Tell The Truth Tuesday: BET

Come on, BET! Tell the truth. We already know what the deal is, but we want to hear you admit it. Just admit it. We are all grown men and women and we can handle it. You don't have to make up stories, just come out and tell the truth!

What am I talking about? Well, I don't know if everybody has heard about it, but BET is producing a TV show called "Hot Ghetto Mess" based on the website of the same name. I'll even put the link here so you can check it out if you choose. The premise of the show supposedly, (and I say supposedly because it hasn't aired yet so I haven't seen it) is user made home videos and on the street interviews that spotlight those embarrassing so called "ghetto" aspects of the community. You know, the images that make you say "damn, that's ghetto!" Like the outlandish prom pictures with the wild hairstyles and age inappropriate dresses, or the crazy things that some people do to their cars, or just basic tomfoolery and hood repping at the club. Well, the Black man's favorite channel is premiering a show that brings these images out of the forwarded email stage to basic cable.

Now, not surprisingly, BET is getting a little backlash about this kind of programming. Post- Don Imus, anything with racial implications is in the spotlight; controversy was sure to follow a show so descriptively entitled "Hot Ghetto Mess." But this time it's not just the usual suspects protesting. I'm sure they will have something to say, but the illustrious Reverends Al and Jesse will not be by themselves. The Home Depot and State Farm have reportedly decided that they do not want to advertise on the show effectively putting their money where their mouth is. For their part, at least I can say that BET has not cracked under the pressure...yet. But here is where my problem comes in. BET is trying to make it seem that "Hot Ghetto Mess" is a tool for social change. Like Black people will look at these images and be inspired to be less ghetto. The following quote is from the BET website about the show:

"Cutting edge, original, relevant and irreverent, "Hot Ghetto Mess" is like the traffic accident you can't look away from. Viewers will laugh. They'll cry. They'll think. They'll learn, and hopefully they'll recognize they've GOT to do better."

I'm sorry, but I have to resurrect the word that we buried last week: NIGGA PLEASE!!! Who da hell do you think you are fooling? This show is exploitation plain and simple. It is designed for us to laugh at people. We all laugh at people that are different than us. People we think are ghetto, or country, or bougie, or stuck up are the objects of our ridicule. Even the most conscious of us sometimes have moments when we will pass judgment on someone else's behavior. I'm not even knocking the show for airing our dirty laundry, although my personal opinion is that some shit we need to keep to ourselves. My biggest problem with BET is that they are full of shit, trying to pass this show off as social commentary.

So, dammit BET, just tell the truth. Tell us that this show is inexpensive to produce so it fits your bottom line. Tell the world that this show will appeal to the baser desires of your viewership and therefore will be a hit. Tell the truth for once. The truth is that half of the shows already on BET could be titled "Hot Ghetto Mess", and as much as I loved the show growing up, this includes Rap City. Tell the damn truth, BET! Tell us that coonery worked on VH1 with Flava Flav, so you thought you would give it a try. Tell the truth! Tell the world that nobody watches BET News, but they will watch the same episode of ComicView over and over again. That's why you have a show called "Hot Ghetto Mess" You know good and damn well that you are not trying to change the world. I would respect you much more if you said it was just entertainment. I don't believe in censorship of any kind, so I'm not saying that this show should not on the air. I'll let the more dedicated bloggers and activists lead the protest. I'm just saying... damn, BET tell the fuckin truth!!! This show is a "hot ghetto mess" and you know it.