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VH1's Race-O-Rama can amuse, appall

By CHASE SQUIRES
Published February 21, 2005

Viewers of VH1's new hot potato Race-O-Rama , a look at race in America, will have to weigh the show's merits for themselves. There's a thin line between provocative and offensive that gets obliterated at times.

If nothing else, the three-part series may spark discussion. And if it lives on in heavy rotation like I Love the '80s , it will have plenty of opportunities to enlighten, amuse or offend.

The series, rooted in the work of defunct hip-hop magazine Ego Trip , could prove to be more than some want to see or hear.

There's room to be both entertained and aghast. And there's plenty more room to wonder why producers dealing with one of America's toughest issues selected a brain trust that includes has-been comedian Garrett Morris and a self-proclaimed procurer of prostitutes calling himself Mr. White Folks.

In the first installment, "Dude, Where's My Ghetto Pass," producers examine cultural aspects of life in the inner city and how that culture is viewed by white and black Americans.

With commentary provided by a list of pop-culture types - rappers, actors, musicians and comedians - sometimes the words are inflammatory as the show explores which white celebrities are "worthy of a ghetto pass."

The ghetto pass is, as one commentator explains, a mark of acceptance.

Actor Elizabeth Regen pines for a ghetto pass explaining, "As white people, we don't really have anything to identify with."

There are segments discussing slang (with plenty of N-word usage), white people who act like black rappers, and "how to shake hands in the 'hood."

White people deemed deserving of a "ghetto pass" include President Bill Clinton, singer Phil Collins, actor Al Pacino, and the Hamburger Helper claymation hand.

Billed as a "humorous, yet serious look at America's biggest taboo subject, race," VH1 follows the episode "Dude, Where's My Ghetto Pass" with two more installments.

"Blackaphobia!" studies "how much longer will black people be stereotyped as the toughest, most intimidating minority in America." And the episode "In Race We Lust" is a look at interracial dating and love.

Just the stuff for a "humorous, yet serious look."

--Chase Squires can be reached at 727 893-8739 or squires@sptimes.com

[Last modified February 21, 2005, 01:32:19]