What Entertains You?

Many will say… What entertains you defines you. I must say I disagree to some extent. Many of us partake in watching certain shows for pure entertainment. A chance to let our minds relax and purely watch someone else’s dream unfold. I think I look at it one step further. As in, the ones creating it… what are they creating to capture a certain audience and how do you decided to capture them.

As I listen to different radio shows on my way in the office or my way out to meet with family and friends, I find myself amazed by the commercials and advertisements for certain businesses. I hear commercials that start with songs and melodies of current “hot” songs, children voices on commercials meant for adults, certain slang used to apparently attract a certain market, and other things that leave me saying hmmmm. I am not judging how people decide to market, but I do wonder if it truly captures the market they are attempting to get into the fish net. Is it the fact that we have professionals putting out a signal of what appears to be relatable sounds to capture certain people. Have we gotten to a point in today’s world that a professional can’t just advertise their product without attempting to send an SOS for what innuendo’s they feel will alert those masses and does it even work. I find myself taken back many times by the marketing and advertising underlined areas of cries to relate to only one type of market. I do agree, you can’t market the same to every market. However, I must admit it comes as a little bit of a slap in the face when you hear some of these attempts and think, this would not grab my business. It is not because I feel I am better than others, but it is because simply put, it doesn’t attract my attention in a positive manner. What it does do for me is make me think; why do they feel this would appeal to the masses? Why is this being aired on a show or shows that gears themselves toward family with “high level adult catches” that will cause parents to have to explain further? Perhaps I read to much into these things. Perhaps it is because of the quality of commercials and advertising I see happening on the online radio market that continues to grow without these attempts. Could it be that I have to consider these same things when marketing myself??

I recall when I started brainstorming and meeting over and over with one particular mentor. How he continued to ask, who is your market? He continued to drill in my head that if I did not know my market, I would not know how to reach or market to get their attention. I had to do my research and come up with commercials that best suited what I was starting and continuing to do.

I see these shows out that seem to attempt to relate to certain genders, race, and what they feel some one go through in certain situations. I just have to ask myself, although you have to generalize to some extent, what makes that final determination on how to reach out. If a company feels it is best to reach you by using slang and things they “feel” like could capture a certain market are they wrong or smart for appealing to those masses? Perhaps it is just me that finds myself bored by the lazy attempt to reach masses by using common terms that you wouldn’t use daily in your professional practice. I understand speaking to people on their level or in terms they can understand. However, remember the same way you got them to come in maybe the same way they attempt to handle or do business with you. I think we have to be careful as to what we put out there to represent ourselves as businesses and organizations so it is not misunderstood. Rest assured an attorney is not going to use the urban dictionary when preparing for a case, nor will a doctor use relatable terms to explain an illness normally. U know why, because their profession is just that. They may find a way to relate based on terms that a person can understand, but when dealing with their professional partners of all races and backgrounds they are going to be professional. Don’t misunderstand what I am saying. I am not advising that an attorney speaking with someone with no legal background use legal jargon only, but they will find a way to relate in a professional manner. If you are reading this and find yourself offended, I encourage you to take a seat and a breathe as you maybe the one of the one’s they are attempting to catch by throwing this ridiculous line in the water.

I see television shows and movies that share bits and pieces that make me think back to the first time of seeing a movie called Dancing in September. It s an older movie with Nicole Ari Parker, Isaiah Washington, Marcia Cross, and Jennifer Lewis in it. The movie shows the story line of a young black women aspiring to move up in the television world. She is met with some resistance as she attempts to bring some quality to the world of television. As she attempts to bring quality black television she is met with hurdles of it being funny enough to capture the white market and have certain things that subconsciously relate to black people. The items they found relatable to black people were things like hot sauce and skin tone of actors and actresses. I watched the movie in the last few years and thought it was pretty interesting as I found that some of the same things they struggle with in the movie are things you see in current shows now. I say that in reference to the shows Blackish, Empire, Real Housewives of Atlanta. I wonder if anyone else while watching these shows catch these things. I would say I see more of it in Blackish than the other two I names. Is it the laughs which come easy with the father Louis Anderson on the show or the struggle for a black family to still relate to some of what others would consider or recognize as normal in a black home in a suburban community. Is it relatable as the characters tend to be of a certain shade of black skin tones? I wonder if Empire ratings are what they are as they don’t seem to throw out as many relatable areas, rather they relate to so many people as some of us can see family members in people on the show based on characteristics. I won’t dive into Real Housewives of Atlanta as you can check out my blog called Reality vs Reality TV if you would like to hear my views on that show.

I’m not here to rant and rave, but hope that some of you start to think as you find what entertains you and why. Is it any different then the poor young women in Imitation of Life attempting to make it in life when being biracial was not so widely accepted. Was she wrong for wanting to enjoy the finer things in life and make a different way based on her looks and what she felt most easily related? I personally enjoyed this sad movie, but it does bring some great angles to think about. I don’t judge people by what entertains them per say as I am the first one to enjoy something that allows me a mental break. However, if you find that you have nothing else going for yourself outside of being caught in reality television or looking to define yourself by the stereotype some advise by… I am going to say you may want to take some you time and figure out what and why these things attract and keep you.