Good Morning of my lovely Friends of M2, Its a cool but sunny day in Philly, I think I'm in the mood for a Philly cheese steak sandwich, If you live here or the surrounding areas of Philly , you know the craving well.....riiigghht!. Okay let's get right into a question I was burning to ask, I think this is one I haven't talked about, here we go, when you think of television today what comes to mind? Reality TV, game shows, dramas, shockers, and more. Have you ever channel surf on your cable network, you see a culture of people have maintained there own specific channel network. I give you an example, when you turn to BBC channel it's set from those from Britain & sometimes Eastern European demographics, When you turn to B.E.T. we all know that set for black viewers even though I have white & Latina friends that watch B.E.T., but you get my drift. When you turn to Univision, that's for the Latin viewers, I can't deny I love the Latin soaps, so much drama check them out. Then when you turn to majority of FOX, ABC, NBC, CBS, CW & so on it's mainly for anyone but the redlines demographics usually my white audiences. So the question I bring forth is well if its racist to have a channel that's gear towards a culture of people. Is it racist to have a network that caters to a minority or majority of people? Or its it ok to have a certain network for a culture of people? My take is just like Lifetime network which in my opinion gears towards women dramas & reality TV , I'm a man sometimes I may view a show it. Just like Bravo channel gears towards more reality TV. I dislike Bravo shows due to some of the reality TV make women, black women, rich snobs & god knows who else look like fools on TV for ratings. So do you support cultural networks or do you think its On screen separatism? are you a loyal viewer of a cultural network or you think TV should be like a one big huge Fruitopia & lump all culture shows together in mainstream TV? Let's have it...let's share thoughts.

EyeAmYourHost39,

Once again I'm set this off first, well my take is I support cultural TV for many reasons. I want to think that cultural networks help others to bring people closer together. When someone watches BET, and they may not be black, but they watch to see our point of view on situations, and don't get me wrong, every once in a while you get some ignorance that the world we live in but if I watch Univision's Latina soaps, I may know little of the language but one thing stands out is scenarios give me the understanding. If I watch let's say E network, a show like " Keeping Up With The Kardashians" which demographs the young audience I'm opening my horizon to want to relate to my teens more. It's actually bringing the generations together. Where I dislike is the foolishness with exploiting woman, Gays, & constant cat & dog fights, the profanity, & the partial nudity, along with certain words know are accepted in TV language. like the S-word isn't censored anymore. Ripping a girls top of during a fight isn't Rated R anymore. Using analogy like" That's so gay" isn't offensive anymore. The none sense is my beef. I'm no rated G watcher but when a network exposes too much to our kids its not something I support.

I support cultural television because I dont believe you can avoid it. Television is largely about sponsorship and sponsors largely rely on specific demographics, so those stations are expected to market to those same demographics.


We started with three channels, mostly marketed to middle class white two parent homes. But now that there are hundreds if not thousands of channels, why not have some of them market to some of the other, previously excuded demographics?

Ms. Harmony,

Hey You, I totally agree. TV today is more but with that more its okay to have ones own network. Take the Oscars for example, we all know that majority of nominees & winners are catered to white celebrities & viewers. So we came up with the BET awards, Hip Hop Awards, Soul Train Awards, & a few others not to excluded non blacks but to also pay homage to black artist & entertainers who deserve a award for good work. Like the Country Music Awards, that not to exclude people like me that love hip hop, but it again pays homage to county artist who does great things. So the moral thing is there's always a market for everyone.

no your tv is not racist.

But it could be racist to expect all stations to appeal to all groups and not allow for diversity.

SimplyCompliated,

Hello Young Fellow, well I'm glad my tv not racist but you right, its only if you don't include diversity. My Simply, may I ask you this, do you ever viewed a cultural station , and if so what was the show named? Share my good man.

EyeAmYourHost39,

People let's remember TV gone a long way, remember the early years of the Negro Minstrels where the only roles we were cast was playing maids, slaves, or song & dance routines. Now we owning network like my girl Oprah. Television is a tool to use to entertain of all sorts. when you have " The Executives" calling the shots in Hollywood and you have people that really don't care for the music or film but worrying if they be able to cash in on there investment in entertainment, well we have to expect the Bull-Itsh.....

not a series, but there was a movie called White Mans Burden years ago in which everything was switched and blacks were the upper financial class and whites the lower financial class,,,,it starred John Travolta as a character mistaken as a 'threat' while doing his job and how is life is ruined after a run in with cops and losing everything from that point as a result(job, security,,etc,,etc,,etc,,)

my host
Even though I was born and raised in NewZealand my 41 years in oz has me more inclined to watch aboriginal stations than moari tv.
Having said that my viewing habits involve a lot of channel surfing looking for things to amuse and educate me.
I dare say one of my favourite shows "The big bang Theory" indicates my love of culture within culture

I watch both commercial and subsidised tv along with youtube and Tedtalks with no paid subscriptions.

Has there ever been a reverse black and white minstrel show? With blacks playing the part of whites

SimpyComplicated,

Well you bring up a great point about minstrel movies on blacks & whites. I don't think people realized buffoonery movies not just black s played but white minstrels exists. One thing we have to recognize in TV today its an oversized idiot box....am I'm wrong? I dig all TV, Latina, Country station, BET, Vh1, Lifetime and many more. I do believe that us parents should monitor your children's TV.

Netflix and winning the war against commercial interruption.

Although, I can see some future problems with this medium, and with things like binge watching.

You ever watch star wars and realize there are so many stories kinda compacted? And as it progresses one particular is drawn out?
Like there's *****, and how luke came to be with his uncle, and who builds xwings and who builds tie fighters, and all the people going to the mos eisley place, and who built r2d2 and why is he so aware rather than just a programmed robot like c3po, and lukes womprat adventures, where did han come from, who is chewie, whats the real story of obi wan, what was he like as a kid, what's leia been doing this whole time, how did the contractors for the death star win their bid.

So many things compacted together you have to just accept, and a story that only works if you don't think about it too much.

But with t.v. today, netflix series, they'll take what is ultimately a boring story, like "luke shoots wamprats," and drag it out over 50 minutes, and 12 episodes, throwing in a bunch of meaningless and pointless drama that really doesn't serve the story.

Like sex scenes. Have you noticed so many drama series lead off with someone getting laid, and tend to stick with it, trying to be as explicit as possible? But it serves no purpose. It has no bearing on the story that they did doggystyle for 3 minutes.
And sometimes they'll never have sex again.

Instead of a character being all "Hi, I'm gay," and then just relying on their gay oriented relationships and interactions it's "here's 30 minutes of guys or gals doing each other...we really want you to know they're gay" and then focus on their gay oriented relationships and interactions.

And in many cases they present a character that in the story is having problems. Kinda listless, dispassionate, looking for purpose, despondent, stressed, angsty, angry, insecure. Yet all of a sudden they turn into these passionate people completely at odds with their character at all other times.

So that's what I think about in regards to t.v. today and what comes to mind.
People creating 10 minute movies, and then dragging them out for a season, throwing in sex, pointless drivel, and character confusion as filler.
Shifting on a whim between story driven characters and character driven stories.

It's not art anymore, there's no art in it, there's not even an attempt.
By art I mean "I have something to say! I have an important observation about people, places, and things, these are the people and this is the medium I'm choosing to express that!"

Now it's mostly "here's some opiates for the masses...and with online streaming we can just cut that stuff with water and baking soda to increase profits."


I don't have cable.
Seems a waste of money.
Especially since internet service by itself is almost (if not more so, depending on where you live) as expensive and most of the shows on cable are available on the internet.


Not really.
Maybe if before every show they presented a placard that read something like "no haitians or asians are allowed to watch this show. There's nothing graphic, you're just not good enough."
Or if every show they put on the air did nothing but denigrate other races. "on the next saved by the bell, slater is deported, kelly becomes the janitor, and the gang learns the joys of crossburning and sewing hoods in home ec. Tune in Tuesday at 8, right after COPS: Immigration Patrol, and, worlds worst police chases bad asian and female drivers. And don't forget Tuesdays documentary on why women should not be allowed in government."
I would consider that channel kinda racist.


Sure.
No one has to watch it, and it doesn't present an undue hardship to not watch it. A culture of people may not even like what's on the network.
Personally, IMO, as long as it's not subsidized by the government, I wouldn't really care if there was a ms13 channel, black panther, or white power network.


I support what entertains me.
Voting with my dollars empowers me more than actual voting.


I support any natural occurring separatism. On or offscreen.
If people want to create their own koreatown, or chinatown, or little russia, or the gay area, I don't really care.
I just don't support government mandated and enforced diversity or desegregation, or people that desegregate or diversify just for the sake of desegregating or diversifying, without any real purpose except to make themselves feel good.
I also believe the only immigrants allowed citizenship should be those with special skills, and there should be at least a 50% tax on private individuals remitting money to private individuals in other countries. ...I think I went way off topic there.


I'm a loyal viewer of netflix for as long as the price is less than $10 a month and I can find something to watch or listen to.


I think tv should be treated like all other private enterprises, to live or die on its own merits and be able to give people what they want and let consumer habits, needs, and wants dictate how providers operate.
I would have preferred to have it all individually marketed, purchase or rentable, rather than have this "t.v. makes money from advertising, and only as much as the number of people it can attract, while cable makes its money by gouging people directly for the privilege to be sold to advertising companies" system in place.


I thought this was kind of amusing.
It reminds me of going to clubs when younger and seeing the 40 year old guy with the t-shirt "this isn't a beer belly, it's the fuel tank to my sex machine!"
Or seeing the 40 year old woman in a miniskirt, 10 inch heels, 6 lbs of makeup, talking like a valley girl.
They could all say they were "bringing the generations together" by participating in things the younger generation enjoys.

...I don't think it's really bringing the generations together.
Although, I think the more older generations start enjoying what the younger generations do, the more the younger generations look for new things to get away from them. e.g. myspace. That can lead to innovation.


I find it funny when gay men are hired to play straight actors.
Or effeminate men are hired to play tough guy action roles.
Or super straight men are hired to play gay roles.
Or transgender people hired to play transgender roles but can't act worth a damn, and they were hired solely because they were transgender.
Ruins the story, the willing suspension of disbelief, but it's still fun to watch.

Ms. Harmony,

hey mommy, well I think you so on point with the entertainment biz. I also think cultural tv is needed. but we don't want to exclude anybody that may view it...

exactly, we have too many 'types' to truly represent everyone in all programming


which is one good thing about cable, because underrepresented groups CAN create networks or shows that give them at least SOME representation as well,,

My TV is not racist but it sure the hell lies to me a lot.

BreakingGood,

Hey welcome to my cyber place of residence, well I have to say I kind of agree with you. TV is false media....do we really need it?

Ciretom,

My good friend of M2, let me ask you this, have you ever watched the fox hit show " Empire"? if you did then you know the actor Juss Smollett which in real life is straight but he plays Luscious Gay son Jamal, since you brought up transgender acting, well do you think they should use a real Gay guy for that role? Would it be more convincing if a real gay guy was chosen?