The Wire

OK, I might be a little late, but my boyfriend and I have been watching The Wire via DVD. It was very interesting. I admit, I like it, a lot. I cannot wait until I have more time to watch more of the show. We only got through season 1, but season 1 is all that you need to keep you coming back. The show is primarily about drug dealers, the drug game, and the narcotics team that are after them. The drug lords in the wire are Black, and this is what really caught my attention. I began to wonder would I have the same interest in this show if they were not Black? Also while watching the show, the Smith-Shomada article we read in week 3 stuck out. I am not quite sure who the director or producer of the show is, but I feel that the show more than likely was targeting the Black audience. The show portrays Black men as trouble makers, liars, drug lords, and manipulators. The Wire premiered on HBO, a fairly mainstream network. I wonder if it made its premier on BET would the hype around The Wire have been the same. BET was criticized about showing Blacks in a not so positive light and for the uplifting of Blacks not being their 1st priority. So why is HBO not criticized for how they have portrayed Blacks. Shows such as The Wire are entertaining and obviously made a profit because it had more than one season. I just do not understand why HBO is not criticized for making a buck while BET is criticized for trying to make the same buck.

The show is every interesting and it gives viewers some sort of insight to the drug game and what is happening on a lot of urban streets. However, my concern is the relationship between the success of the show and the television network. AP

The Evolution of Childhood Cartoons

Every generation can say that cartoons are not the same. When I was younger, I loved the Rugrats, Hey Arnold, Doug, Dexter's Laboratory, PowerPuff Girls, Lambchop, etc. The cartoons now are not the same at all, its like they have a whole new structure. My step- son is 3, and he loves shows like Ni Hao, Kai-Lan, Team Umizoomi, Yo Gabba Gabba, and Go Diego Go. Sometimes he insists that I sit and watch cartoons with him, and while watching, I can not help but think, did my parents feel like this when I made them watch Barney with me. It's amazing how that childhood innocence just magically disappears one day. And it seems that with every generation, there is a new genre of cartoons. Tom & Jerry has a completely different set up than Jimmy Neutron. The ways of targeting to children has evolved. I agree, some cartoons have added more of learning based themes, but i think that there is nothing like the classics (my classics anyway). I guess as the world changes, everything has to adjust. I just wish some things could stay the same.

PS. There is one thing me and my 3 yr old step- son can agree on, Bob Bob (SpongeBob Squarepants. -AP

Osama Bin Laden: Dead or Alive

I find it interestingly scary that Osama Bin Laden is dead. I think it's one of those situations where it is hard to decided what you believe because the media has such a strong influence. In such a patriotic nation, the hegemonic norm would be to be rejoiceful of the capturing and death of a terrorist to America. There is supposed to be some type of relief. However, I do not fully get that feeling. The media tells us that he is dead (no longer an immediate threat). They could either be sending a sincere testimony to America, leaving us in relieve, or a manipulative fantasy to deceive us. This then points attention to the governmental control of the media. We like to think that we run our own lives and think for ourselves, but is that necessarily true. The media has a tremendous influence over us, and if the government has that much control over the media, how are we suppose to think. What exactly is the role of the media, the messages in the media, and us the viewer. What are we being 'sold'?

The Reality in Reality TV

On VH1, there is a reality show called Basketball Wives that just finished their 2nd season. Basketball Wives is primarily about the ex- wives/ ex- girlfriends, with the exception of a few, of current and former NBA players. Throughout the years, VH1's shows has become majority reality shows. Personally, I love it. I think that I have become an addict. However, reflecting on the amount of reality shows I watch, it bothers me that shows such as this are so popular. The element that I think that makes these reality shows so appealing is the level of drama. For example, on this past season of Basketball Wives, the season ended with a fight between the ex- girlfriend of Antoine Walker, Evelyn Lazado and the ex- wife of Kenny Anderson, Tami Roman. The fight was because Tami found out that Evelyn had slept with Kenny Anderson while him and Tami were married. Evelyn told Tami "You were a non- motherf**king factor B***h!" Evelyn got so much publicity for saying that to Tami, and the first thing I heard from people when talking about the show was what Evelyn said to Tami. People loved Evelyn for this. I admit, at first, I found it to be funny and cute at first also, until I realized how something that childish and manipulative the whole situation was. Instead of people showing sympathy toward Tami, who just found out that a woman that she has grown to like and become close to has slept with her husband while they were married. This began to disturb me because I thought of the situation Tami must have been in, and how she felt when Evelyn said that to her. She had to have been hurt. If this is what TV has come to, I am afraid to see what reality shows and TV in general would be like 15 years from now. In the future, I would not want my daughter to see something like this on TV and think it is OK to behave in that way.

I think that I will continue to be a loyal reality show viewer, but I just hope that the direction of reality shows would steer in a more positive direction. Is this possible?

-AP