BET's The Game TV Series

TV’s The Game by Patricia Britt

“The Game” started out good, because it was new. It was great to see so many good black actors that made you believe the peaks, and valleys in a pro athletes life, for dramas sake. Tia Mowry & Pooch Hall were a compelling couple determined to triumph through love eventually, even through their push, and pull relationship.

“The Game” has become redundant in its portrayal of the rich black athlete. I haven’t watched it much since Lauren London was brought into the cast after the mysterious departures of Tia Mowry, & Pooch Hall if it was their decision to leave, they probably felt their characters were painted into a corner. What more emotional dirt, and trauma could they possibly endure? The writers may have felt the viewers wouldn’t accept Tia Mowry becoming a stable, dedicated doctor, and kept her husband happy, or Pooch Hall making his family work without too much drama. Nevertheless the comedy-drama was, and is still a draw to many.

Brandy Norwood’s character is a bit one dimensional as another mad black woman, even though the character acknowledged she grew up with two parents. There’s only one Wendy Raquel Robinson in the main role of the flawed yet lovable proud angry black woman. Brandy needs to evolve into a different spirit through the writers to add a stronger level of authenticity, and grace.

I’ll always see Brandy as Moesha, and Cinderella. It has puzzled me for many years why her version of Cinderella in a multiethnic cast isn’t shown annually on any of the networks, or BET hasn’t bought the rights to show it. All girls still need a dream to carry them through reality of more harshness in the world. 

Brandy is a rich girl in real life, and her character is misleading poor girls. Her character is a mere stereotype of her previous work, but she’s all grown up now, good black roles are rare, and her fashion sense is too sharp in magazine articles. The stereotype that black women, are small and petty is solidified in the public’s view to the point a regular sister has to work 3x as hard to be considered welcome on the road to attain life’s piece of the pie.  Because the acting is as good as it is, it might be one more nail in the Hollywood box that makes life precarious, not uplifting for the average black woman. I hope to see Robert Townsend have a cameo appearance someday?

“The Game” centers on the main football player’s ego tripping 90% of the time, with every possible vice displayed, modeling their behavior after the small percentage of pro football players that self destruct when they have the chance to leap boundaries. When in real life a larger percentage of smart athletes, despite predictions to the contrary, learn to be wise investors for themselves, and other athletes, particularly after retirement, if they’re physically intact, so they can delight in what they’ve earned any place in the world, establish foundations, and help their communities while discerning who’s sincere in their quest to reach them.

Whether a hero, a villain, or something in between in acting, or in life all it takes is some Internet research to determine whatever anyone wants to know about any given athlete on a pro team. Athlete’s lives are examined routinely from their elementary school teams through retirement, making their lives an open book of achievement, or sorrow.

Because I haven’t watched “The Game” this season I hope the new guy “Blue” Bryce Westbrook has incorruptible integrity as he navigates the league, and contributes to charity, and if not I hope they will introduce guests athletes from around the tv sports league who are Dudley Do-Rights that rub off on the other guys by osmosis, and display a more rounded portrayal of the athletic world with the heroes as well as damaged souls.

Don’t these guys have any friends in other sports to add new dimensions, and layers of reality to the characters lives? Why does it matter? Because I don’t see how a predominance of ratchet acting can make this world a better place.

At least in “The Game” there’s a chance for redemption with the wave of a pen. “The Game” is still hard to resist, because the actors have harnessed the will of the blemished characters realistically. Overall it's a spellbinding show.

Mad Men is going off the air. In the beginning it was riveting, then you say how extreme can they possibly take the show in a hopeless direction. Let’s hope Nashville hangs on, and there are enough uplifting characters to balance the win at any cost characters.

Zimation Arts & Letters Ink 2014 Copyright


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