Beyond the Barrio: Animated BET Satire Needs Disclaimer To ID It As Satire

The above clip is a BET cartoon called “Read A Book” that uses the guise of a Public Service Announcement on the value of literacy to lampoon the misogynistic, materialistic, and gaudy aesthetic associated with rap music these days. (A sample hook? “Your body needs water, so drink that shit!”) Despite the obvious absurdity of the video’s images and message, mainstream media like The Los Angeles Times and The New York Times have felt the need to let innocent viewers know that this is an example of what people who read call ’satire.’ Unfortunately, they also take the opportunity to call the network’s taste into question. So beat back such PC idiocy by gathering your Black friends and watching it without being offended. You might even laugh. A little.

BET Says Cartoon Was Just a Satire [NY Times]