Anyone feel that "Real Housewives of Atlanta" stereotyped the city? (legal, rich)

[DTL3000]

Atlanta has always been about hype so it's not really that much of an exaggeration.

[terrence81]

I don't know. Honestly I don't think its that serious or a big deal. The housewives franchise does purposely go after regional stereotypes. Not to get off track but they've started filming the real housewives of DC up here. I was hoping for a DC version of housewives of atlanta particularly highlighting the large amount of black wealth in DC that rivals Atlanta's. Instead they specifically did a casting call for those that are politically connected and none of them seem to be athlete's wives and I don't think any of them are black but I could be wrong only found info on a few of them but not all. The show is playing on the stereotype that everyone in DC is into politics and charity balls. The average person in DC has nothing to do with politics. The average person in Orange county lives in a mundane suburban subdivision or condo versus living in a fancy gated community. The average person in New Jersey is not a hot headed Italian. So yeah not that serious. The show didn't stereotype Atlanta the stereotypes were already set.

Honestly to those that are like well they should have more than 20 percent of their cast white: so what? The other housewive shows have no black cast members. That certainly is not representative of Orange county, New Jersey or NYC. So yeah me thinks thou doth protest too much.

[jhtrico1850]

Good show, good drama, and personally, it shows the wealthy side of Atlanta, whereas I think people kind of think Atlanta is just a stop to Florida.

[kingchef]

Originally Posted by terrence81

I don't know. Honestly I don't think its that serious or a big deal. The housewives franchise does purposely go after regional stereotypes. Not to get off track but they've started filming the real housewives of DC up here. I was hoping for a DC version of housewives of atlanta particularly highlighting the large amount of black wealth in DC that rivals Atlanta's. Instead they specifically did a casting call for those that are politically connected and none of them seem to be athlete's wives and I don't think any of them are black but I could be wrong only found info on a few of them but not all. The show is playing on the stereotype that everyone in DC is into politics and charity balls. The average person in DC has nothing to do with politics. The average person in Orange county lives in a mundane suburban subdivision or condo versus living in a fancy gated community. The average person in New Jersey is not a hot headed Italian. So yeah not that serious. The show didn't stereotype Atlanta the stereotypes were already set.

Honestly to those that are like well they should have more than 20 percent of their cast white: so what? The other housewive shows have no black cast members. That certainly is not representative of Orange county, New Jersey or NYC. So yeah me thinks thou doth protest too much.

i think i'll watch one of the shows when one of them puts on the profile of america's largest ethnic minority, the mexican population. to me, the 2000 census reported about 42-44 million legal mexican residents in the u.s. and its territories, while about 33 million blacks were reported. since the 2000 census, the mexican population in the u.s. has reportedly mushroomed to over 22% over the 2000 census. currently, the largest official legal miniority in the u.s. happens to be mexican.

interestingly, blacks are portrayed in roughly half of the entertainment shows on television, in commercials, and in the news---good and bad. where is the representation of the largest minority? i have noticed, particularly since obama has been around, that the marketing strategy of america has changed to reflect the light skinned black male and female. suddenly, most major new stations, anchors, and reporters are light skinned blacks w/ perfect teeth, long straight hair, and authorities on everything from politics to finance to dog grooming. from viewing commercials and watching some of the drama-type programs on television, one could easily conclude that blacks are in the majority in a country w/ a total population of around 275-300 million people. it seems most of hollywood believes that every hospital emergency room has, as its director, a black doctor commanding the ship. the hospital usually has a black hospital administrator and generally a hot shot brilliant surgeon, who is only one step under the Almighty. if not this scenario, then we have the crackerjack detective sgt and his lt, who solve the cases that the fbi and cia have been lack on solving. when the case goes to trial---superior, civil, criminal, common pleas, supreme court---the black judge will usually hear the crackerjack black attorney argue for the alleged criminal, and on and on it goes. those who study sociology and, certainly, those who are looking for material to use in writing a master's thesis or doctoral dissertation have rich ground to turn in this current climate. to me, it has become silly and trite, regardless of the city or region.

[AtlMuslimah]

it does stereotype Atlanta but in a bad way. It doesn't paint the whole scene of what Atlanta is all about. It's quite sad the women Bravo pick to represent Atlanta. The show is amusing because of the characters they have on there, you're watching rich women with ghetto habits.

[jhtrico1850]

Originally Posted by kingchef

i think i'll watch one of the shows when one of them puts on the profile of america's largest ethnic minority, the mexican population.

Kim Zolciak is a Latina Who Blogs and Who’s Not Michael Lohan’s Novia | Hissip

She is part Hispanic?

[AtlMuslimah]

I bout drop my cup of chocolate on this gossip.

Originally Posted by jhtrico1850

Kim Zolciak is a Latina Who Blogs and Who’s Not Michael Lohan’s Novia | Hissip

She is part Hispanic?

[anothermom]

Originally Posted by FloRida2Atl

it does stereotype Atlanta but in a bad way. It doesn't paint the whole scene of what Atlanta is all about. It's quite sad the women Bravo pick to represent Atlanta. The show is amusing because of the characters they have on there, you're watching rich women with ghetto habits.

Well put!

[jennb_devon]

Originally Posted by anadyr21

So while I think most people understand reality shows aren't real, there are some that will use the show to justify their own racist or stereotyped beliefs.

Ditto...

[jennb_devon]

Originally Posted by mike7586

All of the women on the housewives show illustrate the stereotype of the place the show is about. Look at Orange County - a bunch of skinny, bleach blonde money-hungry women that all had a bunch of plastic surgery, NJ - a bunch of trashy italian women with bad tempers, NY - arrogant, flashy, but more "sophisticated" out of all of the shows, ATL - 4 African American women and 1 white woman. All exactly like the stereotypes of each place. Besides, if all of these people were "normal" there would be no TV show. If you think this makes ATL look bad, then this show makes all the other places look just as bad too.

Well said, Mike. I really don't see what the big deal is. It's like that one poster said in so many words, maybe the dissapointment and the disturbance with this show is really racism on the politically correct level.