So simple
Let me work it
I won’t speak on the mixer or the attendance (or cough cough, lack thereof), but it frustrated me. Maybe I’m just looking in all the wrong places, or I just haven’t figured it out yet but it seems as though there are very few events, social or otherwise geared toward the young 20 something year old black professional. Maybe it’s because we have all just graduated from college and are still figuring things out or we are in grad school or law school or moving across the country, trying to find a job, or just make some cash or maybe we are all just a bit scatter brained in general, but I find it hard to connect with black professionals my own age. But maybe that’s just the way of the world…which reminds me of the show “Being Mary Jane” which premiered last week.
3. making sure she is making the right moves at work to keep her great job while also struggling with sacrificing her career to make time for love, her family, and herself
Welp, lets take a look at the stats.
And the fact of the matter is we are seeing more black faces on TV, and not always in the best light. VH1’s top 5 shows in terms of total viewers, from December 2012 to October 2013 include Love & Hip-Hop: Atlanta, T.I. & Tiny, Marrying The Game, Hit The Floor, and Basketball Wives.
While I’ll admit, I enjoy a good riff between Joseline and Stevie J, “reality TV” doesn’t exactly paint an accurate picture of what really goes on in the average person’s day.
However, in addition, Indiewire author Tambay Obenson hypothesizes that
“shows like Scandal, Orange Is The New Black, Sleepy Hollow, American Horror Story: Coven, and more (including the above 5 programs that are carrying the VH1 network currently, as well as the growth Oprah Winfrey’s OWN network has seen since its own shift in programming a year ago, after an early troubled start) seeing record ratings, which I’ve attributed in part because each of these series feature black actors in starring, or prominent roles this season, and some of them are actually well put together.”
So we are making progress, our faces are out there. I think it’s amazing that we are able to have a show like Scandal that has a black female lead but doesn’t focus on the fact that she is black. It is definitely weaved throughout the story but it’s not overt. “Being black” is not a main plot of the story line, it just… is. However, I really believe we are missing the mark with TV shows depicting “the black experience geared at the 18-24 year old demographic..or even 18-35.
Where oh where are the shows like A Different World, Living Single, or Girlfriends that depict the struggles of trying to get it together as a young, black professional?
There will always be a place for TV shows celebrating and depicting the successful black family like the Cosby show or The Bernie Mac Show, or Everybody Hates Chris or My Wife and Kids but we need a story that focuses on young people that look like us, dealing with the issues we face on the daily.