We Got to Do Better

Date of release: 25 Jul 2007

Description

We Got to Do Better, originally titled Hot Ghetto Mess, is an American television series on Black Entertainment Television. The show is based on the cult website hotghettomess.com, which satirizes aspects of the African-American working class. Jam Donaldson, creator of the website and lawyer, is the show's executive producer. Charlie Murphy, known for his role on Chappelle's Show, is the show's host. The show's content has been described as "combin[ing] viewer-submitted home videos and BET-produced man-on-the-street interviews that the channel said are intended to challenge and inspire 'viewers to improve themselves and their communities.'" Although Donaldson has said of Hotghettomess.com that "My mission with this site is to usher in a new era of self-examination", the site has been described as merely an expansive gallery of the worst of hip hop culture. However, BET programming director Reginald Hudlin insisted that the show was not a direct translation of the website, and the show was billed by BET as a tongue-in-cheek social examination of black culture. The show has experienced controversy due to its negative portrayals of African Americans, causing a name change. Despite the name change, it was reported that at least two sponsors withdrew from the show as a result of the surrounding controversy.