Sunday, October 15, 2006 VH1 aired the season finale of “The Flavor of Love”, season two, in which our favorite Hype Man of the legendary rap group “Public Enemy” chose laid back, “Deelishis” over the dramatically charged “New York.” I was happy with his choice, but I was lost in thought watching the show. A week earlier someone asked me, “What do you get from watching that show?” After making a face from irritation of the question, I proceeded to say, “Umm, entertainment.” I also went into a Frantic spew of words just as I am about to do now.
Before this question was posed to me I remembered hearing about people saying that “The Flavor of Love” reinforces stereotypes made about African Americans. It is like every time I turn around a problem is found within something that is distorting someone’s race. It is bad enough I have given up eating watermelons, but “The Flavor of Love” quickly became one of my favorite shows that I was not going to turn away from it. I never watched “The Flavor of Love” and thought once to myself that Flava Flav was making me or my race look ignorant, because Flava Flav is such a unique individual that I can’t even see racial stereotypes within him and the show, mainly because it is reality TV.
If you want to get technical I appreciate the fact that Flava Flav is able to be seen on TV today, since he was apart of the politically charged rap group “Public Enemy”, who had rap songs questioning the minor systems in the United States, such as 9-1-1 the emergency number and the United States Government as a whole. Still thinking about what this show does for me, clearly it is strictly entertainment as are most television shows. I mean sure if someone of another culture watched American television shows they would probably have some pretty crazy ideas about the United States, but for me a Black American I think nothing of television shows except as a way to past time.
Even if I was watching “The Discovery Channel”, “The Learning Channel”, or “Home and Gardening TV”, there is still some entertainment as I learn how to create the perfect drapes in the living room. Although someone may say “I am going to watch ‘Home and Gardening TV’ and learn how to plant tulips,” no one is going to say, “I am going to watch ‘The Flavor of Love’ and learn how to treat a woman.” But at least if someone did watch “The Flavor of Love”, Flava Flav does wine and dine the ladies well and is a very sincere person on the show. Looking at it like that maybe someone could get more than entertainment from watching this reality show. But seriously TV has always been said to be a mind numbing activity.
Too many people were watching “Friends” instead of really making friends. If you look at all shows in a sense where you are not doing anything productive and you are wasting your life away to watch “Lost” every week, instead of being social then maybe it is time that you put the remote down. All in all what I get from a television show is not the same for everyone, but it is all entertainment.
If you watch a game show you won’t win money watching it, if you watch a soap opera you may never have a romantic experience like the characters, and if you watch ER you will never be a doctor with out the proper education, but after that special show is over the you love you will have the gratification of being entertained and if you don’t like the show that is on your TV set, then change the channel. It is easy as that.
