cleaning phenomenon that is
guaranteed to clean anything. This series of infomercials continues
until the "quality" programming from the previous day starts
once again. It may be hard to believe that this type of programming
is allowed to be shown on television, but it is.
As one thinks of all the things BET represents, this writer realizes how
lucky he is to have stopped watching this station for
"entertainment." BET has taken on a new meaning for many
African Americans: Black Embarrassing Television. Not only is
this form of black entertainment embarrassing, but also it is harmful to
the productivity and morale of black people. This form of media
makes Blacks, especially the young, feel that they can only be successful
as singers, rappers, dancers, comedians, and other types of entertainers.
This is due to the lack of representation for other successful Blacks such
as doctors, attorneys, scientists and politicians among other respectable
occupations. It also makes audiences believe that sex with lack of
discretion is absolutely fine. These programs that are aired on BET
neglect to promote any type of morals or values to the African American
audience, and most of all, this station lacks intelligence.
These shows that are aired regularly on BET are also harmful to Blacks
because they perpetuate the stereotypes that many people in America have
about Black people. For many non-Blacks, the only contact they have
with Black people is through images presented by the media. This is
problematic in that if all non-Blacks see are sex-crazed, money-obsessed,
"ghetto-fabulous" black people, that is what they will
generalize as being true of all Black people. Instances and
portrayals such as these make the struggle of Blacks for true equality in
America even more difficult. Non-whites and even upper class Blacks
will not take Black America seriously. Non-blacks will have these
misconceptions in their minds and believe that most black people are
incapable of being and conducting themselves in an intelligent manner.
It is because of this that Blacks are not given the equal opportunity to
be successful, whether it is in corporate America, higher education or
other realms where connections and networking are vital to success.
All of these barriers combined can be attributed almost exclusively to
negative media portrayals like those featured on BET.
Some Blacks blame this lack of quality programming on the
selling of BET
to white-owned Viacom. This writer has to disagree with this
argument because we, as black people, have sold ourselves out.
Before, when BET was black owned, there were the same types of programming
being aired. There were no black dramas or other intellectually
stimulating programs being shown. So indeed, we, as black people,
are partly to blame for this catastrophe that graces our televisions on a
daily basis. This becomes difficult in that we, as Blacks, accept
the defamation of our image and choose do nothing about it but watch and
be entertained by these false images.
In defense of BET, there are television programs on this network that do
attempt to tackle the tough issues that affect the black community.
"Teen Summit" and "BET Tonight" are two programs that
discuss issues such as AIDS, family problems, troubles in other types of
relationships, and other social ills that are affecting the Black
community. But, these two shows are so severely overshadowed by the
other programs that they often do little to improve the image of Blacks
and occasionally fall victim to the lack of intellect that plagues the
other programming. In addition, neither of these shows appear during
primetime, therefore, they do not receive the attention of the majority of
BET's viewers.
Another argument that comes up is that other networks, such as MTV and
VH1, show these same music videos and similar comedy specials that
dominate the airwaves of BET. Therefore, BET should not be taking the bulk
of this criticism. Even though other stations choose to air similar
material, it does not make it acceptable for BET to follow in their
footsteps and claim to be innovative. Also, these other networks do
not make the claim to be committed to Blacks and the black cause, nor do
they bear the title or burden of being specifically for black people.
BET should be a model for what is right with the black community and not
the highlight of what is wrong with it. These other networks may
feel that because these awful images are shown on BET, then it is
justifiable for them to show these programs as well. This way of
thinking only further feeds into the inaccurate conceptions about black
people and black communities.
Spike Lee's most recent movie, "Bamboozled" compares modern
black entertainment to the minstrel shows of early 20th century and
details how Blacks have repeatedly sold themselves out and sold themselves
short. BET is at the head of these modern day minstrel shows.
There must be a demand on the part of Black-Americans for better
programming on BET. We
need more shows that accurately depict the
state of Blacks in America. Blacks must not be complacent with the
garbage that currently is broadcasted daily into their homes. A
network that claims to be for Blacks and reflect their lifestyles has to
be something that everyone can be proud of. It has to be actively
working to disprove the many negative stereotypes that currently exist
against Blacks. As it stands, BET is an embarrassment to Black
America. There must be a movement of Black people, and others, that
lets those in charge of BET know that we are unsatisfied with the quality
of programming that currently airs on their station. Until then, BET
will continue to be an embarrassment to Black America.
|
