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BET wants you to read a %$#ing book
Satire is a tricky sword to wield, and BET's current efforts to call attention to some of the less-favorable aspects of current black culture are proof of that. First, there was We Got to Do Better (formerly Hot Ghetto Mess), a series whose pilot episode was so schizophrenic I actually developed twelve different personalities while watching it. Never have I seen a TV series struggling so hard to figure out its own identity.
All of the press that came out before it read that the series would use amateur footage of people acting untoward as a means to show how we need to improve (the clips show people of all races), but the first episode kept jumping back and forth between straight satire and host Charlie Murphy sincerely pleading to the audience to improve themselves. Imagine Stephen Colbert dropping his facade every two minutes to say, "this is a joke" -- that's what watching We Got to Do Better was like.
I could forgive the uneven nature of the episode, but the only sin committed by most of the individuals was that they got caught on tape acting stupid. I can understand wanting to ridicule those who give your culture a bad name, but making fun of some poor sap because he made a crappy rap video seems both misguided and elitist.
The latest attempt at cultural improvement is a new video created by BET animation encouraging blacks to read. The profanity-laced short implores folks to "read a mother****ing book." The satirical intent is clear: don't fall for the worst aspects of hip hop culture and instead improve yourself by picking up a book.
But are people getting the message? According to this article in the LA Times, yes and no. Those who have come out against the video shouldn't be slammed for simply not getting the joke, however, as the video implies that not only are some blacks not reading, they're also not bathing, using deodorant, or raising their kids, either.
I understand the "tough love" aspect of both We Got to Do Better and this crude PSA -- and, satirically speaking, I think the PSA does it much better. It is absolutely vicious in its condemnation of laziness and misogyny, but it's poking fun at aspects of black culture that have themselves become parodic, which is why it's easy to understand why some might be unable to differentiate between the PSA and the cultural leanings it's trying to ridicule.
You can watch the unedited and not-safe-for-work PSA here.
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