Holy Racism MTV

The Real World/Road Rules Challenge is a reality show on MTV. The format is quite simple: past cast members from either of those programs (though now more often strictly Real World since the latter show no longer exists. Every once and awhile the Challenge will provide “Fresh Meat” to keep the hard body cast it aims to serve) compete in mini challenges. Individuals or teams, based on performance or politics, are thrown into elimination rounds to weed out the herd until a few remain to compete in the final challenge. 

As a cultural studies and television scholar the program is a hotbed of analytical activity.  The challenges are filled with chauvinism, as physical strength is prioritized over all else, collaboration is disregarded for the sake individual glory, the men do their damnedest to eliminate the women who are usually portrayed as out of control emotional nutcases, and provide countless poor examples of women being overly reliant on men to either take control in physical situations or the political game. 

It also provides the stunning display of self importance that makes reality shows the train wrecks we want to watch. The Challenge, for many, have become their jobs. The same handful of people come together to display their physical prowess, strut their egos, throw hissy fits and then applaud themselves for being less than a trifle famous. 

The program has always provided the drama necessary to create “good” television. It combines the drama of sports (which is one of the reasons why Bill Simmons and friends from Grantland love it so) with the intensity of melodramatic reality shows. 

It’s kind of like Written on the Wind (1956) meets Gladiators…yes, it is that good. 

After watching these two clips, I’ve realized they are essentially the same. 

This particular season of the challenge has consisted of people being paired with their exes from past seasons or shows. MTV plays quite fast and loose with the definition of “EX” as people who have kissed on a show are also competing with those who have had actual relationships - which changes the dynamics of those involved in those pairs - which affects the way those two communicate with each other - but leave it to MTV to just scrap together a narrative. 

From the get go this program has run into problematic territory in more extreme ways than they have before.

Firstly, MTV patted themselves on the back for including a lesbian pair on the team. Not only did they think they were progressive in terms of representing women, but MTV wants everybody to know they are pro-gay. The games also tend to make up rules in order to re-establish the status quo. The audience is always reminded that these two are lesbians, which for the challenge means, there is no dude on their team. Nobody gets how they can survive, they’re considered doomed from the start (despite the fact that both have proven to be quality competitors). They actually survived for six episodes before losing in an elimination - beating quite a few heavy dudes.

Second, in one of the first few episodes, shit got real, when male castmember, Vinny, ripped off another castmember’s shirt, drunk and on purpose. The incident itself was quick and most of the footage consisted of a drunkenly upset and embarrassed Mandi reeling over her exposure. By morning she had forgiven him, she knew he “didn’t” mean it (because apparently that’s what matters), but surprisingly Vinny and his teammate Sarah were booted off the show for the sexual assault. I say surprisingly, because everybody on the show had chalked this up to harmless revelry. What nobody discussed, either within the show or publicly, was that MTV had just been sued by a former challenge participant for negligence in regards to her being sexually assaulted by two cast members with a tooth brush (Tonya Cooley Allegations). MTV was on notice. Production had already been lax with at least one instance (and in this case a big one). Also, try finding anything written on the subject since October/November 2011. MTV has been really great about not talking about it, nor allowing any past or current cast members to comment. 

MTV had shown themselves as being responsible, at least as far as women were concerned. They were proactive. Onward progressive youth culture…

And then there was blackface. 

Yes. 

2012. 

Black

Face

As well as reaffirming male privilege. The program also reinforces white privilege. 

The situation was this: 

Emily and Ty are exes

Ty starts something with Paula. It’s a sickeningly sweet fling. It’s annoyingly cutesy. 

So…

Emily and Camila decide to make fun of the couple, which means Emily spreads Nutella all over her face, you know, to accurately portray Ty, because she’s method. 

Ty becomes furious quite quickly. Not only is he upset that his relationship with Paula is being made fun of, but this display is also super racist. 

As soon as the joke falls flat, Emily begins to realize that not only is making fun of the couple hurtful, but that she has cut deeper than just being jealous. She has crossed the racist line and her understanding of herself and Ty go into a tailspin. She is immediately regretful, despite the attempts to assure herself that it was a joke and nothing more. She keeps contending that “it wasn’t malicious” and she “wasn’t coming from a mean place.” 

She spends the night sobbing as Ty threatens to leave (though after sleeping on it, he decides to forgive her and stay). 

Invoking the history of racism by donning Nutella is bad enough, but my issue here is how the whole situation is controlled by production. 

While preparing for her performance and spreading the hazelnut spread all over her face, Emily asks her counterpart whether her nutella face could be considered racist. 

If ever you ask yourself that question, the answer is yes. 

No matter what your intentions are, whether they be from a mean spirited place or a fun jokey place, racism is racism. You don’t have to intend to be racist in order to be racist. That was what Chappelle’s Show was all about and why all those on the show who tried to redirect the clearly racist implications of blackface to something nonracist are the reasons why Dave Chappelle quit one of the greatest satirical shows on television. 

Camila, Emily’s partner in crime, complained that the whole incident was just a joke and that Ty shouldn’t take things so seriously. 

First, there is no such thing as “just as a joke”. There is always a reason, always a victim, and if you don’t know who or what they are, you should quit telling jokes. 

Second, often when people do things that are offensive, they often try to redirect their guilt to their victim. It’s a passive aggressive move, as old as time. Very few people want to acknowledge their own prejudice, so to call their victim “too sensitive” takes the pressure off of them and places the responsibility elsewhere. It became Ty’s fault that he “didn’t get it.” But he did. 

That was the issue. The attempt at the joke was not. None of the white people could understand the big deal. They could acknowledge that it was wrong, but all kept contending that Ty was making TOO BIG of a deal about it, that Emily was really nice and grew up sheltered, so probably didn’t know any better. 

The rest of the episode was constructed in a way to inform the audience that this could (there was no definite stamp of approval or disapproval) be considered racism and that when people like Emily who don’t know any better (though she knew enough to ask whether it was racist) do things like this, that the best thing to do is apologize. The rationale used by the white housemates (Ty is the only black person left on the show at this point) is reinforced - unintentional racism is not a big deal. 

Unfortunately, unintentional racism IS a big deal, because that’s how racism works and not acknowledging that (MTV) is how racism continues to circulate. MTV focused on more reasons why the incident was not racist than the fact that it was…

One of the more egregious examples was that Ty and Emily had a relationship, so because Emily had sex with a black guy, she couldn’t be racist. 

…

…

…

think about it

…

…

WHAT?! Yes, it does. 

It may not make you a member of the KKK (though again sex and power over the Other is a thing, kids), it does not mean that you are free from the binds of institutional racism, meaning inequalities/oppression that are below the surface (read LeRoi Jones’s “American Sexual Reference: Black Male.” It is a highly intense piece that could arguably be doing more harm than good, but can help those unfamiliar with understanding why such assumptions concerning race and sex are misplaced). 

It is true, that Ty is African American. He is black. But what was being teased had nothing to do with his race (the relationship). Placing nutella all over your face to highlight his blackness, to enhance his difference as compared to all the white people (as if nobody could figure out who Emily and Camila were talking about), made the situation racial. No longer was he referred to as a man, but as a black man, which carries with it all the stereotypes, particularly those regarding sexuality which have been proliferated through film and television - the overly sexualized and sexually aggressive and dangerous black man who lusts after white women. 

Not knowing this history is a problem. While Emily may not have intended to be racist, she played into the stereotypes and representational strategies that help circulate racist thoughts and attitudes. 

While Emily was clearly apologetic over her lack of knowledge and foresight, MTV was the real problem. 

Focusing on the rationale created by white folk to make this a nonracist issue screamed for some type of intervention “a hey…let’s flush this out a little more” scenario. 

MTV also aired an aftershow right after the program and made Emily once again acknowledge her mistake and cry in public. After that was over (approx. 7 minutes), they moved onto more important subject matter, like who was fucking who and why or why not. 

MTV did all they could to prove to audiences that they were aware ENOUGH; however, they did as much as they could to acknowledge without really exploring the issue, which in turn continues to promote the fact that explicit racism like the use of racial epithets or blackface is the only type of racism. 

What they did was ignore the issue that so was glaring: we (Americans) are not postracial. It is really quick to point out individual acts, say “that’s wrong,” and that the lesson learned is the most important thing. What MTV does not want us to consider are the deeper meanings of racism, to ask further questions like why their programming lacks representation of people of color (seriously, look at the schedule: MTV ON AIR) and pretty much always has. That a color barrier had to be broken after challenges from those both within and outside the network (David Bowie, for example). And they don’t want us to question the stereotypes often employed in their program. In fact, they really don’t want us to ask many questions at all, especially as it relates to racism.

One of the reasons why I like The Challenge is that it is representative of the culture in which we live (in this case American). Is it highly constructed, yes, but in a way that is hyperreal and able to expose us to the underbellies of misogyny and racism that continue to exist despite our attempts to relegate political isms to the past. The Challenge is the microcosm that consistently reminds us of how little women are regarded within a culture that treats them as emotional wretches who are only useful as sexual objects, to be played with and disposed of for “manly men”. We are also reminded of who is in charge of the microsociety - white dudes. For the past several seasons this has consisted of four individuals - Johnny, Evan, Kenny, and Wes, who good or bad (depending on side) have run the game - have manipulated and become those who strong arm all the remaining players to do what they say “or else.” Race is rarely discussed but continually constructed - Black men are touted for their physicality and everybody seems disappointed if they don’t live up to their blackness. Black women are shown as aggressive, violent, crazy, or out of control. Asians, Latinos/as are rarely included in the program and their ethnicity is rarely if ever mentioned in the show. And it is all in the name of capitalism.

It is 2012. Some lament that we don’t have flying cars, but I’m more concerned by the fact that people are still not aware that blackface in any form feeds into racism. I am  less angered by the lack of technology (because we can fly in airplanes, to cite Louis C.K.) and more so wish that racism was a thing of the past. I’m over excuses like “I didn’t mean it” which is meaningless. Sometimes it doesn’t matter what you intended, nor even about you - this is not an apology, it is a refusal to acknowledge somebody’s feelings and experience - which to me is worse. That we could see more of the unseeable forms of prejudice rather than the more explicit. I wish we were better at confronting it than avoiding it. I wish those working in production would be more apt to make changes, take more responsibility for their representations. I wish irony would go away, since nobody seems to understand what it is and every joke is thought to be ironic because everybody believes we live in a postracial society that doesn’t exist nor has ever existed.