Blaxploitation

Preface: Blaxploitation is a term coined in the 1970s when a slate of films, seemingly an entire industry, was created geared to the black urban audience. Today, the best example of these films would be Tyler Perry's films, which are more suburban than anything but that's a whole other blog. Today's post has nothing to do with that, well not specifically.

This post is inspired by my life, people I have met in my life, and oddly enough watching the Season Premiere of The Game, or more specifically the tweets that followed it. There is a quote from A Different World, where Dean Davenport, (Jenifer Lewis), told Charmaine, "You don't have to push others down to get to the top."

It occurs to me that we, as a black community, are often so critical of each other, of black programming, and of black films that most of us (me NOT included) sound like haters. Pure haters! It's just a show, if you don't like it then use the remote. Sure you can tweet about it, but the whole "Oh BET never..." or " Of course since it's a black woman it's ....". I don't like a lot of things on tv, and I don't like Tyler Perry films, but it is because I think they're stupid. I still support Tyler Perry , his vision, and what he has done for black actors and actresses; I simply do not do so financially. Similarly, I do not normally watch BET shows because I don't like most of them. It's not because BET is a bad network. I don't watch a lot of CBS shows either, but I love CBS Sunday Morning News and Face the Nation, just like I now like BET's The Game.

If I don't like something it's not because black writers are not as good as their Jewish counterparts, it's because I did not like it. I enjoyed The Game season premiere, it had (mostly the same cast) and the same writers just on a different network. Nothing about that night's premiere had anything to do with BET. However, some people feel like a show being on BET entitles it to either more protection or more criticism. Why? I didn't like American Idol not because it was on Fox, but because I think reality tv is lame. I enjoyed Flavor of Love not because it was black but because it had beautiful black women who would do anything for a buck, which by the way got old after Season One. I don't watch Real Housewives of Atlanta or any of those shows, but last I checked the ones in Orange County are as much a mess as the ones in Atlanta. See! You don't have to be black to be trifling and back-stabbing, you just have to be a female with a reality show. Okay, maybe I went too far on that one.

The point is if you want to uplift the black community you are not going to do it by slamming the projects that do not meet your approval of "high colored standards". You are going to do it by judging those projects the same way you do the ones on CBS or ABC. When white people do not watch House of Payne (such a bad show) they don't talk about how it sucks cause it's a black comedy. They couldn't because a lot of Caucasians crack up at Everybody Hates Chris or That's So Raven (I am a little out of date, don't judge me). Like Jay said, "It's only entertainment." Watch it or see it because you enjoy it not because you feel you have to. If you don't like it criticize it based on its substantive value not because you have some pre-conceived notion that anything other than directing, writing, and acting had anything to do with your enjoyment. SN: if anyone else put together the hidden mildly racist joke in this paragraph feel free to share with others.