I was watching bad TV with some friends a few days ago when we saw an ad on ABC for a new show called “Welcome to the Neighborhood.” We were mesmerized throughout the thirty-second spot and when it was over, we all agreed that it might be a reality show that was worth watching. The premise is basically this: there’s an empty house in a posh, suburban neighborhood and the residents of said neighborhood get to decide who lives there. The catch is that the potential new neighbors are black, hispanic, poor, tatooed, or in some other way not affluent and white.<\/p>\n
Well guess what? ABC has decided not to air the show. Apparently, upon viewing the six-episode season, several watchdog groups expressed concern about some controversial issues and ABC buckled. Gay rights groups feared that the show would leave unanswered (for a few weeks, anyway) questions raised by and about homophobic suburbanites. The Family Research Council was concerned about the light it shined on evangelicals.<\/p>\n
While I’m sure all those concerned are somewhat right in that this show could paint a less than rosy picture of race relations and gay rights in middle America, isn’t that kind of the point? I mean, if this is a reality show and that shit actually went down, shouldn’t, for the sake of reality, we see it?<\/p>\n