'Girls' isn't racist. But Rupert Murdoch might be.

I get that things will not always go my way. I'm a firm believer in temporarily venting these frustrations and disappointments out to my friends that willingly listen [THANK YOU], writing it down, and moving on in hopes of creating a better scenario later. Not that everything is within the locust of our control [something else I'm slowly but surely realizing], but we can choose how we react.

I am not a fan of people that complain about their circumstances incessantly when for the most part, their existence is not worth complaining about. And what further gets under my bitten nails (or acrylic, really depends on the day), is when people do nothing productive to create a new reality. This is one of the reasons the 'May Day' protesters in Seattle particularly irritated me. Destroying the property of someone else's while wearing their brand is probably not the wisest decision. And if you can afford the shoes of the storefront in which you are currently destroying, my sympathies do not lie with you.

This issue is a bit of a side note [shocker], as my main purpose was to address the issue of a few black folks criticizing the new HBO show "Girls." Lena Dunham, the show's creator, head writer and lead actress, is a white woman in her mid-twenties. Her show "Girls" takes place in Williamsburg in the borough of Brooklyn, NY and in the THREE episodes that have been aired, follow the happenings of her and her three friends whom are also white.

I like the show. Correction, I have loved the first three episodes. As a woman in her mid-twenties, errr late twenties, I can still relate to aspects of the characters. Am I white? No. Do I live in New York? No.

Following the airing of the second episode, there were numerous op-ed columns devoted to ripping Dunham apart. "Why are there no black characters? It's in New York, after all, the most diverse city in the United States! We have a black president, haven't we evolved?!" Ugh. Give me a break.

How many shows have come before Dunham who have aired much more than 3 episodes that consisted of casts of predominantly white people? Friends (10 seasons). Seinfeld (9 seasons). HBO's own, Sex and The City (6 seasons) and Entourage (8 seasons). How I Met Your Mother (still airing; tell us who the damn mom is already). Yes, these shows have had black characters, but never apart of the staple foursome or sixsome that are the consistent make up of the show.

I get it. People want to watch people who look like them and have similar experiences. They want to relate. As I've mentioned, I can relate to what are white characters. I also can relate to black characters and often remember watching shows like, "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air" and "The Cosby Show" and thinking that they resembled my family. Were my parents doctors and lawyers and made of wealth? No. Did we live in a rich suburb of LA or a brownstone in Brooklyn? No.

What I'll admit...

It is annoying when you only see stereotypical portrayals of your race on television. As the homeless man, the prostitute woman, the thug with no father figure who thinks there are no other options but selling heroin. The reason for these stereotypical and frequent portrayals is because of who owns the media. 70% of our media is made up by about 6 companies: Disney, News Corporation, Time Warner, NBC Universal, Viacom and CBS Corporation. Within these companies comes 90% of our television programming (news and entertainment). Who do you think owns these companies?

I met the former CEO of Time Warner while in college and he was a black man. At that time, they fully owned the CW or what used to be called the WB. And guess what was on? Sister, Sister. Smart Guy. Shows with black people. But when Rupert Murdoch owns Fox, don't be surprised that the only black girl on "Glee" is sassy, sports large gold bling around her neck that reads 'Foxy,' is the best singer in the cast, and is full-figured. Or that the Asian girl has different color streaks in her hair from week-to-week and is dating the only other Asian character on the show who is a phenomenal break dancer.

It does disappoint me that our perspective is so limited because of who is control and decides what is worthy of television. It also disappoints me when a student raises his hand in class and says, "Well, there is BET." Oh my. PS - Guess who owns BET? The same fools that allow "Jersey Shore" to air, as MTV, MTV2, VH1, CMT and BET are all owned by Viacom.

What I know...


Race isn't the only way we connect and relate with one another. And on the contrary, I often watch shows in which I have absolutely nothing at all in common with the characters. I love "Dexter" and you'll be happy to know that I'm not a serial killer. "Breaking Bad" is one of my addictions, but I don't share the plot line addiction of doing or cooking meth. And "True Blood?" My girlfriends and I used to plan Sunday dinners around this show and none of us will melt in the sun's light. I also DVR "The View" on the regular and I have absolutely nothing in common with Sherri Shepherd, except the fact that we are both...black.

If you want your story told, share it. WRITE IT. Pitch it. But don't pick on a 24 year old woman for honestly telling her own in a clever, funny and relatable way. Don't expect someone else to write what your experience is and is perhaps something that they have no real knowledge about. That's where stereotypes are created, where they grow and where they get comfy cozy and manifest itself within our popular culture.

But this is only my humble opinion. And contrary to popular belief, I am not speaking for all of "us."

The Reality of Glee.

Glee. What a smart fresh new show.

Something that celebrates talent of young people instead of their consecutive idiotic decisions, harming both their liver and increasing their chances for melanoma. At least they have clean laundry. Yes, I’m not-so-subtly waving my finger at you Guidos and Guidettes of the ‘Jersey Shore.’

I know there are a lot of good shows out there too; I’ve seen my fair share:

Meet the family of 2010.

B. Stinson showing his friends and all of us how to be AWESOME.

'Deal breaker' if you don't watch this.

This just makes me tingle with joy. That's what she said.

I also know there are more than a few not so great shows out there, and I admit, I’ve seen my share of those. And watched more than just one episode. I understand the whole appeal to these subpar TV listings that pollute our Comcast guides. It’s the whole ‘train wreck’ phenomenon where we cry, “I just can’t look away!" Weird thing about this is that you can. It’s called the power button and with a slight lift followed by descent of your thumb, it can all fade to black. Or to Glee.

So why tune into Fox at 9pm every Tuesday?

Glee takes us back to the harsh walls of the four year institution known as high school, or better known to some as hell. The time where you were judged for the superficiality of things such as the clothes you wore because that’s what your parents could afford (Mervyn's survivor here-upgraded to Old Navy in high school) to the location of your locker.

The kids of Glee find themselves facing these same challenges, and some worse (I don't know about you but I never took a slushie to the face), but confront them with the majestic sound of song. We've taken song to the stage to tell stories and to the big screen...and finally to our flat screens. And why not?

Through a diddy, can't we find ourselves back at the scene of our first kiss, best night of our lives or the moment we fell in love for the first time? Then appropriate follow-up songs for when that person we thought we loved betrayed us? Sidenote: REM-'Everybody Hurts' is one of my favorite sulking songs. Feel free to use it. And, I don't think I'm alone on this, sometimes don't we wish it would be appropriate to break into song at the most inopportune of moments? Sometimes we are without words (even me) so we must borrow from the best.

Glee reminds us what it's like to have dreams that never seemed impossible thanks to Rachel Barry. We all knew "that girl" in high school and we probably hated them...probably because we were envious of that talent and the self-confidence that came with that talent...we wondered where does that come from? I have trouble finding it now. Our Rachel Barry went on to become Miss America, point made.

Summed Up: A collection of misfits finding their purpose through musical verses. And it sounds amazing. (Okay..that was cheesy)

And thanks to the latest episode with the fantastic vocal assistance of my beloved Neil Patrick Harris, I will continue to Dream On.