A Shocker.......Tyra Banks channels Ricki Lake! And it's tired!

Please accept my deepest apologies for this entry but Afronerd's purpose is not only to inform but also to allow this writer to rail against the absurd. Enter The Tyra Banks show. Ironically, I came across the above State of the Union:Black Women clip while searching for Tavis Smiley's Black Union broadcast. My first question-where do they find the audience members for these talkfests? Will we ever have a talk show that facilitates cogent arguments without the adherence to tired stereotypes. It's always the same-audience members with opening statements such as: "As a strong Black woman" or "Black men think this" or "White women are taking our men." Is it too much to ask for a more sophisticated discourse? The topics and reactions are consistently meant to evoke an emotional response from the audience regarding subjects that we have all heard before: interracial dating, aberrant Black males and women of color espousing victimization precepts. Oftentimes when a glimmer of truth is spoken in this format it is quickly shot down by the selfsame audience-the appropriate fleshing out is always obfuscated. The aforementioned victimization/emotion model equals high ratings. What do our readers think? Is it a lost cause to expect elucidation and entertainment? Or is the Ricki Lake School of televised conversation forever in our midst? What say you? Click on the links below for the remainder of Tyra's Black Union:

Tyra's Union: Black Women, Part 2

Tyra's Union: Black Women, Part 3

Tyra's Union: Black Women, Part 4

Tyra's Union: Black Women, Part 5