As much as we hate to admit it, we love drama! And Basketball Wives is one of our guiltiest pleasures.
Now before you get ready to rip my head off … hear me out!
After the airing of Basketball Wives’ last episode where Tami Roman practically bullied her castmate Kesha over a pointless “he said, she said debacle,” there was a public outcry that claimed the show had reached an over dramatic violent low and wasgetting too out of control.
Vh1 responded to this with a statement saying they will be making the show more balanced. Part of their statement reads:
“Shed Media US is fully committed to telling the compelling stories of the Basketball Wives in a balanced way. Our producingpartner Shaunie O’Neal feels strongly about this, and we fully agree with this stance. We support her as she encourages the cast members to work out issues in a non-violent fashion…”
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I tune into the show often and I see the backlash it gets, but I thought, how could I bash this show when I tune in so often? Some of the backlash and Twitter reactions I’ve seen claim the TV show “makes black women look bad.”
Now who’s to say there is one way to represent black women? Or that the image of black women can be captured in one TV show? Why is it that the African American race always has to be under a magnifying glass for every little thing that can be viewed as fitting a “stereotype?” Some black women are in fact as rachet as these women can be, and some aren’t – just like every other race!
Can we really place the responsibility of the “representation of black women” on a cast of eight women, who are actually all not African American?
The way I see it, these women are fulfilling a role in a show that keeps us glued. Granted, these roles may be stereotypical, BUT most of us know someone that is just like each of them! You know someone like Jennifer who is too bourgeois for her own good, a hothead like Evelyn, a gossiper like Suzie, an overly aggressive woman like Tami and a girl like Kesha that just wants to keep the peace and get along with everyone. Is over-excessive drama not a part of American TV history? If you ask me, this show is just a reality TV version of your mom’s favorite soap opera.
The actual violence and bullying on Basketball Wives should not be put to an end because it makes black people look bad, but because it makes these women as individual humans look bad for the actions they choose.
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Maybe instead, Vh1 and other networks should create more of a variety in their reality TV roster. Take La La Anthony‘s La La’s Full Court Life for instance. I adore her show. It’s reality TV but it has a sitcom-ish feel to it, violence-free and it does just as well with ratings as Basketball Wives does.
If we want to diss Vh1 for their show, let’s petition against ALL violent TV shows. Why not start with WWE wrestling?
The different personalities of these women interacting with one another makes for good TV. The violence should go, but if you ask me, the drama can stay!
What are your thoughts?!
– Evanka W. <3
Evanka Williamson is a Contributing Writer for GlobalGrind.com Follow her on twitter, @LOVEvanka
