MTV's Racist Programming Contradicts Its Theme of Tolerance
By: Amanda Kiser, The Battalion (Texas A&M)
November 28, 2006 3:15 PM

(U-WIRE) COLLEGE STATION, Texas - MTV is having a serious identity crisis. In its efforts to stay hip and appealing to its target audience, the network's programming and principles have expanded into dramatically different and frequently contradictory categories: low-brow entertainment and socially relevant content that aims to mobilize viewers to action.

While features like "Think MTV" and its Web site attempt to align the network with progressive ideas such as fighting racism and uncovering hidden biases, much of the channel's content actually promotes the negative ideas such efforts claim to oppose.

A perfect example is the show "Yo Mamma," in which contestants compete by trading insults. The show reinforces and promotes racist stereotypes and assumptions. It is a perfect example of the theft and commercialization of unique cultural elements and exposes MTV's discourse about the importance of fighting racism as mere lip service.

In an interview with the New York Times, the host of "Yo Mamma," Wilmer Valderrama, said he got the idea for the show while watching a scene from the movie "Summer Catch," in which two characters trade insults. Despite Valderrama's account of how the idea dawned on him, the real origins of insult trading are much more interesting.

Competitively trading insults, or "the dozens," has been a part of African-American culture since the days of slavery. Slaves who had been dismembered as punishment for disobedience were grouped into "cheap dozens" for sale on the auction block, the most shameful insult possible.

"In an effort to toughen their hearts against the continual verbal assault inflicted on them as part of the 'dozens,' blacks practiced insulting each other indirectly by attacking the most sacred 'mother' of the other. The person who loses his 'cool' and comes to blows loses the contest," said Dillard University professor Mona Lisa Saloy.

The dozens has changed over the years, but has remained an important part of black culture. References to the dozens can be found in places ranging from the classic "Their Eyes Were Watching God," to sketches on "In Living Color." And now it's a game show on MTV inspired by a Freddie Prinze Jr. movie.

Much like the mainstream's denigration of hip hop music from being a means for personal expression to a shallow moneymaker promoting materialism and destructive behavior, this treatment of "the dozens" demonstrates MTV's willingness to pillage culture and appropriate the elements it usurps into profitable, corrupted forms of the original.

In a press release regarding the show, casting associate Yancy Zetina firmly stated that the one thing the show will not tolerate is racism; however, racist jokes are not only frequently tolerated on the show, they are rewarded. Many of the most negative insults contain extremely white-supremacist, retrograde ideas about color. It would appear that there is nothing more shameful than having darker skin than your opponent or physical features more African than Aryan.

For example, one contestant won with the joke, "Yo mamma's so black, they use her bathwater to dye bowling balls!" That such remarks have sting is evidence of the extent to which white hegemony has resulted in internalized, racist conceptions of beauty and value. Even in jest, such jokes require a belief on some level that darker skin is less desirable than lighter skin, and that anything that deviates too far from the white standard is shameful.

Also, jokes frequently revolve around outdated ideas about the morals and values of people of different races. Jokes about deportation or menial labor are frequently made toward contestants that look Hispanic, while laziness is a preferred theme for those aimed at black contestants.

"Yo momma's so lazy, the last time she worked, the minimum wage was slavery!" said a white winner to a black contestant. Leave it to MTV to reward someone for making a joke out of the chronic exploitation of an entire population.

MTV can give all the tips it wants about getting involved and fighting discrimination, but if the network ever wants to be truly effective, it needs to follow its own advice and start by examining itself.

Comments

Wow, it's great. I love it.
Posted by: Robby | November 29, 2006 6:44 AM

I'm glad I'm not the only one who sees the two sides of MTV. MTV has been losing my respect for years: it has now lost my support.
Posted by: Wayne | December 7, 2006 7:58 AM

MTV cares more about making money from misguided adolescents than showing something non-violent,non-schmaltzy, and non-sexist
Posted by: Justin Waldman | January 6, 2007 4:08 AM

I agree that the examples given have racist undertones which shouldnt make it on air, however, i dont think mtv approved this show in an attempt to "pillage culture." I work in TV and know that in todays competitive TV landscape, programs are only kept on air if they draw ratings to support their existence. Perhaps your critique should be aimed at the American youth culture and what they want to be entertained by (violent video games, extreme tv programs, demeaning lyrics), and not the people who provide it? Its the same mistake disconnected critics have been making since they got into a tizzy about Elvis' dancing...they fail to realize that the entertainment industry is a simple supply and demand market. musicians and programmers only wish they could be so influencial as to decide for the masses what they want to see and hear...but thats just not so. they react to what the masses want and provide it to them. the truth is, its just easier on the mind of the critic to tackle an mtv for example, and cast blame on them, instead of realizing they have a bigger issue, and that is they are not a part of the majority (which doesnt make the critic wrong...just disconnected).
Posted by: Pete | January 8, 2007 5:51 AM

In response to Pete in the TV industry. Yes, it is a supply and demand industry, yet television up until this generation has had the greatest potential to influence the masses of all media. (Sorry, but the Internet has taken that power to a great extent) Fortunately, the Movie Industry is a close second, and from two movies I have seen lately that industry is grabbing on to the power to make positive changes. The Pursuit of Happiness is the first movie in recent memory that shows a black male as a positive force within a family. Bravo for that. Freedom Writers was enlightening in a very real way, yet the violence depicted was just enough to make the movie real. If the TV industry gets a grip on their power to influence for positive social change the results would be amazing.
Posted by: Pam Armstrong | January 15, 2007 8:21 PM

In response to the paragraph about the MTV show "Yo Mama" although i do not watch the show i have seen it and my view is simply that we are a generation born fighting for our voice, the freedom to use the words and knowledge given to us by previouse generations which confused us by giving us the knowledge and then told us we could not to use it, taught to speak and told to be silent, our parents and teachers were taught not to show emotion, act not on there feelings but there mind, do what was necesary not what was best, look but dont touch, touch but dont eat, but our teachers and parents gave us the knowledge and words to express our self and represed the gift they gave us, the aggrassive blunt honesty we live, breath and will die for be cause we were told it was our right and then denied our right, and now we are fighting for it just as our fore fathers before us and will not stop just as they did, instead of trying to stop our words, instead of fighting our veiws you should listen and try to understand as there parents saw the beatles as bad influences and then that became the norm , and now marylin mansons "Oh so feared Euretmics Single" is not quit as scandolouse as terrorist in our airports. The generations prceding us simply put were gainers of knowledge, definatly not retainers of knowledge", in turn they used us as an external harddrives, so all im trying to say to our parents and leaders is to please hand over the torch you told us was ours with out a fight! as they were a broken era when there parents with held it from them. Our leaders have driven us away from the understanding of politics because they are using it as an arena to have there infintile "im right, no im right" prepubesent quarrels. Our leaders are still fighting over whos right and whos wrong when we must turn and finally accept that we are all right and all wrong. All opinions and views of life are steamed from truth we must put all of our information together to reidentify and reestablish our common goal of E Pluribus Unum!
Posted by: Stephanie | February 5, 2007 4:03 PM

MTV is racist and has been Racist in nature. We agree!
Posted by: RacistTV.com | March 26, 2007 9:20 PM

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