The Flavor of Disgust

Matt's Monday Rant - Why would VH1 use/comodify Black History Month with The Flav?

Mass media comodifying and subverting minority culture and images isn't new, but I'm irritated with VH1 showing Black History Month promos and bumps in the middle of Crackman’s search for a piece of sweet ass. Flav can do what he wants to, but to use messages trying to portray VH1 as pro-black history, while such a poor caricature is featured seems disingenuous. I used to love Public Enemy (Yo, Bum Rush the Show was the first tape played in my '68 Skylark when I received my license), but am a bit saddened by the Flav and wonder what Chuck D makes of the mess. Flav seems minstrel-esque, as he selects the right woman (she’s gotta be true, have a sweet ass, and can’t be a golddigger), who is no longer Brigitte Nielsen (Drago, no!). Crack has taken its toll, well beyond that of having a license suspended forty-eight times, on William Jonathan Drayton, Jr. Flavor of Love is not the only show to present love as a meat market, proprietary concept, but to work in Black History acknowledgements with the show seems to show poor judgment and a lack of respect.