On any given night,we can turn on the tube and see a trainwreck in motion. This trainwreck is defined as Reality TV. I'm sure at one time or another you've sat and watched one of these shows. It's the new phenomenon where celebrities or wanna be celebrities live out their daily lives in front of the camera. They are all over the place. There's "I Want To Work For Diddy",Real Housewives of Atlanta,College Hill(where no one actually goes to college),Frankie & Neffie and my all time favorite trainwreck "Flava of Love".People are literally addicted to these shows. I used to wonder to myself.Why do people put this mess on tv? Then I saw the ratings and it became crystal clear that these shows,though may be stupid,sad and in some cases down right embarrassing(see Frankie & Neffie),they are HUGE money makers for these networks.But while looking at the ratings,I noticed the demographic breakdown.Over 65% of these shows are viewed by African-Americans on a nightly basis. I would say I was surprised but honestly I wasn't.It showed while 65% of African-Americans are watching Reality TV,55% of Whites are watching Cable News channels,mainly FOX. After seeing THOSE numbers,I was blown away.
Many of you know I love to discuss politics. But the problem I have with many of my friends is,most of them can't carry a conversation on politics for more than 2 minutes. The most I ever get out of anyone is they're glad Barack Obama is the President and Republicans hate him because he's Black. We can debate whether that's true or not. But what we can't debate is the lack of knowledge or concern about what's going on here in the Real World(no pun intended). Many of our people can't tell you what's in the healthcare bill but we can tell you verbatim what happened on the RHOA. We can't tell you who the Secretary of State is but we can tell you who Ray J will choose as his next "girlfriend".
At some point we have to realize,what may appear to be a Reality is not really a REALITY. Stop hitting the snooze button and WAKE UP!! Get involved,read a paper, subscribe to a daily blog,SOMETHING to make sure you don't confuse REALITIES.
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I agree completely, to most of these people who watch these shows, that is their Reality.
ReplyDeleteThey are not entwine to the outside world and to what’s going around them. They can not tell you the latest from CNN/MSNBC, but I bet you, they can tell you what the next episode will be or the latest drama; who’s wearing what, who’s going home, and who’s doing who. As for me, I don’t watch BET nor any of those reality shows, they are downright degrading and utterly ridiculous. Yes, the rating is a money maker for these network, regardless, tell me why should I subject myself to that nonsense. I’ll pass… Thanks!
Ask them who is the first African American to hold the position of Attorney General, I bet you they don’t know.
I work in a predominantly "mainstream" environment. During the presidential elections, many of the people that I work with every day said things like, "Deidre, don't you think he's Muslim? His name is Barack Hussein Obama." To which I replied, "My youngest brother is named Tariq-ibn Aqeel Sabree. My sister's name is Jameelah Aishah Sabree.Do you think they are Muslim? If they were, then what?" I said all that to say, it is not just our community that is woefully uninformed; people of all races choose to be ignorant. I am the only adult in my circle of work friends who takes the newspaper and then actually reads it everyday. I am one of the few to watch the nightly news and try to stay abreast of what's happening in the world. I feel that is one of the reasons that our country is so sectarian and fractured today. People relay on one source of information and discard everything that does not reinforce their preconceived notions of what the world is and what their place in it should be. It is just more glaring in our community because the one network that purports to be for and about us consistently shows us as dancing/singing/rapping/ball-playing buffoons and many of us choose to support that portrayal by staying tuned in to the nonsense.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both points.
ReplyDelete65%!! I would think this number wouldn't be so significantly high but then again. I actually found out that a lot of people didn't watch the Black in America series but ironically, those of another persuasion did. We need to watch C-span/CNN/HLN/MSNBC to see what people are saying, promoting, and thinking. I was amazed at the number of people supportting Sarah Palin on C-span on her book tour. They like that she has moral and values that our current president does not have. Huh? What? Are you kidding me? I'm amazed at the turn out (according to the local paper) that Nene had when she came here but years before when Rep. John Lewis was here, you could count the number of people who were at his book signing. There was a huge turnout here for Mike Huckabee when he came. There I was in the middle of that and I must admit it was not comfortable but I wanted to know what was going on, who were these suportive people and eavesdrop as best I could to their conversations. We need to wake up! Spike told us years ago and looks like we're more dormant than ever. Yes, children know nene,lisa and kandi but don't know Mary McLeod Bethune, Francis Coppin and Solidead O'Brian - excuse the spelling.Yes,they know RayJ and what's on BET but don't know Benjamin Banneker,Booket T,or WEB! But do we really have to keep selling our soul for a few pieces of silver to act in such a stereotypical manner? Do we?
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