Are the Emmies racist?

[jamesanthony]

I'm on a tirade about this topic. Looking for feedback.

Why weren't any black sitcoms or actors in sitcoms nominated at the emmies for more than a decade (1990-01)? A decade that saw more black sitcoms than any other decade and maybe all the other decades combined? I posted up comments about this on the general site and under Roc. In what way is say, Steve Harvey's performance here or in Me and the Boys worse than the guy from Everybody Loves Raymond, Gary Shandling or Larry David? They're all standup comics. Paul Reiser whose work on Mad About You i like gets nominated repeatedly and black actors get left out year after year? Even Jerry Seinfeld who confessed that he's not much of an actor was nominated 5x for his show. Does this mean that all the black sitcoms in the 90s were basically considered to be substandard garbage by the TV experts? That seems to be what they were saying.

[tvje]

On the bright side, Steve Harvey did win a People's Choice award for "Me and the Boys." People think that award is trash, but it is something, and it is an award decided by viewers not critics.

[jamesanthony]

I'd like to read some interviews of people who have won these various prizes (emmy, Golden Globe, People's Choice, Oscar etc) where they fess up to just how much these awards help them to get work in the entertainment world. Some entertainers flat out diss the peer awards and could care less if they win them. They care more about the fans.

I think for the black performers they have a harder time all around though.

I have mixed feelings about the UPN sitcoms. I'm automatically prone to favor something that has people in it who are my race, but I don't know if any of those sitcoms is classic material. I watch an episode of any of them but if its a rerun I turn it off. It's different from the way I could sit through an episode of A Different World or The Jeffersons 3 times and still find it entertaining. One problem I think is political correctness which has permeated all the humor shows. Ultimately I'd have to wait a decade when some of these shows are on in syndication and see how well they hold up.

One odd thing I noticed is that nearly all of them (except I think the Parkers) is produced by Jaborelli and Greenblatt. Those don't sound like black names to me.

[marvin g]

Hollywood in general is racist but because they're mostly liberal they're in denial.

[jamesanthony]

Marvin G, that's true. Liberals can be worse than the conservatives when it comes to elitism. It's like the emporer with no clothes on.

A lot of liberals are just as self-serving as the conservatives and try to drag other marginalized and outcast groups into their causes, but it's still self-serving.

[Pitooey]

I'm glad you bought this up and I have to say YES they are racist.

I enjoyed seeing this show and others. Regina should've been in the running for an Emmy and so should her friend (the secretary).

Steve Harvey, Romeo and (The comic) should've been nominated.

George Lopez should have been nominated for his performance on his show. The lady who plays his mother gives a grand performance.

I could go on and on.........

[jamesanthony]

George Lopez' mother is a trip. Lopez might get an emmy nomination, because Bernie Mac got 2. I doubt the woman who plays his mother would though. You need PR to get nominated.

[marvin g]

Originally posted by jamesanthony: A lot of liberals are just as self-serving as the conservatives and try to drag other marginalized and outcast groups into their causes, but it's still self-serving.
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I agree!

[tvje]

If ABC, the same network that cancels "Me and the Boys" does not renew "The Big House", I'd be very disappointed. It is a good show, and with the exeption of "My Wife and Kids", ABC does not have a good recent history with african american sitcoms.

Here is a strange but true fact, If "The Big House" is canceled, that show and "Me and the Boys" will have two things in common. Both were african american shows canceled by ABC, and Bianca Lawson guest starred on both sitcoms.

[jamesanthony]

ABC has 2 more black sitcoms than cbs which has zero. I can't think of any that they've put up since Cosby ended in 2000. ABC was shying away from them too before My Wife and Kids and NBC only got back to them this year with Whoopi (which I've never seen) and Tracy Morgan (which I think is going to get cancelled). Basically in recent years with the exception of MW&K and Bernie Mac on FOx, UPN and WB (to a lesser extent) have been the only venues for black shows on broadcast TV. And these shows have all been sitcoms. I don't think we'll ever get a successful black drama show out of broadcast TV.

[isiahthomas]

F*ck the emmy's, grammy's, American Music Awards. Blacks in entertainment are always getting left out of these shows. The only way you'll win a award on these shows is if you try to appeal to other races besides blacks. That's why i like watching award shows for blacks like BET awards, Soul Train awards, The Source awards because blacks get recognized at those award shows. Rap group Geto Boys have a song called Trophy on their We Can't Be Stopped album and Willie D raps on the song by himself. He basically says that he's tired of rappers getting overlooked at the grammy's and American Music Awards. He said he doesn't care if he never wins a grammy. I think awards ain't nothin but a popularity contest anyway.

[isiahthomas]

JamesAnthony i'm glad you brought up the point about black shows not getting a chance on major networks like CBS, ABC, NBC. F*ck them racist networks. It seems like UPN, Fox, WB are the only networks that will take a chance on black shows. Tracy Morgan's show wasn't that bad. I kinda liked it. Anytime a reality black show gets cancelled, it's because the networks are scared of black reality. For example, remember the tv show South Central with Larenz Tate, Clifton Powell, Jennifer Lopez, Shar Jackson, Maia Campbell, Lamont Bentley? This show came on in the early 90's. I think it lasted a full season. I was disappointed when it didn't come back on because i liked the show. I was also disappointed when Platinum tv show got cancelled by UPN 2 years ago. They didn't even give the show a chance. It lasted only 6 episodes. I'm glad i got all the episodes on dvd. Bottom line is white people are scared of black reality. Whites only wanna show us on tv acting silly and laughin all the time acting like a coon. I never watched City Of Angels tv show with Blair Underwood, Vivica Fox, Hill Harper, Gabrielle Union, Michael Warren but i bet it was a good show. Blair Underwood always plays strong characters. He's a very good actor who never gets recognized.

[Rookielove]

Yes. It is very racist.

[fenctor]

Originally Posted by Rookielove

Yes. It is very racist.

It may seem to be that way but when you are trying to please the majority of your audience, you kind of leave out the minority. Why would actors form all-black sitcoms be nominated when not many people of other races are watching them? Look at the statistics, they are up there...