Being Mary Jane

 

All right, I realize I’m going to catch heat for this but you all know me, I have to keep it 100, 24/7 365.

I’m watching the season finale of BET’s original series Being Mary Jane and assuming this train wreck returns for a second season, I certainly won’t be back.

I had misgivings about this show from the start, mainly because it’s on BET, the network that claims to be for black people but secretly hates black people and works to do the work of destroying us on levels that only Klan could dream of.

If you need any more reason to hate this network, simply google the discrimination lawsuit between BET and B. Scott.

The only reason I gave this show a shot and watched it through the entire season is because of my adoration of Gabrielle Union. She’s an extraordinary talent and her longevity in the business is a testament to what an amazing actress she is.

You all know my commitment to marginalized media and often I’m usually more patient sometimes with shows and movies than I normally would be.

For that matter, the rest of the cast is first rate. However I can’t say the same for the writing and storylines.Being Mary Jane is another example of Black Woman Pain Porn that rivals the tripe of anything from the Tyler Perry/Lee Daniels ouevre.

Despite being a successful national tv news personality, Mary Jane Paul is a miserable woman who leads a miserable life. Despite being from an affluent family, one wouldn’t know it given that MJ finances her niece who keeps having kid after kid and her brother who is a recovering addict. Her mother is the definition of passive aggressive and MJ’s father just can’t wait for her to die, as we’re reminded in every recap.

I haven’t even covered the fuckery of MJ stealing the sperm of one lover and her having an adulterous affair with another lover and playing as the quintessential home-wrecker. The less said about MJ’s speech to a women’s luncheon on how being a mistress and second best will get you places, the better.

The biggest problems is that these characters are not sympathetic and are absolutely horrid. I get flawed and complicated characters but this show plays into yet another deplorable attack on the image of black people by a white supremacist network.

What’s even more tragic is this show is such a missed opportunity in terms of storytelling and representing black women and other women of color as something other than a train wreck.