The executives at FOX NETWORK ran down the following check list before Premiering the New show "EMPIRE" tonight........ here's that check list...
1.) Black Men killing each other.... "check"
2.) Angry Black Woman going after a Black male "check"
3.) Educated, Successful Black Male with a White Woman "check"
4.) Display of Effeminized Black Males "check"
5.) Blacks committing crimes and going to prison "check"
6.) Two Bitter Black Women going after each other ....one being lightskin, the other brown skin.... "check"
7.) The Promotion of Ignorant ass Crack Baby Rap Music "check"
8.) Overweight Black Woman displaying her self hate by wearing a BLONDE WIG "check"
THIS SHOW IS GONNA BE A HIT !!!!! BRILLIANT
- Taken from John Tank Williams Facebook page
As a writer/author, I felt compelled to respond to the debate about Tank's sarcastic remark about the Fox Network show Empire that went on in the comment section
THIS SHOW IS GONNA BE A HIT !!!!! BRILLIANT
- Taken from John Tank Williams Facebook page
As a writer/author, I felt compelled to respond to the debate about Tank's sarcastic remark about the Fox Network show Empire that went on in the comment section
After viewing the comments in the thread, I’m gonna be impartial because I understand BOTH sides of the coin
Is Empire stereotypical? YES
Does the show exhibit what many consider the lowest, common behavior of Black people? YES
On the flip side, capitalism and media have no moral compass…they’re out to appease the bottom line; to make money…they’re not necessarily for the betterment of the people
Everything has an audience and fan base to satisfy whatever they crave
It just so happens that there’s NO balance when it comes to the representation of Blacks in mainstream America
You got shows and movies like Jackass where white folks act as if they lack common sense…
…but you also have movies that show whites in high regards whenever they make flicks about Egypt, the Bible, Science Fiction, etc.
The representation of whites is more diverse in that manner, and Black people don’t have the luxury to do whatever we want BECAUSE OF the lack of diversity
Boyz in the Hood is one of my favorite movies, and so is Boomerang, which has its share of drama as well as Black people placed in a professional setting
When I was growing up, I listened to NWA…and I also listened to Public Enemy to not only balance my listening enjoyment, but also because they were READILY AVAILABLE for public consumption
People usually eat what’s in front of them
Shows like Scandal, Empire, How to Get Away with Murder, etc. are very entertaining…
…and I don’t think those shows are necessarily the problem…on the surface, yes, but deep down, the issue is the lack of images that’ll show Black people in a different light to negate whatever people may feel is negative
If we want better, we gotta demand better and support the alternative, because it's more than entertainment when the world judges you based on the excess of a stereotype
I mean…
…do we really need Empire when we already have Power?
*shrugs*
On another note, it’s the parents and the so-called community’s job to teach the youth, and each other, the true history of where they came from BEYOND the Trans-Atlantic slave trade so anything what we may perceive as negative wouldn’t affect us
Maybe Black Americans should spark a YouTube revolution and produce our own shows and collectively blast them on social media like they do Empire, but then again, we live in an era where people are more reactive (talking and criticizing) than proactive (doing and supporting)
If you wanna see something other than slave movies, the hood, the helpless negro, shallow comedy, the hyper-sexed, etc, then show love to movies that are the opposite of what you dislike seeing in the mainstream
Hollywood is only giving you what you wanna see based on numbers
Don’t hate the player, hate the game
Anyway…
…the keyword in this discussion should be BALANCE
Aight…
…Carry on
Peace and Afro Grease
Nah'Sun the Great @ www.nahsunblaze.com
P.S.
A lot of people say Black people shouldn't bug out about how they're portrayed on TV and it's "just entertainment"...
...that might be true, but suggestive language is powerful
Why you think companies pay a lot of money to run ads during the Super Bowl?
Let's not forget that Cubans didn't like how they were portrayed in Scarface, Italians told Jersey Shore not to display the flag of Italy on the show, and Arabs were tired of Hollywood portraying them as terrorists in movies
Every nationality are aware of how society perceives them on the strength of how the media broadcast them to the world
Peace
Is Empire stereotypical? YES
Does the show exhibit what many consider the lowest, common behavior of Black people? YES
On the flip side, capitalism and media have no moral compass…they’re out to appease the bottom line; to make money…they’re not necessarily for the betterment of the people
Everything has an audience and fan base to satisfy whatever they crave
It just so happens that there’s NO balance when it comes to the representation of Blacks in mainstream America
You got shows and movies like Jackass where white folks act as if they lack common sense…
…but you also have movies that show whites in high regards whenever they make flicks about Egypt, the Bible, Science Fiction, etc.
The representation of whites is more diverse in that manner, and Black people don’t have the luxury to do whatever we want BECAUSE OF the lack of diversity
Boyz in the Hood is one of my favorite movies, and so is Boomerang, which has its share of drama as well as Black people placed in a professional setting
When I was growing up, I listened to NWA…and I also listened to Public Enemy to not only balance my listening enjoyment, but also because they were READILY AVAILABLE for public consumption
People usually eat what’s in front of them
Shows like Scandal, Empire, How to Get Away with Murder, etc. are very entertaining…
…and I don’t think those shows are necessarily the problem…on the surface, yes, but deep down, the issue is the lack of images that’ll show Black people in a different light to negate whatever people may feel is negative
If we want better, we gotta demand better and support the alternative, because it's more than entertainment when the world judges you based on the excess of a stereotype
I mean…
…do we really need Empire when we already have Power?
*shrugs*
On another note, it’s the parents and the so-called community’s job to teach the youth, and each other, the true history of where they came from BEYOND the Trans-Atlantic slave trade so anything what we may perceive as negative wouldn’t affect us
Maybe Black Americans should spark a YouTube revolution and produce our own shows and collectively blast them on social media like they do Empire, but then again, we live in an era where people are more reactive (talking and criticizing) than proactive (doing and supporting)
If you wanna see something other than slave movies, the hood, the helpless negro, shallow comedy, the hyper-sexed, etc, then show love to movies that are the opposite of what you dislike seeing in the mainstream
Hollywood is only giving you what you wanna see based on numbers
Don’t hate the player, hate the game
Anyway…
…the keyword in this discussion should be BALANCE
Aight…
…Carry on
Peace and Afro Grease
Nah'Sun the Great @ www.nahsunblaze.com
P.S.
A lot of people say Black people shouldn't bug out about how they're portrayed on TV and it's "just entertainment"...
...that might be true, but suggestive language is powerful
Why you think companies pay a lot of money to run ads during the Super Bowl?
Let's not forget that Cubans didn't like how they were portrayed in Scarface, Italians told Jersey Shore not to display the flag of Italy on the show, and Arabs were tired of Hollywood portraying them as terrorists in movies
Every nationality are aware of how society perceives them on the strength of how the media broadcast them to the world
Peace
