G's to Gents - Perpetuating Racial Stereotypes

Has anyone else seen this show? It's basically trying to take a bunch of guys who think they're pretty hood and trying to make them into gentleman who dress, walk, talk, and act like an Ask Andy'ites. The host is Farnsworth Bentley, a pretty articulate, intelligent, and well-dressed guy who's trying to mold these guys into little mini-me's This show is really promoting some horrible stereotypes and making hip-hop in general look retarded though. I watched a few minutes of an episode where he wanted these guys to mingle with his Japanese "business partners" (which were pretty obviously bad actors.) It went something like this: "Japanese Guy: I am Mr Yamamoto Contestant: Nice to meet you. I'm Shotta, that's E6, and beside him is D-Boy." If you're not a rapper or in a street-gang, just use your government name. How long did it take them to find a contestant this dumb (he's homeless and lives in his car.... a mercedes) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5zBHP7JF0M There are alot of dumb reality shows, but this really stepped it up. I can't remember the last tv show that promoted as many negative racial stereotypes as this.

I know there are white contestants on the show as well, but I doubt its young white males as a whole that are going to have their image tarnished by shows like this. I know people who see shows like this and get nervous around young black men whenever they see them because they've been conditioned to think this is what they're all like. They actually found a black homeless guy with a bunch of tats living in a mercedes-benz who calls himself Shotta! According to MTV he's a hustler from Brooklyn incapable of holding down a real job, and purchased a Mercedes before he blew it all. I mean..... c'mon!!! The second worst offender on television has to be The Flavour of Love. It depicts Flavour Flav as a washed up rapping, dead-beat dad, and an over-sexed party animal chasing women (mostly black) who are portrayed as gold-digging ho's. I guess 1 or 2 TV shows by themselves aren't the problem, but the problem is that shows like this are becoming the most predominant depictions of black people in the media. They're basically parading around these dyfunctional people which live down to every negative stereotype of black people out there. I don't remember seeing black people portrayed like this in the media 15 years ago. I remember seeing shows like Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Family Matters which portrayed functional black families with goals and aspirations beyond being a rapper or basketball player. This seems to be becoming rarer and rarer as time goes on. I'm not black, but I still find it disturbing.

The problem is people may start to think that all black people are that way. The difference most people are not mistrustful of 16-year-old rich white girls to begin with. I'm not so concerned with the impression that people will form if they work and live alongside black people. At least those people will have some reality to balance out this caricature. But in many parts, people have little if any interaction with people of other races beyond what they see in the media. If someone has any misgivings about black people, these shows only provide the "proof" that they're looking for to confirm all their suspicions. It's unfortunate that these stereotypes have become a cultural frame of reference of what a black-man should be like. I work with a number of Africans at my firm who have recently immigrated, and they're horrified at the way they're portrayed on TV. They are highly educated professionals, who speak properly, who don't even understand this slang, who don't have tattoos, earrings, or chains, who don't dress like aspiring rappers, who aren't irresponsibly extravagant spenders, and are dedicated family men. Based on the depictions of black people in the media, I think there would be some people who would be genuinely surprised that such a person could exist in this day and age. It's not so worrisome to me that a few people get lampooned on TV, I guess its more worrisome when those same people become the standard depiction of what an entire race is like. There are lots of shows that look past the stereotypes like Everybody Hates Chris which is great. But it seems to me that shows like Flavour of Love, G's to Gents, etc. portraying black people as buffoons seem to totally overpower the effects of shows like ER which portray black people as contributing members of society.