Volume I No. 16
 09-13-02
 The Wire
 { HBO, Blacks, Baltimore, And Other Things }
 author: Vance Cureton
 © Copyright 2002

 The cable network HBO has done it again. HBO has introduced 
 to America another very slick, first-rate production, featuring black 
 thugs, black drug dealers, and hapless black victims, of say...life 
 and all its hardships. The just completed 13 part series "The Wire" 
 was engrossing television. { If you could get past the extremely
 explicit and profane language } A better  production than the also 
 competent and similarly-themed "Street Time," which has also
 just completed its own run on rival network Showtime.

 But, what has HBO wrought? Am, I a hypocrite in stating that I 
 am weary of these kind of shows, no matter how well done they 
 are, that feature African-Americans as some kind of colorful 
 { in a negative sense } underclass. Violent. Hostile to all non-Blacks. 
 Anti-intellectual. Able to survive by virtue of street wits, instead 
 of through education, and doing things the correct way. A colorful 
 underclass that...no different than the Sopranos, make for "must see"
 television. But whom you would never, in your most chilling night-
 mare, want anywhere near your neighborhood, let alone living next 
 door to you.

 Wasn't it only two years or so ago, that HBO brought to our 
 television screens, the equally as engrossing "The Corner." A 
 shorter series than "The Wire," which also featured African-Americans 
 absorbed into the hard life of the drug-addicted, perpetually 
 under-educated, and unemployable. The same underclass that 
 "The Wire" leaned so heavily upon. What is going on here?

 Both "The Wire" and "The Corner" were good programs in the 
 technical sense. Slick. Exhilarating. A thrill every minute. No one can 
 deny that. In fact, some of the acting and directing were Emmy 
 quality. But, the success on the theatrical side of the equation 
 is not enough to balance the damaging image of African-Americans 
 portrayed yet again, as nothing more than drug dealers, thieves, 
 and low-lifes. And ponder for a moment, how many people in the 
 U.S.A have never had a black neighbor, or a black co-worker. Let 
 alone the viewers overseas, where these type of programs may be 
 exported. 

 And what people see on television. -- They believe.

 Yes, some of the drug dealers, street thugs, crackheads, and 
 prostitutes were shown to be noble characters with a conscious,
 having hearts of gold, betrayed by life's circumstance. And there 
 were black professionals on both shows in significant roles. But,
 the core of both HBO programs was the drug trade, and the underclass 
 of hardened people who must cope with that trade's community
 destroying effects.

 There is so much more to Black life in America than what these 
 cable productions represent. Baltimore, the city that curiously 
 was the location of both programs, has a rich Black heritage. 
 The name of culturally significant African-Americans who have 
 contributed to the building of that city, or who have made 
 Baltimore their life's residence is too extensive to list. So, I won't 
 attempt it here.

 And Black Baltimoreans are only a part of the story. Many 
 Baltimoreans of Italian and German heritage have for generations 
 raised families in the city, and created diverse communities of 
 fine shops, bakeries, and businesses of all kinds. But in the two 
 HBO productions these wonderful features of the city were 
 hardly seen at all. There is so much more to Baltimore, Maryland 
 than as a backdrop to crime and murder. Baltimore has an attractive
 downtown and unique innercity harbor area with its own distinct
 personality.

 The city is being betrayed and maligned by its portrayal on HBO.

 Television is a medium fueled by ratings. And cable networks have 
 shown they will go to great lengths to give the public - what they 
 think - the public wants. But where is the cultural responsibility? 
 The higher calling that the public should be served. And not taken
 for granted as too indifferent to care. Will the mobster series 
 "The Sopranos," ever be balanced by other productions featuring 
 morally upright Italians who don't murder, rape, and exploit the 
 people in their own communities? It is doubtful that HBO gives a 
 damn. They have a hit show that America loves. That's all that 
 matters to them.

 Controversy sells. Immorality sells. Moral ambiguity sells. And 
 admittedly, people want to sample on television -- and especially 
 cable television -- those things that they might never come near
 in real life. "G-String Divas." "Real Sex." "Whores At The Point." 
 One can't forget to add the popular "Sex In The City," as well. 
 And believe it, that not only liberals or the open-minded view these 
 tawdry programs. A lot of conservatives sneak in for a look.

 Of course they do.

 This is HBO's realm.

 The land of the hypocrite.

 So be it. And I count myself amongst the weak.

 But there is a need for a better sense of cultural sensitivity from 
 those educated blue suits that run HBO and the other cable and 
 broadcast networks. A better cultural balance is a necessity. Why 
 do these executives give us the same thing over and over, again?

 Why do they defile the Black community. The Italians. And others.

 There are enough "colorful" African-Americans, of a respectable
 sort, dead and living, in any American city, not just Baltimore, to 
 create entertaining mini-series that would more than hold the 
 viewers attention. How about past African-American war heroes, 
 restauranteers, writers, musicians, inventors, the list goes on,
 and on. And although many of these types may not have been 
 perfect as individuals, America at large, doesn't know them. Has 
 never acknowledged their contributions to this nation. These kind 
 of dramatized biographies would present a broader sense of the 
 entirety of a people. Or of a class of people.

 Are sociopathic criminals living large from the drug trade the 
 only blacks the viewers out there in tv-land really want to see? 
 Oh, but that sounds like too much work. The search for a better 
 place to start. And work equals man-hours. Which means more 
 money having to be spent. And would the young watch? The 
 18 to 34 year olds the advertisers care so much about.

 What a conundrum.

 So is there any doubt that American television will continue to 
 be plagued by a scourge of shady black thugs in baggy pants, 
 and swaggering, foul-mouthed, Gucci-wearing, mobsters.

 It is a shame.
 

 ReadingPost.Com
 © Copyright 2002

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