BET's 'American Gangster' series under scrutiny

LOS ANGELES (NNPA) - Black Entertainment Television (BET) has won higher ratings and critical acclaim for its "American Gangster" series on the rise and fall of Black criminals. But in the wake of the docudramas and a hit movie of the same name, many are concerned about the portrayal of Blacks and images they believe help inspire youth to destructive behavior.BET initially indicated the show's purpose was to "explore without glorifying and investigate without celebrating" the criminal minds of the infamous men featured during the weekly, one-hour shows, which are broadcast at several different times.

According to executive producer Nelson George, dope dealers and criminals like "Freeway" Ricky Ross, Leroy "Nicky" Barnes, Troy and Dino Smith, the Chambers Brothers and Lorenzo "Fat Cat" Nichols were chosen because of legendary crimes with national and sometimes international dimensions.

BET's "American Gangster" debuted last November with the second best numbers in the network's history with a 1.6 rating and 1.6 million viewers in 1.3 million households, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Five minutes of fame on TV and in movies is enough glory for young men thirsty for attention, no matter how they achieve it, said Fareed Thomas, who was recently released from a California penitentiary. The BET episodes showcase the money and so-called good times the gangsters enjoyed, but a fraction of the time was spent on how they went to jail, Thomas said.

Historically, American gangsters have been European and portrayed in films like "The Godfather," "Scarface," "Bugsy," "King of New York," "Casino," "Gangs of New York" and "Good Fellas."

The problem, said Mark, a Los Angeles-based gang member, comes with the BET series singling out Black men and ignoring the criminal history of gangsters of various ethnicities.

"It is hypocritical to a point. If BET just didn't do it as Black, that would be one thing, but if you're going to showcase one gangster, then showcase them all. Why is BET only stopping at the Black gangster? Do only Black gangsters go to prison?" he said.

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam, has long decried the violent and negative portrayals of Blacks, especially young Black men in movies and in music. In recent weeks, the Minister has devoted a series of lectures to the subject. "American Gangster," the blockbuster movie starring Denzel Washington released early winter and the BET series have been a direct target of his warning and analysis.

"The whole American Gangster series on BET is designed to inspire young, Black men to more criminal conduct as though there are no White gangsters. But this is a focus on Black gangsters and they are now calling you 'the American Gangster,'" Min. Farrakhan said in his Nov. 11 lecture. "How did you get to be an American gangster when you are not an American at all?" he asked.

A 1930s probe of the regulation of cinema titled, "Children, Cinema and Censorship: From Dracula to the Dead End Kids," indicates that concerns about media impact to children were not much different than today. When the Great Depression caused American cinema attendance to drop from 100 million to under 40 million, studios began producing talking movies to fill seats, without regard for censors, reformers or moral watchdogs. Protests forced changes in regulation and shifts in power between film makers, censors, licensing authorities and others.

The advent of crime or gangster films was denounced because of their perceived impact on juvenile delinquency. Despite evidence that children mimicked the speech and mannerism in the films, motivated by money, Hollywood produced 78 gangster movies between 1930 and 1933.

"These corporations that control the media know very well that they are sacrificing a whole generation of youth when they come out and they promote these movies with these pathological behaviors," said Rahman Shabazz, an environmentalist and concerned parent.

"The problem isn't 'American Gangster,' but a nationwide systemic racism that feeds on our children, starting from the schools and leading into the probation department and then the prisons," he said. "It's interwoven through all of the institutions of people's activity in the U.S. and that means the church, bank, Wall Street, the criminal justice and legal systems, grocery stores, fishing industries. Everything!"

Shabazz said that if Blacks flexed their billion-dollar spending power, stronger institutions which serve their interests could be created and BET and others could be brought to their knees.