[skeeliteful]

I saw the commercial for this today

Black in the 80's-Vh1

Part I: Color TV--This hour explores African American influence on television broadcasting during the 1980's. At the onset of the decade, African American roles on TV were limited to specific character types like the friendly maid, the cute black kid, and the strange and unusual like Mr. T. As the decade progressed, with help from the hip-hop explosion, an audience emerged craving black culture. Names like Bill Cosby, Oprah Winfrey, Arsenio Hall, Bryant Gumbel, BET and YO MTV RAPS were there to fill the void, and permanently change the face and color of television.


Part II: Def JamsDef Jams - Black music experienced nothing less than a renaissance in the 1980's. From the unmitigated success of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" to the rise of a new generation of Black pop stars like Whitney, Tina, Lionel, and Janet, to the ascendancy of rap and hip hop culture; the 1980's was a decade where black musicians reinvented themselves, took advantage of MTV's new avenues of exposure and made inroads into mainstream white culture like never before. This hour explores the evolution of black music in the 1980's by examining the biggest developments of the decade, and asks in the end what was sold, who was buying, and where does that leave it all today.


Part III: Color on FilmColor In Film - On the heels of the 70's Blaxploitation era, major studios continued to give a limited view of African-American life through film. This hour will examine if these roles/movies transcended or perpetuated existing stereotypes, spoke to a generation, kept us laughing or ignited some to take the black cinema experience into their own hands-by any means necessary. We will celebrate the triumphs of African Americans who contributed to the magic of cinema in the 80's.


Series starts, Tuesday, February 1, 2005 @ 9:00 on Vh1