2008 Woodie Awards
TV has become mind numbing
The Editorial Board
Issue date: 3/15/06 Section: Opinions
- Page 1 of 1
On Sunday, the widely watched "Flavor of Love" television series announced the "lucky" winner of the heart of rapper/entertainer Flavor Flav.
The show kept viewers and the anticipation of whom Flav would choose as his concubine held on to the viewer's attention.
Every week viewers watched as the contestants fought for Flav's affection and became disappointed when our favorite contestant was given the boot from the show.
But is this show pointless?
We think so.
While many of us, week after week, focused much of our time to see if "Hoopz" was going to win, we continued to fill our heads with meaningless nonsense. Most of the shows that target the young, black audience (i.e. College Hill," "106 & Park" and "The Shop") don't provide real knowledge and issues that need to be addressed to the black culture.
At one time BET, the leader in black television programming, with shows like "BET Nightly News" and "Teen Summit," reached out to the black culture through enlightening lectures and segments. These shows kept the attention of young viewers while informing them all at the same time.
While "Flavor of Love" didn't seem to have a true angle of intelligence or beneficial knowledge, it continues to perpetuate the negative stereotypes of blacks. The show was a neo-minstrel show and expressions of black stereotypes like this continue to corrupt black youth.
Will the madness ever end? Guess the flavor of love isn't that good after all.
-Nyerere Davidson for the editorial board.
The show kept viewers and the anticipation of whom Flav would choose as his concubine held on to the viewer's attention.
Every week viewers watched as the contestants fought for Flav's affection and became disappointed when our favorite contestant was given the boot from the show.
But is this show pointless?
We think so.
While many of us, week after week, focused much of our time to see if "Hoopz" was going to win, we continued to fill our heads with meaningless nonsense. Most of the shows that target the young, black audience (i.e. College Hill," "106 & Park" and "The Shop") don't provide real knowledge and issues that need to be addressed to the black culture.
At one time BET, the leader in black television programming, with shows like "BET Nightly News" and "Teen Summit," reached out to the black culture through enlightening lectures and segments. These shows kept the attention of young viewers while informing them all at the same time.
While "Flavor of Love" didn't seem to have a true angle of intelligence or beneficial knowledge, it continues to perpetuate the negative stereotypes of blacks. The show was a neo-minstrel show and expressions of black stereotypes like this continue to corrupt black youth.
Will the madness ever end? Guess the flavor of love isn't that good after all.
-Nyerere Davidson for the editorial board.
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