After weeks of controversy, dropped sponsorship and a last minute name change, BET aired the series premiere of “We Got to Do Better,” formerly known as “Hot Ghetto Mess.”
For starters, the show was a hot ghetto mess. The title change made the day before the show, did nothing to save the show from its ignorance. HGM–as I will call it despite the title change and because it is the better abbreviation of the two—takes viewers on a 30-minute ride through the underbelly of society where Ms. Peaches sings about loving chicken neck bones and white bikers blow prophylactics up over their heads. In between these ridiculously ghetto clips, HGM attempts to edify people through a segment called “Hot Ghetto Mess Street Walking.” The HGM street-walker asks random people simple black history questions, but then makes it look like white people have more knowledge–or at least more confidence in it–than most black people.
And so the show proceeds with this mix of ghetto-ocity and edutainment hosted by Charlie Murphy, the brother of Eddie, and another reason not to take the show too seriously.” After wasting 27 minutes of my time, I was stopped dead in my tracks by an animation-skit called “Bid ‘Em In” by Oscar Brown. Brown plays a slave auctioneer selling a black woman into servitude. He captured the slave trade from the Middle Passage to the stage where men and women where sold as chattel and considered nothing but workers and machines of procreation for their owners.
At no point during the show was I able to take a more introspective look at the state of our society until that moment. Watching Brown’s cartoon made me cringe all the more at the fact that we could find no better source of entertainment than to watch each other fall. And that is what “We Got to Do Better” is all about. It’s about watching a nation of people fall for our entertainment without providing a solution. Granted, I don’t even know what the solution is, but I know that it won’t be figured out by airing the dirty laundry without trying to clean it first.
I didn’t laugh during the show, because I was sorely disappointed that BET would consider this a viable form of entertainment. A few weeks ago, I said that BET has risen to the occasion with their latest show, “Baldwin Hills,” but I must say that they have fallen back down the ladder of shame with the advent of “We Got to Do Better.” So before you endeavor to watch this show, I challenge you to ask yourself: Do you want to be part of the problem or part of the solution?
posted July 26, 2007 at 6:06 pm
I thought it was awful and just plan embarrassing. A show that I thought would have some comedic relief was a poor excuse for ignorance. I’ll never watch it again.
posted July 26, 2007 at 7:44 pm
I think HGM will actually be a footnote in history, what is really important is that for the first itme in a long time, Black folks exercised the power of the purse for change.
I am going to mention the show as little as possible going forward, BET should cut me a CHECK! With the salacious title gone, there is little left and the show will die, hopefully, a natural death.
That being said, we’ll be watching in case they lose their minds and put out the stuff that they had planned prior to the protests.
posted July 26, 2007 at 11:23 pm
Look who owns BET. They do not have an vested interest in the community. I have not seen it but I am not surprised. BET has been going in this directions for years.
posted July 27, 2007 at 9:55 am
I will be a part of the solution, and will start by not ever tuning in to HGM…I rarely even turn to BET anymore…they need to take a page out of vh1′s book…HGM need not be BET’s hallmark. But HGM is not the first “HGM” to be aired on BET, it’s just the first with the name…but there have been several other HGM’s on BET for the last few years…I will not cry the day BET goes off the air…
posted July 27, 2007 at 11:07 am
Helllllooo?
Been there.. Done that. Remember Spike Lee’s Bamboozled??
Where was everybody when good ole’ Bob Johnson and spouse sold BET on the slave auction block to Viacom? Yeah they got more money than “god” for ‘their invention’, but dang….they could of sold it to a group of investors ie. FOLKS who would’ve tried to continue the original concept.
I put a parental block on the entire channel at my home. I am embarrased everytime I pass the BET location in Washington DC.
posted July 27, 2007 at 2:43 pm
I personally think that BET has gotten carried away with their shows and previews. We have children that watch BET, and you cannot always monitor what your children watch 24 hours a day. I do not know, if BET is beneficial to watch from time to time. All I know is that too many young people watch BET, and the network can be totally outrageous to view.
posted July 27, 2007 at 4:19 pm
Well who wrote it and offered it up as entertainment?
Viacom does own BET but producers,writers and actors are also responsible for the projects the help to create.Not all feel a responsibility to community and some may still think it’s really funny.
Watch PBS.
posted July 27, 2007 at 4:21 pm
You can tell your kids to watch BET on Sunday. Other networks don’t
do anything for the community either.
posted July 27, 2007 at 5:22 pm
Its very sad me being the age of 17, that i can see this is true ignorance coming from a group or program that claims to be all for the black society and quick to throw up defenses when they feel the WHITE MAN is making a mockery of our race. Now I look at BET as a joke. For them to put up programs like that, dont make them any better than the ones they claim to stand against. They are as ignorant as the ones they try to make their points across to as being a strong black race. But to stand against ignorance by acting ignorant, they make it difficult for the on lookers to tell the difference of whose the ignorant one. BET has just let their guard down. And I dont believe anything they say anymore when it comes to the defense of the black community.
posted July 27, 2007 at 7:23 pm
I haven’t watched it. But I think that the only way that we can get quality entertainment is if BET follows the rule of not airing anything that would a black viewer would be embarrassed about if someone of another ethnicity was in the room. What IS wrong with BET these days? I mean, the music videos are one thing..but must they go above and beyond to make us look like fools?
posted July 28, 2007 at 8:09 am
Ithink that everyone has taken hgm out of context. It supposed to be funny and if people weren’t ignorant enough to do some of the things that they do (like condoms on the head) then we wouldn’t have anything to make fun of them about. They are not just making fun of black people they include all races. Face it america we are not a country of perfect people even though we would like to think that we are.
YEAH,we screw up and yes we do need to do better and yes this whole world is one HOT GHETTO MESS!!!!!
posted July 28, 2007 at 7:42 pm
It’s too bad that BET programming can’t embrace a broader vision for our people. Perhaps it reflects this new president of programming Reggie Hudlin. It might be worth it to reevaluate the direction which is somewhat of a flagship into the cable community. Hopefully BET, and Mr. Hudlin will take this message from the greater percantage of viewers that we want better programming. Something that we’d sure like to see come from BET.
posted July 28, 2007 at 11:13 pm
I guess HGM was being aired for the black ignorant people of our race who would backstab their brother or sister with their sometimes house slave mentality.
I havent watched this program HGM and based on the majority of comments, it would have been just another one of these network shows that is a waste of TV air time. (just like Bobby Brown and that other idiot show with Flavor Flav).
I guess I should ask? What age group was this show geared for? Here we have, supposedly, one black major network and everytime I turn it on late at night I see booties shaking as if they just walked off of Times Square.
Ever since they took Tavis Smiley off the time slot I use to watch, BET has nothing to offer me anymore. The only thing worth watching was Comic View or Gospel but then that might have been hypocritical too.
I grew up during the era when I had to wait for Saturday to watch any animation programs,when the FCC was more stringent on what was shown on the air. (Just to give you an idea of my age range). It just goes to show you as a people offline we still put the ignorance in the driving seat online. They might as well run Amos and Andy or StepinFetch shows if this is what their programming staff is all about. Yeah Right!!!! What they should show for comedy is re-runs of Richard Pryor, Flip Wilson, Redd Fox and more.
Not even on the regular networks can anyone come up with any positive creative brand spanking new ideas. Even these reality shows with people trying to survive was a shake my head gesture. I hope we get it right soon because we’ve had plenty of time since Martin Luther King passed.
posted July 30, 2007 at 3:39 pm
THE THING THAT TRUELY PISSED ME OFF IS THE FACT THAT THEY HAVE A BLACK MAN HOSTING THIS VERY IGNORANT SHOW. I STILL CAN’T BELIEVE THAT THIS STUPID SHOW AIRED AT ALL. I WAS WATCHING THE SHOW WITH MY SON, HE’S ONLY 12YR OLD, AND HE SAID THAT HE FELT REALLY EMBARRASSED TO WATCH IT. BUT IT WILL NEVER BE SEEN IN MY HOUSEHOLD AGAIN. THAT WAS TOO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!
posted July 30, 2007 at 8:28 pm
It wasn’t funny! It was an embarrassment to everyone in the room. Although Charlie Murphy’s getting paid to host the show, it appears as if he’s uncomfortable hosting it. I’m sure BET can find something better to air. I agree with the comment posted by J. Hutchinson, show re-runs of Flip Wilson, anything else but that mess.
posted July 31, 2007 at 12:03 am
this post was funny as hell: http://averagebro.blogspot.com/2007/07/better-programming-dont-bet-on-it.html