BET To Premiere Made-For-TV Movie 'Where My Wild Things At?'

Story by Logan Thompson 

| Published Nov 17, 2009

Since making $32.5 million in its No. 1 weekend debut, Spike Jonze’s “Where The Wild Things Are” has continued a strong performance at the box office. Now it’s even spawning imitations. Black Entertainment Television (BET) plans to release its own version of the classic children’s story, “Where My Wild Things At?”

“The Jonze movie was entertaining,” said network president Ron Hutchinson, “but it didn’t have nearly enough semi-nude African-American women shaking their asses.”

Hutchinson added that BET plans to add more music and dance sequences to the film as well, insisting that gangster rap, nonsensical grammar and heavy drug use are the only acceptable context in which to portray the black community.

Shimelis Beyene, a professor of African & African-American studies at UNL, disagreed.
“That’s just ... so offensive,” he said. “There is actually a wide spectrum of things young African-Americans are interested in that doesn’t involve tricks, hos, trick-ass hos or any such combination of hoery and/or tricks. Most of them want nothing to do with that stuff.”

According to Hutchinson, however, the network has little interest in displaying the real black community. A controversial civil rights activist and professional false-rape-accuser clarified this idea.

“Advancing the African-American community isn’t about lifting them up,” explained the Rev. Al Sharpton. “It’s about taking everybody else down.”

“It’s simple,” he continued. “If you start letting the truth get out about guys like [self-made millionaire] Chris Gardner or [Supreme Court Justice] Clarence Thomas, who’s going to hate black men for no reason? Nobody, that’s who.”

Sharpton went on to say that without BET to fuel hatred and keep African-Americans from realizing they can succeed on their own, people like himself and the Rev. Jesse Jackson wouldn’t have jobs.

"More importantly," Sharpton continued, "we wouldn’t be able to guilt innocent white people into hating themselves enough to support our political agendas."

Hutchinson sees the same problem. “It’s getting harder all the time,” he said. “Today’s generation just really doesn’t give a damn about race, and that’s a huge obstacle for us. We’ve had to dig pretty deep into the stereotype bin to come up with some of these caricatures.”

Jimmi Lynch, a junior at UNL and an African-American himself, doesn’t watch BET.

“I listen to hip-hop, and I love to see black men and women make it as entertainers,” he said. “But I’ve never done drugs or killed a man, and I don’t even hate women, so I really can’t understand BET. I’m more of a ‘Cosby Show’ guy.”

Actor, comedian and philanthropist Dr. Bill Cosby is banned from Black Entertainment Television. The network has also taken great care to make sure not to show any historical or educational programming.

“Where My Wild Things At?” starring teen rapper Meth Master Chef, will premiere in February 2010 in place of a civil rights documentary.