≡ CONTEMPLATE: The BET Harlem Heights Premiere- The Review
Leave it to BET to rework an MTV show. Pass the originality please…..I have never brought myself to exchange an irreplaceable hour of my time for The Hills or any of that other melodramatic pale-faced malarkey ( I’ve read about it in passing though), so in seeing all of the promotion for Harlem Heights, Black Erosion Television’s new pseudo reality offering, I didn’t know what to expect. I even made my way uptown to see the premiere and what all the hoopla was about…
With wide-ranging, scenic shots of Harlem streets and staple hot spots, Harlem Heights definitely makes use of their ninth cast member.
For those unfamiliar with the village of Harlem it is the gentrification capital of New York City , once the epicenter of the Negro Renaissance. Malcolm X spoke in these streets. Adam Clayton Powell repped Harlemites in Washington and elsewhere. W.E.B Dubois, Marcus Garvey, Zora Neale Hurston, the list goes on and on.
And herein lies part of the problem. Harlem Heights is more of the black version of The Hills than a New Negro Revolution caught on camera. While the eight central cast members are likable enough, theirs is a concocted microcosm that while not entirely wrong, is a bit out of touch with real life. Yes it is absolutely refreshing to see colored folks not fighting to the moral death in an arena of buffoonery and coonishness for a whole three minutes of fame. And it helps that they are doing things other than the traditional music and sports to get their names in lights. They all seem bright and ambitious. They are well dressed thanks to June Ambrose’s guiding hand. They are well spoken, courtesy of collegiate completion. And in a city where the cost of living is ginormous they have the semblance of being well heeled.
This is this not a reality for most of their native neighbors. Harlem is being gentrified by the yuppy hipsters, but there are still a collection of social ills that plague colored Harlem folk. To actually see productive colored folks move uptown in an effort to preserve some of the, well, color is commendable. Their political analysis (so far) is trite, narrow minded and borderline ig’nant. Yes Barack made it to the Oval Office, but please please please do not equate that with the dams of systematic and institutionalized racism crashing down for regular everyday folks. There are still class and socioeconomic issues that play into so many of the lives of people in Harlem and other urban areas, that the Obama effect is only just beginning to touch.
The Cast at the 3/2/09 Premiere at the Apollo
I am not so much making an indictment of the choices (personal, connections, nepotism or otherwise) that were made to get them to this point. I’m just saying…
At times dialogue and interactions seem awkward and forced. The narration is a bit shrill and could use more bass.
Pierre is the “pretty boy” former college basketball star with family issues that he is trying to overcome. Brooke is the MTV producer and ex-girlfriend of Kanye West. Landon is the son of former public affairs director and community developer Larry Dais. Bridget is also a former MTV employee and good friends with Brooke and cousin to Briana who is the technical designer for Victoria ’s Secret Pink. Jason is the single dad and a native of Harlem. Ashlie is the bartender by night, actress by day and frenemie of Brooke. And Christian is the Morehouse alum and Lifestyle Editor of Dime Magazine.
I will be tuning in just to see how this all plays out. Can’t say I’ll be riveted and glued to the couch, but there will always be the reruns.
≡ Recent Entries
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- CONTEMPLATE: Harlem Heights, The Benefit of the Doubt
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- CONTEMPLATE: The BET Harlem Heights Premiere- The Review
- CONTEMPLATE: The BET Harlem Heights Premiere- The Swag Bag
- CONGREGATE: Holistic Hood
- CONTEMPLATE: Ignant Ish We Like
March 25th, 2009 at 11:05 am
I love this show.
April 7th, 2009 at 1:55 am
[…] A couple of weeks ago, we told you about BET’s Harlem Heights. We also introduced Briana, Ashlie and Landon, three of the cast members. Since then, there’s been a premiere at the Apollo with a fabulous gift bag, rave reviews by some and not so kind words from others. […]
April 13th, 2009 at 3:19 pm
I almost forgot, did you see how homeboy…must be the supa thug…holds conversations with his 6 or 7 year old daughter in the show….I was sick..now you know we have to do better!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!