B.E.T. (the T.V. Channel), Wrong?

[rpkc4]

looking at the forums, i see the theme of the day is blacks and stereotypes. somewhat on this topic, i wanna discuss the programming of B.E.T.

Doesn't it seem very contradictory for B.E.T. to have a gospel Sunday, but for every other one, continually show music videos and interview people that do not embrace a Gospel lifestyle. I'm not saying these ppl are not capable of having religion, but what they promote is contradictory to much of what is preached by the pastor's on the same network.

At the B.E.T. awards, it seemed very odd to have a gospel performance followed by some song talking about pimping.

Then on top of that, they call the entire thing B.E.T. , which i would assume, would further stereotype blacks as thugs.

No, as you can tell, im not black, but curious as what to everyone thinks none the less.

[tomndebb]

You may notice that the network is known as B.E.T., with the middle E standing for Entertainment. Some of their audience is attracted to religious shows and some of their audience is attracted to irreligious shows (and there are probably a fair number of people who enjoy both).

B.E.T. is simply making money by providing a service to a potential audience that has as one element (out of many) a certain common cultural background.

They are not a religious group; they are a capitalist group.
They are not seeking to exclude any particular viewers; they are seeking to focus on a specific (but not monolithic) niche market for advertisers.

Their choice of offerings is no more contradictory than Disney making children's movies and also R rated action films.

[tomndebb]

BTW, I found this comment confusing:

which i would assume, would further stereotype blacks as thugs.

How does showing Gospel music shows or preaching stereotype anyone as thugs?

[monstro]

I'm not saying these ppl are not capable of having religion

Who is "these people"?

Personally, I only watch BET for the 11:00 news. Sometimes they'll also play a good movie occassionally. I don't watch the gospel or the other stuff.

There's only one national channel that 1) plays the latest R&B/hip-hop videos (that MTV doesn't air) and 2)broadcasts contemporary "black folk" church. You may not think the two go together, but their coexistence will continue as long as BET is the only horse in town.

[leenmi]

rpkc4,

BET is just one channel. It's not representative of the whole community. In fact, most of the people I've heard talk about BET are embarrassed by or scornful of it.

And watching BET for the news is like reading Playboy for the articles. Who you trying to kid?

[rpkc4]

i realize they are a business just like Disney is...btw, who says what they do is ethical either... but BET is more blatant about it.

...and i know it doesn't represent the entire group. That's my point! In response to Tomndebb, i was talking more about the other whatever percent (the majority) of the programming that isn't news or gospel; mainly the music videos, that to many, further stereotype blacks as thugs.

Maybe there should be different channels as monstro said.

[rpkc4]

P.S. "these people" refer to music artists who display a lifestyle contradictory to a religious one.

[tomndebb]

Maybe there should be different channels as monstro said.

Possibly. However, it does tend to be a niche market (even though it is not a uniform audience, even within that niche). The most likely explanation for the apparent discrepancies is that they can only find a limited amount of audience or sponsorship for any given subgenre. All gansta all day would probably not find enough 24 hour audience to stay in business. Similarly, all Gospel all day would probably not find a 24 hour audience. They need to find people who can fund the production of such shows in order to bring in the audience and recoup the expense. (Why do you think that BET was the easiest place to find Bonanza for several years? I doubt that there is a huge black audience drooling over Li'l Joe or Hoss, but it could be purchased cheaply and broadcast in periods of low viewership just to keep the signal going when there was little hope of revenue.)

If you need "ethical" programming, I'm afraid you'll have to stick with the various religious networks (although I have my own observations regarding the morality of some of their output).

[syncrolecyne]

Doesn't a typical local independent broadcast station have Sunday morning religious programming, after school children's shows, and (for many Christians) 'risqué' programming such as "Will and Grace" or "NYPD Blue", and then "Girls Gone Wild" type commercials all night? What makes B.E.T. all that different?

If the channel marketed itself as "Christian" and showed religious programming most of the day, and then had an hour of 'pimpin' videos - then I could see the outrage. Anyway, I think many religious shows are actually 'paid programming', and not all too different from infomercials.

[rpkc4]

i suppose they are not all that different from networks and their affiliates... but everyone knows networks are pure evil. but what rubbed me the wrong way was the B.E.T. awards...to share the same stage. witnessing? i dont think so.

[SunTzu2U]

I was forced to watch about 15 minutes of BET once. After that I think I lost about 25 IQ points. Hopefully the damage wasn't permanent.