MUSEUM OF TELEVISION & RADIO LEONARD H. GOLDENSON UNIVERSITY SATELLITE SEMINAR SERIES, THE: TELEVISION AND THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: IMAGES OF AFRICAN AMERICANS ON PRIME-TIME TELEVISION {LONG VERSION}
Summary
One in this series of seminars conducted by The Museum of Television & Radio. This seminar, held in New York and moderated by Museum president Robert M. Batscha, is one of three that explore the relationship between television and the African-American experience; this session focuses on African Americans in entertainment programming. Batscha begins by welcoming the audience, which includes students from over 200 colleges and universities who are watching the seminar via satellite. He then introduces his guests: Dr. Jannette Dates of Howard University; actor, director, and producer Tim Reid; and writer/editor Mel Watkins. (Panelist biographies immediately follow this summary.)
Before beginning the discussion, Batscha screens a series of clips, which include footage from "All in the Family," 1971; "The Beulah Show," the early 1950s; "Amos 'n' Andy, 1951; "The Jack Benny Program," 1956; "Julia," 1968; the pilot for "The Jeffersons," 1975; "The Cosby Show," 1984; "A Different World," 1991; "Moesha," 1996; "The Bernie Mac Show," 2001; "Philco Television Playhouse: A Man Is Ten Feet Tall," 1955; "I Spy," 1965; "Roots," 1977; "Frank's Place," 1987; "Roc," 1992; "Homicide: Life on the Street," 1995; and "The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman," 1974.
Batscha then asks the panelists whether negative stereotyping of blacks still exists in prime-time television, and they agree that it does. Dates speaks of continuing images of blacks who act the fool, Reid addresses the need to sustain a drama about people of color, and Watkins suggests that more diverse images are needed. Reid goes on to argue that African Americans need to follow the example of Hispanic Americans and found their own network with original programming; he and the other panelists do not view Black Entertainment Television as capable of playing this role. He also points out that blacks watch more television than most other American ethnic groups and therefore ought to constitute a worthy market for programming. The panelists identify a few programs -- "Roc," "Frank's Place," and "The Cosby Show" -- that have taken a more sophisticated approach to black characters but suggest that these are in the minority. The three panelists then discuss the television version of "Amos 'n' Andy"; they move on from this to the importance of both black and white images on television, to the nation and the world. Batscha welcomes questions from the student audience, and in answering them the panelists touch on the following topics, among others: goals an African-American network might have; the reasons for which black actors accept roles that could be seen as demeaning; Eddie Murphy's cartoon "PJs" and Spike Lee's film "Bamboozled"; the NAACP-proposed boycott of the major television networks; the segregation of Hollywood board rooms and the underutilization of talented blacks, including such figures as producer Suzanne de Passe; the challenges and rewards for African Americans in breaking into the television industry; the escalating mergers in the industry; and the success of African Americans in politics.
Biographies Dr. Jannette L. Dates has spent the last twenty years at Howard University, serving as a faculty member in the Department of Radio, Television, and Film; associate dean; and then dean of the School of Communications. Dates is a frequent speaker and panelist on national television and radio programs, where she discusses images of African Americans in the mass media. She is the co-editor of the book "Split Image: African Americans in the Mass Media." Dates is a member of the George Foster Peabody Awards advisory board and serves as president of the Broadcast Education Association.
Tim Reid is an Emmy-nominated actor, director, and producer, well known for his roles on shows including "WKRP in Cincinnati," "Simon & Simon," "Frank's Place," and "Sister, Sister." He created and produced the Showtime series "Linc's," to critical acclaim. Among Reid's many awards are the NAACP Image Award and the Viewers for Quality Television Award for Best Actor in a Comedy. He is the founder of Tim Reid Productions and the co-founder of United Image Entertainment. Films produced under his aegis include the much lauded "About Sarah" and "Once Upon a Time . . . When We Were Colored." In 1997, Tim Reid founded his own film studio, New Millennium Studios.
Mel Watkins, a freelance writer, is a former writer and editor for the New York Times Book Review. He is the author of "On the Real Side: The History of African American Humor" and the memoir "Dancing with Strangers." His anthology "African American Humor: The Best Black Comedy from Slavery to the Present" will be published in May 2002. He is currently working on a biography of the legendary movie actor Stepin Fetchit.
Details
- NETWORK: Paley
- DATE: November 14, 2001 7:30 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:31:25
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:67743
- GENRE: Seminars
- SUBJECT HEADING: African-American Collection - Comedy
- SERIES RUN: N/A
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Robert M. Batscha … Host, Moderator
- Jannette L. Dates … Panelist
- Tim Reid … Panelist
- Mel Watkins … Panelist
- de Passe, Suzanne
- Spike Lee
- Eddie Murphy