Here’s the statement from Lisa Fager of Industry Ears.

Viacom’s MTV continues to justify the exploitation of African American women by hiding behind words like “satire” and “parody”.  The animated portrayal of two African American women scurrying on all fours with leashes around their necks, defecating on a pet shop floor goes far beyond the pale of acceptability.  It is not art; it is an assault.  The justification given by stating that one of the animated dogs points out his disgust by saying, “I find this a bit degrading and I’m a dog” does not eliminate the harm.Actually, the point is countered by the other dog who states, “Are you joking?  What’s cooler than a two-legger who treats other two-leggers like four-leggers?”  This statement emphasizes and reinforces – as tolerable behavior – the treatment of black women as dogs.

The fact that Viacom’s MTV chose to air this program on Saturday afternoons just in time for children to tune in after their morning dose of cartoons, demonstrates their complete disregard for the impact these images have on furthering both racist and misogynistic attitudes.  “Where My Dogs At?” is symptomatic of what appears to be a programming strategy that is aimed at attracting an audience by portraying African American women and communities in the most degrading, confrontational manner imaginable. These images are harmful in our society and promote the racist stereotypes of black women as nothing better than dogs.  The impact on children and young people is even more relevant because internalization of these images can inhibit the development of a healthy self-concept.  It is indeed our right and our duty to teach our children that such negative depictions are not acceptable. There is no place in our society for images that repeatedly and continually cast African Americans in images that are reminiscent of the darkest hours of this nation’s past.

We call on responsible corporate citizens to condemn the airing of this program and any program that propagates harmful, racist stereotypes and misogynistic images.  We think this is wrong and we respectfully ask the President of MTV, Christina Norman, as well as other Viacom executives to
rethink the manner in which they depict African Americans and women.  We urge all concerned individuals and organizations to email Christina Norman ( Christina.Norman@mtv.com ) and their local cable providers to demand the removal of “Where My Dogs At?” and any other program that exploits African Americans and women. 

About Industry Ears

Established in 2004, Industry Ears (IE) is a new generation think-tank focused on media’s impact on children and communities of color. IE is dedicated to addressing and finding solutions to negative and harmful content through media education, research, advocacy, public policy and continuous dialogue with industry stakeholders.

I’m going to try to get Lisa Fager’s full statement on this, so stay tuned. 

MTV2 faces decisions on ‘degrading’ cartoon
Episode of ‘Where My Dogs At?’ showed black women leashed, on all fours 

MSNBC News Services

Updated: 12:19 a.m. ET Aug 10, 2006

The MTV2 network said it had not decided whether it will ever again air a cartoon criticized as offensive for depicting women being led around on leashes.

It’s also not certain whether the series, “Where My Dogs At?” will come back for a second season, spokesman Jeff Castaneda said Wednesday. Its first season ended during the last week of July.

One episode, aired in the early afternoon, featured an appearance by a cartoon Snoop Dogg accompanied by two women in neck collars and chains. MTV2 said the episode was a satire of an actual Snoop appearance where women were in collars and chains.

“We certainly do not condone Snoop’s actions and the goal was to take aim at that incident for its insensitivity and outrageousness,” Castaneda said. “Even one of the dogs, a main character on the show, states, ‘I find that degrading and I am a dog.”’

The cartoon has drawn fire from several prominent African Americans who call the episode degrading.

Critics say MTV2 showed especially poor judgment because the weekly animated program, “Where My Dogs At?”, appeals to young teens and airs at an hour, 12:30 p.m. on Saturdays, when many children are watching television.

The half-hour show lampoons real-life celebrities and pop culture as seen through the eyes of two wise-cracking stray dogs — Woofie and Buddy — voiced by comedians Tracy Morgan and Jeffrey Ross, respectively.

A statement released this week by the Viacom Inc.-owned cable network, whose president, Christina Norman, is black, defended the episode in question as social satire.

In it, a look-alike of rap star Snoop Dogg strolls into a pet shop with two bikini-clad black women on leashes. They hunch over on all fours and scratch themselves as he orders one of them to “hand me my latte.” At the end of the segment, the Snoopathon Dogg Esquire character dons a rubber glove to clean up excrement left on the floor by one of the women.

MTV2 said the “Woofie Loves Snoop” episode first aired on July 1.

Several prominent blacks, including New York Daily News columnist Stanley Crouch, condemned the segment as misogynist, racist and crude, and they questioned the sincerity of MTV’s contention that it was satirizing the outlandish behavior of a real-life rapper.

“Where’s the context in that?” said Lisa Fager, president and co-founder of Industry Ears, a consortium of broadcast industry professionals who monitor and critique media content.

Crouch suggested in a column this week that the “Where My Dogs At?” segment was an extension of dehumanizing images contained in gangsta rap videos aired by MTV and projected ”around the world as ’real’ black culture.”

Payne Brown, a high-ranking executive at cable giant Comcast Corp., said he lodged a personal complaint in an e-mail to Norman but found her response, essentially the same as the network’s press statement, to be “unsatisfying.”

“Clearly, it goes far beyond the pale of anything that remotely could be considered acceptable,” he said of the episode, stressing that he was not speaking for Comcast. “This is just me as an African-American father, husband and son.”

The first season of the show, which carries a rating advising that parents may find its material unsuitable for children under age 14, drew a cumulative audience of 17.2 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

As a cartoon geek, a tangential student of African history and soon-to-be student of African mythology, I couldn’t be happier about this news :):

Click here for the story

LOS ANGELES – Vin Diesel will take on the Roman Empire in a new BET Networks cartoon series about military leader Hannibal.
Diesel will voice the noted general, and his One Race Prods. company is producing the show, titled Hannibal the Conqueror.

The half-hour series will span the life of Hannibal, from his tutelage as a warrior under his father, Hamilcar Barca, to his scaling of the Alps with an army of elephants, and his invasion of Italy.

Diesel, who also is in development on a feature film centering on Hannibal, called the series “groundbreaking.”

“I knew that BET would be the perfect place to launch an animated series that celebrates an African mythology and a general that is probably the most notorious general of all time,” Diesel said. “It’s a story that resonates with everyone–it truly is a celebration of a general who is able to bring everyone together with the common cause to essentially fight for freedom.”

The network has ordered six episodes, and is planning to air it in a primetime slot in fall 2007.

“This isn’t a Saturday morning show–we want to be able to show a lot more of the drama and action that you expect to see in primetime,” BET senior vp animation Denys Cowan said.

I thought my action cartoon-fiending days were over when Cartoon Network’s “Justice League Unlimited” ended this spring. Ancient history told properly from an African-centered mythological perspective…..it’s about damn time! Now, if BET Enterainment President Reginald Hudlin can only get a cartoon about Marvel Comics’ Black Panther green-lit, we’re in business! It shouldn’t be too hard for him to be the liaison, since he writes the character for the monthly comic.