An open letter to the host of MTV’s celebration of bigotry.
By Mark Pike, American Progress
Thursday May 25, 2006
Dear Mr. Wilmer Valderrama,
Congrats on making Yo Momma the hit #3 television show in MTV’s lineup! I’ve been a huge fan of your show ever since I stumbled across it on Mother’s Day when I was looking for a new episode of Date My Mom. And, no, I don’t have an Oedipus complex.
There’s one thing that bothers me about Yo Momma (the show, not your maternal unit): some of the things the contestants say are really offensive. Sure, part of the game is hurling the most unique, cutting, and sometimes degrading insults they could possibly imagine, as is the format when “playing the dozens” (a term which is deeply rooted in the lexicon of slave auctions). But what if the show took a different approach and all the contestants attempted to smother the other’s mother with kindness?
Instead of “your mother is so fat, her blood type is Ragu” (which, according to the American Medical Association is not medically possible), how about a gentler approach? “Your mother is sooo well-rounded, and I’m not talking about her body type. She genuinely has a wealth of skills and knowledge. I respect her a lot.”
But, hey, mean is one thing, but I really don’t understand why you giggle as the contestants frequently resort to the types of racist jokes that haven’t really been considered socially acceptable since the days of Jim Crow laws and blackface comedians? Instead of, “your mother is so black, they use her bath water to dye bowling balls,” how about “your mother has a deep respect for African-American heritage and she even celebrates Black History month not just in February, which is the shortest month of the year, but every other month, because there is so much to learn about and love.”
When you laugh, and even pay $1,000 “cash money” in response to these insults, it gives the impression that you are actively endorsing, promoting, and reinforcing stereotypes. It’s irresponsible to host a show where you objectively score participants on the efficacy and creativity with which they recreate and reinforce the old, vicious social construct: the whiter, the better. There are jokes about kinky hair, “black” facial features, and, over and over, the darkness of a contestant’s mom’s skin.
Didn’t you just get the creeps a little tiny bit when, in a recent episode, a white guy named Bruno, who eventually won that episode, joked: “Yo momma’s so black…somebody tried to shoot her at night and the bullets came back saying ‘we can’t find the bitch’?"
Sometimes, contestants stray from the prescribed format of the show, which I thought was limited to their opponent’s moms. I was kind of confused when, out of nowhere, a contestant turned to another and said “You look like a Mexican lemonhead.” This part of the show wasn’t nearly as focused and entertaining as I thought it could be. How bout, “You appear Hispanic, and would therefore probably be interested in learning more about the civil rights and liberties that are currently being eroded by the Bush Administration’s policies towards immigrants.” This impromptu dialogue about important issues could have been highly informative, and could surprise you with even better TV ratings!
Also, part of the show revolves around paying a visit to the finalist’s house where you’re allowed to collect “ammo” to use against your sworn enemy. Topics range from personal hygiene to poverty and even sexual orientation. Instead of “you and your mom are so poor, you went to the post office looking for food stamps,” how about “I recognize the financial hardship that your family endures, and understand that this is no laughing matter?”
I would think that, as a Venezuelan immigrant who has truly lived the American Dream (and, no, you perv, I am not referring to your alleged dalliances with Lindsay Lohan, Mandy Moore, etc.), you would be more sensitive to how these important social issues are portrayed in the television medium.
Didn’t Yo Momma raise you better than this?
Sincerely,
Mark Pike
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Comments
Ye Ghods, I hope this is satire or sarcasm!
— Fferret - May 26, 01:32 PM - #Right On! This show as well as several others are a part of the trend to “Turn back the hands of time.”
— W. Blake - May 26, 02:38 PM - #Wow…if this guy really cares this much about a show, and lives his life this politically correct, then he seriously has something wrong with him.
— Iconcolastic (Micheal Blyth) - May 26, 04:19 PM - #I was appalled when I first caught this show while at the gym. Bad taste aside, all I could think of is that what these “contestants” should do is band together and take down the real enemy—the crass and exploitative execs who come up with this garbage, paying kids a pittance to cut one another down. “Yo Momma” is smarmy, tasteless garbage, and I give props to Campus Progress for this editorial.
— Erin - May 26, 06:52 PM - #It’s the sort of show Bob Johnson would be proud of, and the rest of humanity should turn away from.
— JR - May 27, 08:32 PM - #I don’t know, Yo Momma jokes are pretty funny. But then again I’m not black or poor or an immigrant, so it’s hard for me to know what funny is.
— Ari Miller - May 28, 08:26 AM - #While comedy’s usually given a looser constraint, knowing it isn’t serious, this doesn’t justify the garbage on the show.
Thanks MTV, for setting the progress of American race relations back 20 years.
— Lally Singh - May 28, 04:03 PM - #“Thanks MTV, for setting the progress of American race relations back 20 years.”
A half hour show on MTV set race relations back 20 years?
— Matt Bors - May 29, 12:41 PM - #Well, there’s also “My Super Sweet 16” which sets American intelligence back 20 IQ points.
— August J. Pollak - May 29, 05:25 PM - #That I can agree on
— Matt Bors - May 30, 11:20 AM - #so i am not alone
— Josh - May 30, 12:21 PM - #Thank you. Know how many people MTV reaches? Know how many of those people mindlessly quote the b.s. from the shows? What’s so wrong with entertaining ourselves with what is REAL… using our minds to manifest awareness, understanding, and community.
— KD - May 30, 03:20 PM - #Oversensitive tightwad. These people are free to say whatever the hell they want, and you are free to change the channel whenever the hell you want.
— Kolle - Jun 2, 05:44 PM - #There is no right not to be offended.
I agree that this type of show shouldnt be on the air. America’s so dissensified to these kinds of things tho that some people dont think its a big deal. Glad you took a stand against the insensitivity :D
— Bianca - Jun 7, 02:14 PM - #When I first saw the show, I just thought it was corny and haven’t watched it since it originally aired. But reading this and seeing how far the jokes have gone, I do see it as taking a step backwards. It’s the same as black people using the word “nigga” and everyone else using it too, because they see no harm. Yes they can say whatever they want, but I feel like we need to look at how these jokes can effect others and the pyschological effects.
— Natalie - Jul 7, 02:18 PM - #Hey Wilmer if your single and looking for a gurl that can get down I am right here sweetie. you go do your thing on ya mamma. love ya.
Sincerely, Renee
— Renee Korona - Sep 10, 04:29 PM - #The “your momma’s so black” jokes are more tired than anything else. This show is sad and pathetic; and it’s more pathetic that this will be broadcast to young people all over the world.
Hopefully, the African-American artists with dignity will boycott appearing on MTV/VH1 sets until this program ends. Have some self-respect people.
— Emmett - Oct 23, 01:53 AM - #I agree with Kolle, June 2
— Phoebster - Dec 23, 09:00 PM - #All you hypocritis and wanna be “Politically Correct” Get a Frickin Life! Wilmer is the bomb!