The Attack on Black T.V.

In case you haven't noticed, there are few quality positive black shows on television. there has never been a large amount of shows geared towards Black Americans and we tend to cherish the one that we had. The number of black show has dwindled drastically, being replaced with more corny sitcoms or dramas or reality shows with the same tired premise. I love to watch television, it's something that relaxes me and allows me to not focus on my own issues but just watch mindless dribble that doesn't require me to think. After a long day at work, using my brain more is not what I want to do...lol. With the onset of the writer's strike last November television executives too that opportunity to cancel Girlfriends. Now you don't have to be a fan of the show and I believe it wasn't as good without Toni, but at least it had strong black characters who were entertaining, although I could do without William. What upsets me is that the CW, the station that aired Girlfriends, back doored us and cancelled the show in the middle of the season with no conclusion to anything. No Joan finally getting hitched. Also there is talk that The Game may be canceled also. When there are on five quality non-offensive black shows on television, losing two of them matters a great deal. We as black people need to support shows that showcase us as smart, talented individuals instead of giving ratings to Flavor of Love and I love New York which only manages to but black women and men in an even worse light than we already were. I don't want to watch BET and Hell Date. i want to see something that at least has some redeeming quality. As long as we continue to watch white shows and not protest when they cancel the black sows we love, then white executives and produces will never allow us to have more than two shows on at a time. It's bad enough that they switch the time and day up on the shows that do still come on with no warning or place them on channels that you never even think to watch. They don't do that with white shows. We are at a great disadvantage in the television industry because not many Black Americans are directors and producers and definitely not writers, which makes it hard to create quality black shows. That's why I admire Tyler Perry for all hat he has accomplished on the bi g screen and on television without compromising his values and believes. He s a very talented man and deserves the Kudos that he receives. Hopefully he really is creating another sitcom, we need it. One of the man problems with creating black shows is that white people don't know how to write in a style that we enjoy, yet that would rather hire white writers to attempt to compose a script for a black show than hire a black person who actually understands the nuances of our culture. Then when the shows they have created fail, they an at least say well at least we tried. When they really didn't try to produce a successful show at all. As long as the airwaves are owned and operated by white America (thanks to the sellout Bob Johnson, even BET is owned by white people...ha), we won't ever have more than 5 black shows worth watching, if we have any at all.