as i was sitting watching part two of my favorite trilogy next friday a week ago, i couldn't help but watch it with a more keen eye than i have before. it wasn't because of the editing (or the lack thereof) for television broadcast, but it was rather the network that the movie was being played on.
USA Network? nope, guess again. BET? nice try, but no. it was the Oxygen Network...you know, the one that's always daring us to "live out loud"? well, i didn't fancy the fact that the oxygen network just plum forgot to bleep out the n-word as well as the b-word. if my memory serves me correctly, i thought that this was a network that was ORIGINALLY dedicated to women and empowering their lives? what happened to that idea?
now all i see on this rachet network is cat-fighting, name calling and degrading women rather than encouraging them to be a stronger entity. now, don't get me wrong, i think that dance your @$$ off can sometimes be entertaining, re-runs of america's next top model are aight and snapped just proves that you better not mess with an estranged housewife; but showing a movie like next friday and a show like bad girls club (which i think is the epitome of trashy, materialistic, rachet and hood-rat like behavior) isn't helping the female race one bit.
as these thoughts began to run through my mind, i decided to do a little bit of research. turns out that the oxygen network is owned by NBC-Universal which states on their corporate home page that:
"NBC Universal is committed to attracting and retaining the best and most diverse talent. Doing so provides a secure, powerful and competitive advantage in the media and entertainment industry."
so you mean to tell me, mr. jeff zucker, that NBC-Universal has to broadcast television shows and movies that explicitly call women out of their names and use a degrading term such as the n-word in order to retain an audience that loves watching hood-rats fight a"diverse" audience? give me a frickin' break.
what struck me even more as a surprise (but it was just a slip of memory) that the vp of diversity at NBC Universal is an african-american woman...AND a former newhouse student! (she didn't graduate, so i don't consider her an alum). and i'm not saying that you have to stand up for your race at all times - i'm well aware that NBC-Universal is a global conglomerate that must maintain a reputation, ratings and meet a certain bottom line at the end of each fiscal quarter. i'm just saying that a large company like NBC-Universal should be mindful that the quality of some of its television shows are really (unfortunately) trying to imitate real life...or is it the other way around?
i'm not criticizing all reality television (believe me, i like to watch my share of e! every now and them) but the only point i want to make is to take time to really think about the "reality" television that you watch from time to time. the only way that we can make changes in our society is if we challenge them. and as always, this is strictly how i feel and my own opinion. what do you think?
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