Wednesday
Jul252007
BET SHOULD CUT ME A CHECK! That was just LAME
Wednesday, July 25, 2007 at 10:03PM The Blogmother
Sweet mother of GOD. No wonder they had to have a sensational name and tie it to that god awful website. There are no words. Just. Just. Speechless. That was what Reginald Hudlin called " so doggone good?" Viacom y'all need to fire him because he has really bad taste. Maybe I am too old. Was it just me or was that really really BAD?
Folks don't sleep, we are going to keep the pressure on because I can assure you they are going to try to sneak in some bootie shaking videos in the next five weeks. The only bad side is that we will have to watch that God Awful show five more times. Maybe we can pull lots?
Was THAT really worth blowing th entire roll out of you new original programming? Hubris. Hubris I tell ya!
The irony is that this should have been BET's shining hour, millions hundreds of people (the show had really bad ratings) who normally don't watch were watching and when their moment came, they put on a really bad show. Its not original programming if it is made up of YouTube Clips we have already seen.
Folks don't sleep, we are going to keep the pressure on because I can assure you they are going to try to sneak in some bootie shaking videos in the next five weeks. The only bad side is that we will have to watch that God Awful show five more times. Maybe we can pull lots?
Was THAT really worth blowing th entire roll out of you new original programming? Hubris. Hubris I tell ya!
The irony is that this should have been BET's shining hour,
Don't forget to like our Facebook Page. We shut down our NING network. My book More Than Words is now available for download for $3.99 | 22 Comments | Share Article
22 Comments | Share Article tagged Uncategorized in Uncategorized
Uncategorized in Uncategorized
Reader Comments (22)
Was it me, or was it that "We Got to Do Better" AND S.O.B. were just plain bad? Am I no longer objective? It wasn't even funny. Actually, I'm not exactly sure what to think. The show I loved last night was "Just For Laughs" - a modern day candid camera. Now that was univerally hilarious and not offensive.
That was satire? That was social commentary? No, that was a joke. I have to pull myself together and stop shaking my head then I'll post on my blog. But, one glaring thing I noticed. Most of these things were done in private, behind closed doors or around a limited group of like-minded people.
And most of the stuff, while it may not be something I would do, is hardly inappropriate behavior that is a sign of the demise of a race.
I think it sucked. The dectractors won. They need to change it back to the original name and the raw edge of the original concept. It should be scandalous to produce AND to watch. This was watered down. Score one for the "weenies".
Gina and the rest of the community,
I'm not sure what to make of the show. It was really disjointed. I could tell that BET back-tracked and tried to put some stuff in their to raise people's consiousness. But it didn't flow.
The show is supposedly targeted to the black community, stating "We got to do better," so how does that work with showing "redneck" parties and white men blowing condoms on their heads? I don't get it.
And then they mixed in black history/culture questions. It was good to display those facts, learning moment, which is rare on BET, but none of it made sense. When you put it all together, I don't know what the show is trying to do.
Clearly BET had a difficult time revamping the show, thanks to your efforts and the rest of the black blogosphere.
I will say this, and I know this is long: BET has an opportunity to do what is right, to make this show into something that we can be proud of. It had its moments, especially with the "Bid Em In" "commerical." Why not show short films or documentaries like that? Why not spend some time talking about how we can do better AND how our history requires us to do better.
I'm off to post on "Bid Em In." Powerful stuff!
My only reaction to both shows is utterly pointless, unfunny, and a waste of valuable time. DL Hughley and Charlie Murphy were both stiff and unfunny with very little sharp commentary. I did not see the strong social lesson everyone is supposed to be learning from these shows.
Further, since I do not regularly watch BET, I was completely stunned at watching the previews of regular programming. Hell Date! Promoting and actually airing an interview with attempted murder suspect Remy Ma! The only movie preview - Who's your caddy?
Only four quality things happened during the entire hour of programming -
1) the BID EM IN short film.
2) the preview of Meet the Faith - Oprah interview - I will tune in for that.
3) the street segements borrowed from Jay Leno's show - which only proved all Americans do not read or study enough to keep their brains from turning to mush.
4) It was only a 1/2 hour each.
BET is sad and all the black executives there should be ashamed.
I think this as black folk we fail to see the big picture. Let's face it. This show was far from offensive. It was informative, if not a little recycled, than anything else.
Was this really what we were so hot & bothered about??? We, as critics, truly have to do better.
Gina youve done it again, I just went over to the website Jam has changed things up. A lot of the Naked pictures are gone and the the really bad children pictures are gone as well. The picture of the baby with a joint in her mouth is gone.
I think when the reporter asked her if she had permission to use the people images then and their she knew she was going to have to change that site. The site is not what it was.
Once again thank you for showing us the way while ramming your foot in Jams and BET's hind parts.
The a whoopin you laid down on them was every bit as complete as anything Ive seen in the hood. Kudos Gina.
I liveblogged the whole show: http://www.blackgayblogger.com/2007/07/25/liveblogging_hot_ghetto_mess_we_got_to_do_better/
Oh my God...it was terrrrrrrrrible.
If you think that show wasn't changed because of all the criticism you're out to lunch.
This show was horrible, you can tell that they cut and paste that it was just clip after clip of mess. It was so obvious that what they showed tonight was not the verson that they were orginally going to show.
http://nativeson.wordpress.com
JENNY CRAIG and... No one. A victory in the battle but the war is yet to be won. HIP HOP - BEYOND BEATS AND RHYMES shows what trulley is happening in our media. Wonderful documentary with faces we all know or need to know that reflect the state of AMERICAN culture lead by Hip-POP (youtube has clips & PBS-Independent Lens) addresses homophobia, sexism, and these rappers obvious insecurities. He even speaks to one of the higher up's @ BET and is dismissed when he questioned his integrity as a black man. Has anyone seen "READ A BOOK" (youtube again) shown on BET!?! I know I shouldn't be surprised but sweet mother of Jesus is this really the best way they felt to present the message of the importance of reading. The CARTOON (Literally a cartoon) lyrics are: READ A BOOK, READ A BOOK, READ A MUTHF*CKIN' BOOK...RAISE YO' KIDS RAISE YO' KIDS, RAISE YO' GOT DAMN KIDS... YO BODY NEEDS WATER SO DRINK DAT SH*T... BUY SOME LAND, BUY SOME LAND F*CK SPINNIN' RIMS... BRUSH YO' TEETH... I must stop know getting quite weak. Machine guns are loaded with books and people are shot of coarse dancing ladies have book wrote across their behinds. Great message who the hell is it for?
I congratulate Latrice Janine, Turn Off Channel Zero, What About Our Daughters and Everyone who is fighting the fight..
I think that this a good time to discuss "classism."
Chack out my article:
The World is a Ghetto:
http://nowarningshotsfired.blogspot.com/2007/07/world-is-ghetto.html
I will say that it was a horrible show from a production standpoint. The obviously 11th hour insert of "Bid em in" was disjointed and extremely out of place given there was no reasonable context to explain the piece or the overriding message.
It came out of nowhere and wasn't given any set up or follow-through for that matter. It looked like it was in the BET vault originally for another program and they pulled it out at the last second to give the show something "positive."
And to echo an earlier point...if it's about "us" doing better...the redneck humor made no sense.
The fact of the matter is, if you want to both increase African-Americans' knowledge while making a statement about education...start a "Black Jeopardy. The network would be better served.
That way, you could kill two birds with one stone. You could up the collective IQ (instead of one or two historical facts per show) and also get rid of that BS game show "Take the Cake."
I just finished listening to your call....great comments from everyone! Anyway, the show was awful, but even without the hoopla before I think it's just proof of out of touch BET execs.
Even without the controversy, I think the show would have been just as dumb. (Personally, I think Charlie Murphy is riding out the associated fame from Dave Chappelle. Sorry Charlie...you're not funny.)
I think the controversy probably artifically boosted viewers for the premiere, but I will not be watching that foolishness again, lame isn't the word. The show didn't flow at all and the clips weren't even funny. It's like I was watching someone else's inside joke. I guess I had to be there....
I waited to see what ads would appear and only saw two -- Law Cash (never heard of it) and a local Toyota dealership in Bethesda, MD.
I would have given BET the #1 slot for Worst Week Ever for this foolishness, but then I saw the video clip of Beyonce falling down the stairs at her concert. Poor B!
http://www.pgchic.com
Representing Black women in the the Washington, D.C. area including Prince George's County,MD.
This was show was ridiculous! It was all over the place. Although they changed the name of the show, they didn't fail to continue to call the show "Hot Ghetto Mess" all through it. The clips within the show were confusing. The programming looked as if it was completed today. You could tell that this was a rush job, that the "white persons" depicted in this was only an effort for Viacom to "lessen the blow" for the first show. I was offended in the first street scene how Charles reffered some of the responses to "ghetto", I don't think this is the terminology that should be used in this instance. I guess I could go on and on. I don't like the show, it shouldn't be on the air. There are more things to waste money on. If we are really going to depict black people doing better - we should highlight what they are supposed to do. I mean really, what good is really going to come out of this?
I'm so glad to hear that the show was awful! Damn Gina, you got them to change the name, gut the show, and change the HGM website! They ended up producing a horrible show. Now the media will post horrible reviews of the show and BET and maybe people won't even bother with their other new shows. People said not to celebrate the name change but I think that people can celebrate this! One person worked hard to get a major television corporation to change their offensive show so much that what they presented was an embarrassment! I was worried at first that they might actually produce a good show like they claimed they would. Now that people are saying it was crap this is just some more bad publicity! Fantastic job WhatAboutOurDaughters!!!!!
Here is a yahoo link of an article about the " We gotta do better" http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070726/ap_en_tv/tv_hot_ghetto_mess;_ylt=Am4ZxtB13xyQyy9Poshb6q62GL8C
I will NEVER believe that what was shown on tv was the ORIGINAL content. No way. No how. Had absolutely little to do with the website. They were sent SCRAMBLING, folks.
It's interesting to me that with all of the ferver and spunk that you all went after BET and it's programming, that same level of action has been missing with other LARGER and more impactful networks with shows like Flava Of Love for example who is currently gearing up for season #3 by the way... (casting notice below) But I guess only going after black networks make good news for your cause.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts:
melanzhmarketing@gmail.com
Van Silk
301-919-1362
vansilk2@aol.com
51 MINDS BEGINS CASTING TOUR FOR THE NEW SEASON OF VH-1‘s
FLAVOR OF LOVE (FLAVOR OF LOVE 3) IN CONJUNCTION WITH
TITANIUM GIRLZ AND MELANZH ENTERPRISES
LOS ANGELES (July 30, 2007) œ 51 Minds Entertainment along with VH-1 announced
today that everyone‘s favorite Hype Man, Flavor Flav, will be back on set for the third
addition of the hit reality series Flavor of Love. 51 Minds will be combing the streets and
club scenes of eight cities starting August 1, 2007, looking for contestants for the
upcoming show.
The cities and dates will be:
New York City & Jersey August 1 œ 14, 2007
Los Angeles & San Diego August 9 œ 25, 2007
Chicago August 17 œ 26, 2007
San Francisco (also surrounding areas, Oakland, San Jose) August 17 œ 22, 2007
Baltimore & DC August 17 œ 26, 2007
Sacramento August 23 œ 27, 2007
51 Minds and VH-1 joins forces with Titanium Girlz and Melanzh Enterprises to head up
the Flavor of Love 3 contestant search. The dynamic quartet is currently searching for
interested venues and promoters in participating cities to facilitate the casting events.
###
For more information contact:
Van Silk 301-919-1362
i think the most ironic moment was the segment titled "and now for a word from our sponser" was spelled incorrectly!
that says a lot about those in charge at BET & THEY have got to do better!
All this over lil ole me. Jeez, I dont know where to begin. But I will first begin by addressing a few misconceptions about the site.
It is owned solely and completely by me. I started it in law school and there is no source of funding other than my pretty empty pockets.
The TV show had its origin from a DVD I produced with my student loan money while still in law school. HUdlin, saw it, thought it had a great message and asked me to turn it into a series.
So the notion that this is some "staged" project, some puppet endeavor is incorrect. While I know its fun to speculate, sometimes there really is no conspiracy.
Now to the much-discussed website.
More misconceptions. Gina has stated a number of falsehoods that everyone has seem to accepted as truth.
I have not changed my site because of her accusations and suddenly remove a bunch of incriminating pictures. This is ridiculous and a lie she keeps saying. With all the hub bub over the TV show, I havent touched that site in a month.
Where are these much-touted bare breasted underage girls???????? This is all she talks about. Yet, there has not been one pic she can point to with an exposed underage girl. I guess these are the pics I have rushed to take down. This is ridiculous!!! So please dont buy into that.
OK, now for the issue of using pics without people permission and the very grey area of copyright and privacy law when it come to the internet. (sigh) What most of you dont seem to realize is that approx 95% of the pics on my site ARE ALREADY ON THE INTERNET IN SOME FORM OR FASHION. These are pics from Myspace or Black Planet or Facebook or some other online dating page or pages people have made up to promote themselves in some way. So this is not a privacy issue. I dont go rummaging through people's drawers to steal photos out of their secret showbox and post them on the internet.
Now of course, many of them are annoyed at the context in which Im placing their picture, but if you were proud enough to put it online, then tough shit.
OK, now to the pics of the kids--I have been conflicted about the pics of the kids on the site. Whe I receive these pics, because i dont know the identity of the subjects, its really hard to ignore them. So what I thought would be more helpful than ignoring them was to post them in the hopes that soemone would recognize the child or the adult and alert the parents or proper authorities. And i have actually been successful in that regard when a mother contacted me and said she had had no idea of this particular incident with her daughter.
So reasonable minds can disagree about whether these posting are appropriate or not but please note that I post them with some sense of social responsibility.
Last but not least, it amazes me that whenever there is a discussion about my site, NOONE ever mentions that in every gallery all the pics are juxtaposed with positive images of us. Its mindblowing how this detail seems to fall by the waste side. The site is all about context. This image bad, this image good. I try to show positive images in each conategory that are representative of the images that represent our community well in the world.
No one ever talks about these--in fact, I challenged one of my most vocal critics about this and he admitted, he had never noticed them.
I also have articles and essays, examine lyrics in our popular songs, have a Not Ghetto profile, feature articles that have ways for us to "Do Better" and a great message board which provides the platform for discussions on all types of topics from race to politics to sports to relationships.
So please, when discussing the site, please dont look at a couple of pics you got in an email and make a judgment. Go through the entire site. In order that we maintain academic integrity, please acknowledge that there is more to the site than just these pics.
You may not agree with me or my tactics in attempting to muster dialogue in our community but please dont misrepresent the site nor ignore the components that dont fit your argument.
But you guys are right about something, what started out as a subversive site started by a law student has grown into a monster and taken on a life of its own.
Its disconcerting to be theorized about, lied on, praised, fawned over, and villified all at the same time by a faceless "public".
Definitely more than I bargained for but I think now that we're here, the discussion is worth having.
Just wanted to add a couple of things I forgot to mention earlier. I have reached out to older Af-Am's who have been ensconced in the movement for change for advice and guidance. I was initially very conflicted about what I was doing. I was able to connect with Henry Louis Gates who gave me suggestions on how to make the site more effective (all of which i implemented) and he told me he believed the site could be a very powerful tool for change as the next "civil rights" movement will come from within the community.
So I welcome all comers who can advise me on promoting change from within as I am young and new and unfamiliar with the players and the bloggers and the BIFM's... :-)
Instead of offering solely criticisms or even congratulations--you see I have a platform, help me make the most of it and make it better.
Thanks for having me...
BTW, I loooooooove black men. :-)
Now normally I don't let people post duplicate posts, but I felt it important to highlight the level of unoriginality and delusion emanating from this person.
I LOVE Black men Too!