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Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Basketball Baby Mamas

You all know that I hate reality shows. I hate them because I think that they're either scripted and / or the drama is manufactured. Although I can understand the allure to these shows, since Americans love train wrecks, I also get frustrated when someone passes one of these shows off as "positive" or "real."

This is what Shaunie O'Neal did in a recent interview with CNN discussing her garbage of a show, Basketball Wives. Here's a quote from it: "I do believe some of the shows featuring African-American women have positive story lines and are not meant to tear black women down. Shows like Tiny & Toya and Monica: Still Standing, LisaRaye: The Real McCoy, What Chili Wants and The Braxtons."

I won't comment on any of those shows because I've never watched an entire episode of either. Well, I did watch 10 minutes of Tiny and Toya and I thought my SAP (Secondary Audio Programming) was on because I don't think they speak English.

But, I did watch the first three episodes of the first season of Basketball Baby Mamas. Now, the reason I call it that is because I think only one of them is even married to an NBA player. They are either long-term girlfriends/baby mamas or ex-girlfriends/baby mamas. How any of that is "positive" is beyond me. I thought the show would actually represent some behind the scenes look at the NBA, but it's quite the contrary.

The show promotes this glamorous lifestyle of women who want to be socialites and the amount of self-inflicted drama on this show is worse than any episode of Maury Povich. For O'Neal to say that she wants the show to be powerful and uplifting to black women is like me saying I want Family Guy to be a tool of learning for children. BBW's promotes fighting, cursing, backstabbing and materialistic things. They leach off of their baby daddies (most who are not even recognizable players in the league anyway) and they basically remind the world that a-holes come in female forms, too.

I used to wonder if people who watch the show only do so for entertainment. I no longer think that about most people after hearing over-30 somethings talking about the show as if they're talking about their neighbors. They believe it so much that it's as if they know the ladies on the show. They are that much invested in something that doesn't represent anything legitimate about how people are supposed to interact with society.

Now, check out another previous quote from Shaunie in an interview from Sister 2 Sister magazine:

"And, I had some other original choices that just didn’t work out after we got a mini kind of casting reel of them. It was like, eh, not so exciting anymore. It was one wife I talked to, she said, “All I do is take my kids to school and pick ‘em up and cook dinner and have it here and go to the game.” Well, that’s not going to work for TV."

Sadly, this hypocrite is absolutely right. We only want to see drama. We thrive off of it. That's why this Casey Anthony trial has blown up like crazy. The media has pushed it on us so much for so long that people exploded emotionally when the verdicts came down. Mission accomplished.

So, how do we reverse this trend? How do we keep our kids from thinking that this is the way to live? How do we disprove that fighting, pouting and seeking materialistic things is what life is about?

Just like Shaunie said, if you put a nice, respectable person on TV, who's gonna watch that?

7 comments:

  1. Reading this post, I had "Golddigger" playing in my head.

    "I know somebody paying child support for one of his kids

    His baby mamma's car and crib is bigger than his

    You will see him on TV any given Sunday

    Win the Superbowl and drive off in a Hyundai

    She was suppose to buy you shorty TYCO with your money

    She went to the doctor got lypo with your money

    She walking around looking like Michael with your money

    Should of got that insured got GEICO for your money"

    I watched one episode and had to turn it off. These are the types of girls who poke holes in condoms, in hopes of "getting a big break" and scoring a big Support check...

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  2. Once again, a wonderful post! I do not like "reality" TV for the same reason you mentioned - it's not reality, it's MUD: Made Up Drama. If I'm interested in having an abundance of drama in my life, I can attend a family reunion, I don't need to watch it on TV.

    I can only hope these reality TV shows go away soon. I don't think that will happen, but they are so ridiculous and honestly, what more is left to be done? We've seen it all starting with The Real World in the 90s and moving right on up to The Apprentice and Basketball Bitches or whatever this show is called. Enough already!

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    Replies
    1. 10 years later and the M.U.D. is worse than ever, right, Lawfrog? I hope that you're doing well!

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  3. Q, I thought the same thing about the "wives" part. Only (1) is actually married to one at the time the show aired. All these shows actually do is hype up their twitter page for the 15 minutes they are allowed. I do watch this show and they are just as ghetto. If they acted with class, then their show might not be included in that category, but it is what it is..entertainment.

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  4. @ LiI - "Big break?" I like that!
    @ Lawfrog - Maybe you should film some of your reunions and make some cash! :) Also, you may be able to make some money off of coining the term "MUD" as well. LOL! I like that!
    @ Sonia - I think they should be labeled as "dramas" more so than "reality shows." There's nothing real about this stuff. The person who is the biggest jerk makes the biggest splash in the headlines. So, all of them attempt to out do one another by acting a first class donkey. Like Shaunie said, no one wants to see someone who is a good spouse.

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  5. I can't imagine tuning in to even see what this program is about... But if there are beautiful women bitching one another out, Americans will tune in by the millions.
    I think a show like Hawthorne (despite all the over-the-top fictional drama involved) is a better role model example than anything that would involve slang-slinging opportunists and publicity hounds.
    There is a market for a quality show featuring a strong, independent black family or single black professional woman, but Madison Avenue would rather not finance the writers, actors, directors, producers, and pay all the set fees and deal with the assorted headaches of a series when all they have to do is bring together loud, vulgar, emotionally stunted people for a reality show. We get what we deserve when we watch this horseshit.
    We DVR the shows we like, ignore the rest of it like herpes... Two hundred channels of non-stop shit, 'round the clock.

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  6. @Squatlo - it is a dream come true for networks. Cheap labor for shows is right up their alley. These reality "stars" don't make more than $10-$15,000 per episode for the most part. When you consider what Charlie Sheen was making, that's a serious bargain.

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