Opposing Views: Here's Why 'Empire' Just Makes Me Sad

I fell in love with movies when I finally got to college and took a film studies course. Oh, I had always watched movies but my favorites starred Vin Diesel. I generally watched mediocre action crap and being exposed to "The Godfather" movies with an accompanying literate conversation was eye-opening. But I remember one argument I had with Ross, an Italian-American whose family was six or seven generations removed from the boat. He acknowledged the greatness of the Godfathers I & II. But he also hated the fact that such a great piece of art used the mob as its creative center. "Imagine that the best Black movie ever was the biography of Jack Benny's sidekick Rochester!" A comment that started a fight that never really ended between us.

I never understood his point until I started watching the new Fox drama "Empire." Set in the world of a successful rap & hip-hop label, "Empire" is often a creative wonder. The acting is uniformly great and the storyline involving a gay son is groundbreaking television.

 

Yet as an African-American man with a one-year old son, it also saddens me that the best showcase for our talent on television is also a show that focuses on such a dark & depressing part of our experience. Yes, the storylines in "Empire" can track real life closely and the music is an accurate and vital part of our culture. But in the same way that Italian-Americans are more than the mob, African-Americans are more than rap music & sports. We have so many stories to tell and I wish the producers had picked one of those stories to focus on instead. 

I realize that this stance seems ungrateful, but fuck it. "Empire" isn't the story about our people that I want my son to think of first as he's growing up. There's nothing wrong with being a Rap label mogul. But why is the first story we had to tell? At my bleakest, I sometimes think that these types of stories are the ones easiest for White America to accept. I don't want to believe that's true, but the fact that it even crosses my mind is an indication of how conflicted I am about the show.

 

Tariq L. is a painter & multimedia artist who lives near Chicago.

"Opposing Views" is a regular feature that offers readers the chance to give their unpopular or controversial opinion on an issue involving television, culture & the media. To submit your idea or column, send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..