The romanticization of the Hood a la Kim K
I am a popular urban culture junkie. I love narratives and people and people's experiences so I enjoy avenues where this is encouraged and show-cased (and even, commercialized).
Enter reality television.
I have no issues with watching the shows that I do watch: no shame, guilt, or remorse. The caveat is that I do not watch every reality show. I am actually very selective about the shows that I do watch so they are not guilty pleasures. In fact, it is a conscious activity which is not entirely pleasurable or just entertaining. To me, reality television is like everything else that I do which involves prodding into people's lives, hearing what they have to say, and seeing how they live. Perhaps, this is the "anthropologist" in me so while I understand the criticisms and the flak that these shows and networks receive, overall, my engagement with reality tv is a learning experience not only about specific people or families, but about people in general and our social/cultural psyche.
That said, this is a very quick note on one reality tv star that I follow: Kim Kardasian! On today's new episode of Keeping Up With The Kardasians, Lamar Odom takes Kim and Khloe to his hometown, Jamaica, Queens. Long story short, Kim's idea of the "hood" is for good or bad, synonymous with ghetto (fab) culture. She tries to wears something outdated and discombobulated on her trip to Queens because she believes that this is what she should wear to the hood. Thank goodness for Lamar who basically tells her to stop the nonsense.
So I am actually cool with everything up to this point. Lamar even tells a pretty compelling story about growing up in the area and the fact that his family has lived in the neighborhood since the late 1950s. But Kim detracts from this profound moment when she says that "[she] does not want to leave the hood and would love to stay in the hood". Now Kim, first be honest that you do want to leave the hood. If you honestly do not want to leave the hood, please stop romanticizing the hood because of what you think the hood is (great use of your imagination) and based on how you experience it.
Those of you who live in the hood would understand why Kim's behavior is agitating and I am not explaining to those of you who do not why this is not okay. "The hood" is a real place with lots of real people situated in a certain geopolitical context.
That is all.
Enter reality television.
I have no issues with watching the shows that I do watch: no shame, guilt, or remorse. The caveat is that I do not watch every reality show. I am actually very selective about the shows that I do watch so they are not guilty pleasures. In fact, it is a conscious activity which is not entirely pleasurable or just entertaining. To me, reality television is like everything else that I do which involves prodding into people's lives, hearing what they have to say, and seeing how they live. Perhaps, this is the "anthropologist" in me so while I understand the criticisms and the flak that these shows and networks receive, overall, my engagement with reality tv is a learning experience not only about specific people or families, but about people in general and our social/cultural psyche.
That said, this is a very quick note on one reality tv star that I follow: Kim Kardasian! On today's new episode of Keeping Up With The Kardasians, Lamar Odom takes Kim and Khloe to his hometown, Jamaica, Queens. Long story short, Kim's idea of the "hood" is for good or bad, synonymous with ghetto (fab) culture. She tries to wears something outdated and discombobulated on her trip to Queens because she believes that this is what she should wear to the hood. Thank goodness for Lamar who basically tells her to stop the nonsense.
So I am actually cool with everything up to this point. Lamar even tells a pretty compelling story about growing up in the area and the fact that his family has lived in the neighborhood since the late 1950s. But Kim detracts from this profound moment when she says that "[she] does not want to leave the hood and would love to stay in the hood". Now Kim, first be honest that you do want to leave the hood. If you honestly do not want to leave the hood, please stop romanticizing the hood because of what you think the hood is (great use of your imagination) and based on how you experience it.
Those of you who live in the hood would understand why Kim's behavior is agitating and I am not explaining to those of you who do not why this is not okay. "The hood" is a real place with lots of real people situated in a certain geopolitical context.
That is all.
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