@BowtiePrincipal Dr. Mike Robinson: What does the purchase of BET and VH-1 by Tyler Perry mean for the TV/Media landscape?
Dr. Rashid Faisal: For the first time in 21 years, BET is Black owned again, and for the first time ever VH1 is now black owned! This is headline news we will see when we Google Tyler Perry’s historic move to bring BET back to Black ownership. Congratulations to Tyler Perry on what popular culture defines as a “Boss Move.”
But wait. We’ve seen “Boss Moves” before at BET. Black ownership is no guarantee the content will reflect positively on Black people. In addition, Black ownership is no guarantee that Black creatives will have the space to create positive Black content. In other words, All Black ownership isn’t good Black ownership. Remember “Black-ownership” at BET once meant violent and sexually graphic music videos which helped to spread the “foul mouth thug” image for Black men, and the “half-naked whore” image for Black women. Black media ownership that reinforces and spread racist stereotypes about Black people is not the type of Black media ownership we need.
Will billionaire Tyler Perry’s acquisition of BET translate into what some Black viewers call the “Madea Minstrel Show” or programing heavy on characterizing Black people as buffoonish clowns. Or, will Black ownership provide a platform to employ Black creatives to write stories that actually empower the Black image in the media by sharing news and programs that actually educate Black and non-Black viewers on the positive dimensions of Black life and culture. Time will tell if Perry’s Purchase will translate into highlighting more than one dimensional characterizations of Black people.
BIO
Dr. Rashid Rashid Faisal serves as Associate Professor and Department Chair at the College of Urban Education, Davenport University. He also has appointments at the University of College of Education, Health, and Human Services at the University of Michigan-Dearborn where he serves as Principal-Internship Supervisor and Adjunct professor; and an appointment at Teachers College of Columbia University where he serves as Principal-Internship Coach. Dr. Faisal is currently finalizing his upcoming book “Pedagogy of Belonging: Morehouse College and the Building of a Positive Black Male Image.”
Dr. Rashid Faisal: For the first time in 21 years, BET is Black owned again, and for the first time ever VH1 is now black owned! This is headline news we will see when we Google Tyler Perry’s historic move to bring BET back to Black ownership. Congratulations to Tyler Perry on what popular culture defines as a “Boss Move.”
But wait. We’ve seen “Boss Moves” before at BET. Black ownership is no guarantee the content will reflect positively on Black people. In addition, Black ownership is no guarantee that Black creatives will have the space to create positive Black content. In other words, All Black ownership isn’t good Black ownership. Remember “Black-ownership” at BET once meant violent and sexually graphic music videos which helped to spread the “foul mouth thug” image for Black men, and the “half-naked whore” image for Black women. Black media ownership that reinforces and spread racist stereotypes about Black people is not the type of Black media ownership we need.
Will billionaire Tyler Perry’s acquisition of BET translate into what some Black viewers call the “Madea Minstrel Show” or programing heavy on characterizing Black people as buffoonish clowns. Or, will Black ownership provide a platform to employ Black creatives to write stories that actually empower the Black image in the media by sharing news and programs that actually educate Black and non-Black viewers on the positive dimensions of Black life and culture. Time will tell if Perry’s Purchase will translate into highlighting more than one dimensional characterizations of Black people.
BIO
Dr. Rashid Rashid Faisal serves as Associate Professor and Department Chair at the College of Urban Education, Davenport University. He also has appointments at the University of College of Education, Health, and Human Services at the University of Michigan-Dearborn where he serves as Principal-Internship Supervisor and Adjunct professor; and an appointment at Teachers College of Columbia University where he serves as Principal-Internship Coach. Dr. Faisal is currently finalizing his upcoming book “Pedagogy of Belonging: Morehouse College and the Building of a Positive Black Male Image.”