Post by Keith on May 26, 2007 18:24:10 GMT -8
Whenever I watch TV, I see that the media has portrayed Black America mostly in the negative with their stereotypes. Sadly, there's a lot of money to be made on stereotyping and the negatives. For reasons like this, I had stopped watching BET and MTV altogether. Before Viacom had acquired BET, I would watch the channel more than MTV. In the past, I used to really like watching MTV. But most of the music videos have been replaced with a bunch of crappy reality TV shows. On top of the shows, they tend to portray various ethnic groups in a negative light.
Most of my friends happen to be Black and Latino. I ask my Black friends what they think of all the stereotyping. Some of them don't care but a lot of them were really offended and felt that TV wasn't representing them in the right way. I remember watching "Da Band 2" which Sean "Diddy" Combs a few years back on MTV. The basis was starting up a new hip-hop group. Contestants are eliminated until there were six people left. All six were black, most of them ended up setting a very bad example which was portrayed in the series.
The show had a good basis. However most of them weren't disciplined enough. In a sense, the people on the show helped shine a more negative light on Black America. When Viacom acquired BET, it aired more videos about sex and violence. Even rappers admit when they make the songs that they don't really go out and shoot people. But the "gangsta" life style streotype of Black America was more than enough to get people to spend their money on CDs, tapes, movies, etc. But I'm on the fence on that one because most of the music I listen to happens to be in the rap/hip-hop genre.
The biggest perpetrator of portraying Black America in a negative spotlight is the US news media. The biggest prime example was the aftermaths of Hurricane Katrina. As we all know, Hurricane Katrina was a category five hurricane with is the most violent and most dangerous hurricane in all five categories. It had devastated Louisiana and Mississippi. Though more of the media focus was on New Orleans, it portrayed Blacks in a very negative spotlight.
They got on tape of Blacks raiding stores and such. But in situations like surviving a hurricane, you need food and shelter. Especially when New Orleans was submerged in water. The levies were built to withstand up to category 3 hurricane force winds. There was looting a rioting around. The news even caught footage of this one guy kidnapping a child and trying to sneak onto a bus for mothers with children. The person was black. People were evacuated to the football arena after authorities said the place would be safe. However, the dome was torn right off and the people suffered.
Coverage of Hurricane Katrina put a very negative light on Black America. And you have to keep in mind the demographics of New Orleans is predominantly Black: African-Americans and Creole. It shows how the news media plays a big role in the negative portrayal.
My favorite prime example is the first season of "The Apprentice." One of the contestants was this Black woman named Omarosa. I couldn't stand Omarosa one bit. She represented Blacks being put under a negative light. There were a few Asians that shined Asians under a negative light. Me being Asian, I took offense to those people.
There was also this one smear ad against Democratic nominee named Harold Ford for the Tennessee seat for the United States Senate. Ford happens to be half African-American. The smear ad attacked Ford for attending a superbowl party at the Playboy mansion. To understand, one would have to watch the smear ad for him/herself. It was like saying a Black man and a White woman getting together was a bad thing.
However, along with the negatives, I have to say there are quite a few positives in place. A few of my favorite sitcoms happen to be Black sitcoms. My favorite sitcom of all time was "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," that starred rapper turned professonal actor Will Smith. Smith did a good job of breaking the negative stereotypes of Black America.
Recently, there have been more and more independent and mainstream films that have portrayed Black America in a more positive light. They're not portrayed anymore as thugs and gangbangers. At least it's a pretty good start but still a long way to go.
Before UPN and WB merged to form CW, UPN had plenty of Black sitcoms. Half of them I didn't care much for. Some of the decent ones were "Girlfriends" and "All of Us."
Girlfriends is a sitcom that revolves around the lives of these three Black women, used to be four until Jill Marie Jones had left the cast. The three women did not fit the stereotypes perceived of Black America. Kelsey Grammar had done a good job as producer of the show. After watching a few episodes, I was very impressed. Not only was the sitcom classy and tasteful, it was pretty darn funny. The creators did a good job of writing up these characters.
All of Us is a sitcom produced by Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith. The basis is this couple who already have a child are already divorced. But they're still living under the same roof. People would think that it would be "ghettofabulous." But with All of Us, that isn't the case. Like Girlfriends, All of Us definitely had a lot of good taste to it. Will and Jada made the right decision being executive producers on the show.
Another good Black sitcom is "My Wife and Kids" starring Damon Wayans and Tisha Martin-Campbell. The sitcom wasn't portrayed in the ghetto. It was portrayed in the surburbs of Bridgeport, Connecticut. My Wife and Kids was just any normal family sitcom. Wayans and Campbell did a very excellent job breaking the negative stereotype associated with Black America. Most importantly, My Wife and Kids was incredibly funny. Happened to be one of the sitcoms at the top of my list.
Media portrayal of Black America is getting better. At the same time, it'll get worse as some sort of counter balance. The same goes for Asians, Latinos, Arabs, etc. Within the next few years, media should get more positive.
www.helium.com/tm/266490/whenever-watch-media-portrayed
Most of my friends happen to be Black and Latino. I ask my Black friends what they think of all the stereotyping. Some of them don't care but a lot of them were really offended and felt that TV wasn't representing them in the right way. I remember watching "Da Band 2" which Sean "Diddy" Combs a few years back on MTV. The basis was starting up a new hip-hop group. Contestants are eliminated until there were six people left. All six were black, most of them ended up setting a very bad example which was portrayed in the series.
The show had a good basis. However most of them weren't disciplined enough. In a sense, the people on the show helped shine a more negative light on Black America. When Viacom acquired BET, it aired more videos about sex and violence. Even rappers admit when they make the songs that they don't really go out and shoot people. But the "gangsta" life style streotype of Black America was more than enough to get people to spend their money on CDs, tapes, movies, etc. But I'm on the fence on that one because most of the music I listen to happens to be in the rap/hip-hop genre.
The biggest perpetrator of portraying Black America in a negative spotlight is the US news media. The biggest prime example was the aftermaths of Hurricane Katrina. As we all know, Hurricane Katrina was a category five hurricane with is the most violent and most dangerous hurricane in all five categories. It had devastated Louisiana and Mississippi. Though more of the media focus was on New Orleans, it portrayed Blacks in a very negative spotlight.
They got on tape of Blacks raiding stores and such. But in situations like surviving a hurricane, you need food and shelter. Especially when New Orleans was submerged in water. The levies were built to withstand up to category 3 hurricane force winds. There was looting a rioting around. The news even caught footage of this one guy kidnapping a child and trying to sneak onto a bus for mothers with children. The person was black. People were evacuated to the football arena after authorities said the place would be safe. However, the dome was torn right off and the people suffered.
Coverage of Hurricane Katrina put a very negative light on Black America. And you have to keep in mind the demographics of New Orleans is predominantly Black: African-Americans and Creole. It shows how the news media plays a big role in the negative portrayal.
My favorite prime example is the first season of "The Apprentice." One of the contestants was this Black woman named Omarosa. I couldn't stand Omarosa one bit. She represented Blacks being put under a negative light. There were a few Asians that shined Asians under a negative light. Me being Asian, I took offense to those people.
There was also this one smear ad against Democratic nominee named Harold Ford for the Tennessee seat for the United States Senate. Ford happens to be half African-American. The smear ad attacked Ford for attending a superbowl party at the Playboy mansion. To understand, one would have to watch the smear ad for him/herself. It was like saying a Black man and a White woman getting together was a bad thing.
However, along with the negatives, I have to say there are quite a few positives in place. A few of my favorite sitcoms happen to be Black sitcoms. My favorite sitcom of all time was "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," that starred rapper turned professonal actor Will Smith. Smith did a good job of breaking the negative stereotypes of Black America.
Recently, there have been more and more independent and mainstream films that have portrayed Black America in a more positive light. They're not portrayed anymore as thugs and gangbangers. At least it's a pretty good start but still a long way to go.
Before UPN and WB merged to form CW, UPN had plenty of Black sitcoms. Half of them I didn't care much for. Some of the decent ones were "Girlfriends" and "All of Us."
Girlfriends is a sitcom that revolves around the lives of these three Black women, used to be four until Jill Marie Jones had left the cast. The three women did not fit the stereotypes perceived of Black America. Kelsey Grammar had done a good job as producer of the show. After watching a few episodes, I was very impressed. Not only was the sitcom classy and tasteful, it was pretty darn funny. The creators did a good job of writing up these characters.
All of Us is a sitcom produced by Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith. The basis is this couple who already have a child are already divorced. But they're still living under the same roof. People would think that it would be "ghettofabulous." But with All of Us, that isn't the case. Like Girlfriends, All of Us definitely had a lot of good taste to it. Will and Jada made the right decision being executive producers on the show.
Another good Black sitcom is "My Wife and Kids" starring Damon Wayans and Tisha Martin-Campbell. The sitcom wasn't portrayed in the ghetto. It was portrayed in the surburbs of Bridgeport, Connecticut. My Wife and Kids was just any normal family sitcom. Wayans and Campbell did a very excellent job breaking the negative stereotype associated with Black America. Most importantly, My Wife and Kids was incredibly funny. Happened to be one of the sitcoms at the top of my list.
Media portrayal of Black America is getting better. At the same time, it'll get worse as some sort of counter balance. The same goes for Asians, Latinos, Arabs, etc. Within the next few years, media should get more positive.
www.helium.com/tm/266490/whenever-watch-media-portrayed