Anyone that has been keeping up with Clacking in Color knows that I am in love with television. In fact, I think I may be a tad bit obsessed with it. Perchance I’ll enlist in counseling. Just like the racially diverse actors and actresses that I commonly write about, I don’t discriminate against the sitcoms and serials that I watch. I like all kinds of programming — except for, well, reality television. That stuff is crap.

Now, I’m not knocking anyone who finds these kinds of programs fascinating. Hell, I’m a 25-year-old man and I still think Power Rangers is appointment television. Nevertheless, I feel as though a little bit of me dies whenever I’m forced to look at some of the latest reality shows — especially the urban ones on VH1 — and for the life of me, I can’t seem to understand why some of them are so darn popular. One in particular seems to really grind my gears — Love and Hip Hop: Atlanta. Some believe it’s entertaining. I feel it’s ignorance … on acid.

Since its debut on June 18, the “reality” show has followed the lives of the sassy (and good-looking) girlfriends of rappers and hip-hop music artists. The premise is fascinating. It’s the fights, back-stabbing, gossiping, cheating and gold-digging that makes it nonsensical. With the recent news of Steve Harvey becoming an advice-dishing talk show host, maybe these brassy ladies can book a gig with him to sort out their issues. I mean, seriously. Can’t we all get along? I’m all for seeing more chocolate-colored individuals on TV. Quite frankly, I think most networks could use a little more infusion of minority magic. However, shows like Love and Hip Hop: Atlanta, The Real Housewives of Atlanta and Basketball Wives reinforce negative stereotypes and tend to knock us back several years. If I wanted to go back in time, I’d call Doc Brown and board a DeLoreon. Alas, I like 2012.

And people like Love and Hip Hop: Atlanta apparently.

It’s frequently the highest rated Monday night show on basic cable, and its season finale drew 3.7 million viewers. Oy, gevalt. The world must be coming to an end. Having said that, why do so many people watch this stuff?

Perhaps it could be for the very reason that I loathe such programming — it’s mindless. A friend of mine, a savvy law student, admits to watching the program for that very reason. She said that after learning so much in a day and spending hours upon hours in textbooks, it’s rather relaxing to watch nonsense. Those were her words. Not mine. Pardon me for saying so, but I just feel that shows like that aren’t exactly the best depictions of minorities. Heck, they really aren’t the best depictions for anyone of any color, sexual orientation, preference or background. I’m looking at you, Big Ang!

Maybe some of the individuals in these so-called reality shows have hopes of making it big. Perhaps they figure that the more loud, rude, and “real” they are, the more they’ll get noticed. Isn’t that what garnered NeNe Leakes, of The Real Housewives of Atlanta, fame and media attention? That sister just landed on one of NBC’s brand-new anticipated sitcoms, The New Normal. Still, why act bad-mannered and ill-bred to garner attention? Isn’t that backwards?

I’d think that given everything we’ve been through these last four years, one would be trying to move forward. Why spend your life looking in the rear view mirror? Didn’t Rihanna say shut up and drive? Okay, so that was a joke, but you get my point, right? With minorities on TV being so few and far between, we could use a few positive role models. Instead of seeing a basketball wife, I’d love to see the president’s wife, Michelle Obama, with a reality mini-series. I bet it’d be inspirational. Unfortunately, inspiration doesn’t sell. Ignorance does.

And that’s reality.

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