Recently, MTV chose to cover Nuyoricans for their documentary-esque show “True Life.” As an individual of Hispanic heritage that hails from New York, I find it great that a television network would want to cover a group of marginalized individuals and depict them in a more honest light but in all actuality “True Life” falls extremely short on its purpose. In picking participants for the episode, MTV chose 3 individuals whom: 1) all dropped out of high school or did not attend college; 2) all spoke some sort of slang or in a stereotypical “Nuyorican” dialect; 3) live in or say they hail from the Bronx; and 4) live in a housing situation that is stereotypical within potrayal of the media.
First off, I find it problematic that MTV only choses to pick a highly limited number of individuals. There has to be someone within the production team of “True Life” that has taken psychology and has learned that studies are generally done on larger populations because they will provide more realistic results. It is not surprising that MTV “True Life: I’m A Nuyorican” was such a skewed view when we see that only 3 individuals (out of how many in New York City) were interviewed.
Also, I want to know what their objective going into the project was because if it was “What it’s really like to be Puerto Rican in New York City” then I want to know what part of that experience they wanted to show. Were they trying to show a different side from what the media portrays? Did they have an idea of what kind of Puerto Ricans they wanted to interview? Because frankly, they are simply adding to the racist notions found within America’s society. Was it difficult for them to find an individual that deviated from stereotypes or was it just more convenient for them?
Honestly, I am offended by MTV’s attempt and when I Google the episode I am glad to see that I am not the only one who feels this way. Sadly, it is amongst individuals of Hispanic descent, rather than a whole group of people who were educated and shown that this particular episode is not real life. I cannot help but believe that there is a sort of racial ignorance at the core of this episode.
MTV: Chane Title of Nuyorican True Life
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