So, it's Sunday evening and I get the impulse to turn to my B.E.T. channel, thinking I can catch a bit of inspirational entertainment, while the NBA playoffs are put on pause for a commercial time-out, and what do I see....
Honestly, for about a full minute, I wasn't sure of what I saw. It was a blurry blend of brown and white. But the way the camera moved, I got the eerie sense that the blur was intentional. I kept watching, trying to figure this picture out. And as the camera moved, images became clearer. I figured out that the brown was a person. With a little more clarity, I realized that the brown was actually two people, who were naked and moving on top of one another. Meanwhile, the white color that I saw turned out to be bubbles that were foaming in a tub. Immediately, I grabbed my remote and pushed the channel up button, thinking that I had mistakenly pressed HBO or Cinemax rather than BET. When I realized that it was actually BET that showcased the porno-like feature, I then checked my clock to review the time. It wasn't even 9:00 pm yet. How many kids are up before nine and watching BET?
I'm became irate, instantly. In fact, I'm still irate! After, trying to grab a hold of my emotions, I checked my TV guide channel to get the name of the indecent film that BET deemed acceptable to view at a family hour. "Superfly," is the name of the film.
I understand that "Superfly" maybe a classic film in the black community, and B.E.T. is a popular programming channel for African-Americans, but still I figure the Network would make better choices on their film selections. I am so disappointed in them, wondering if B.E.T. is simply airing films to attract a crowd, without giving a thought or care to the people who actually make up the crowd? KIDS! KIDS! There may be adults that swarm around the TV sets, but before 9 p.m. I assure you that there are also kids that are up watching these characters having their sex in the tub. If the network felt that "Superfly" had to be shown on a Sunday evening, why didn't they edit it? TBS edits their films, as well as the other networks that actually give a D#MN about its young viewers.
B.E.T., your title alone, "BLACK ENTERTAINMENT TELEVISION," gives off the impression that you actually care about the black community. If so, be more of the solution and less of the problem. Don't glorify sex to black kids, or any kids for that matter. There is already too much premarital sex, too many babies having babies and abortions. There is already too much AIDS in the black community, and too much focus on the temporary pleasure of sex and not enough on love. I'm talking about the love of self; the love of God, the love of education, the love of morals and values, the love of a joyous career, the love of family. B.E.T. let's showcase films with these topics in the future. The viewers will be better off!
