"Read a Book" Video Provokes Strong Reactions

A plug that goes awry


by Jenice Armstrong
Source
SOMEONE asked me recently what I thought about a new controversial video that's making waves on Youtube.com and BET's "106 & Park." I shrugged and responded, "Well, it's got a good beat and you can dance to it."

Yeah, I was being facetious.

But it's kind of hard to take "Read a Book" as good for anything - except maybe a laugh. Oh, and the rhythm's catchy and has a way of sticking around in your head far longer than you wish it would. "Read a book. Read a book. Read a motherf------ book."

As far as anything else? Sigh. Maybe I'm getting old. But this is almost too silly to waste newsprint on.

On the bright side, though, critics are always blasting hip-hop and BET for not having more socially redeeming content. And as a piece of social satire, "Read a Book" could be perceived as a tiny step in that direction.

Especially if you consider how people aren't reading books like they used to. An Associated Press/Ipsos poll revealed last month that one in four Americans didn't read a single book last year. Most book readers are older and tend to be female. So, perhaps the folks behind "Read a Book" deserve props for at least having a hook that appears to promote the issue of literacy as opposed to merely getting listeners to dance or whatever.

But as far as actually encouraging viewers to read books? Puh-leeze.

Produced by BET's new animation division, "Read a Book" uses cartoon images of booty-bouncing women, spinning tire rims and guns, to exhort viewers to improve their lives by reading, buying real estate, having good hygiene and raising their kids. Good concepts, but they get completely overshadowed by all the gun-shooting, gold-chain wearing and whatnot that takes place.

The language in the unsanitized video that's available on Youtube is raw and profane, and the imagery stereotypical. As you might imagine, the n-word is used liberally. If it weren't so over-the-top, "Read a Book" would be offensive.

In one scene, a black woman in a pair of low-cut pants is bent over in a deep squat rhythmically bouncing her generous backside, which has the word "book" written across it. In another scene, a male character is smacking the rump of another woman when a baby with a face like his is presented to him. The guy takes off running as the lyrics tell people to "raise your kids, raise your kids . . . "

And there's more:

"Your body needs water, so drink that s---. Your body needs water, so drink that s--- . . . Buy some land. Buy some land. F--- spinning rims . . . "

In a news release, BET's vice president of music, Stephen G. Hill, explained the company's position by saying "Airing this video may be risky, but we feel it's a risk we're willing to take.

"It's a brilliantly done satire and we certainly trust that our audience will find the humor and the message in the piece."

The humor's not going to be a problem. People are going to get that. The message, though, will have to wait for another day. *