Argus Reporter
College Hill REVIEW
What happens when you a producer takes eight black college students on a historically black campus and film their every move? The answer is College Hill, a reality television show gone bad. A couple of weeks ago, many viewers tuned into the first black reality television show on BET. The casts of College Hill, includes a diverse group of young black students from different backgrounds attending Southern University in Baton Rouge, La. The men include your huggable “teddy bear,” Delano, your handsome football player Kevin, Your “no-nonsense nerd”, Jabari, and last but definitely not least, your cocky fraternity boy, Gabriel. The ladies are your classic snob, Veronica, your all-star cheerleader, Nina, your wild “no drawers wearing” woman Kinda, and your tell- it-all baby mama Shandrea. Together, these students make up a rather interesting cast for a reality TV show. So what went wrong? Producer Stephen Hill, should have thought about this show a little bit longer and harder before letting it roll. For starters, the video production’s quality is horrible. The show looks like it was recorded on a personal cam-recorder instead of by a professional camera crew. Secondly, the show targets more on subjects of hygiene, sex, relationships, and drama instead of issues with professors, classmates, and conflicts with classes. Although the members of the cast do portray some of your students on historically black campuses, the majority of them are not like the students shown.. Next, BET is calling it a reality television show, however, the producers are taking an active role in manipulating student activities. For example, in one episode, male students ride in a limo stocked with beer and Budweiser girls. I don’t know about any other campus, but I know that is definitely not happening everyday at my university. A stunt like this definitely does not capture the reality of the college life experience and does not hold on to credibility. Although this show is being compared to MTV’s Real World, it is turning out to be a cheap unrealistic cop out. Yes the fast cuts are executed, but the consistency of how the show is constructed changes. On the Real World, you could count on an occasional caption to refresh your memory on the characters as well as other various information. On College Hill, the characters and information were shown once, and never again. Along with MTV’s, Real World, BET ‘s new reality series is also being compared to Showtime’s “Freshman Diaries”, a reality show that was filmed on the campus of the University of the Texas. The differences between the two shows are the big role that producers are playing in altering the college life on the show. I believe that having a full cast of African Americans on a reality television show is a great idea just being produced the wrong way. The 13-week series seems to be portraying HBCU’s and their students negatively when we offer so much more. As a young black college student, I want to see young blacks being more positive and less negative. I believe that College Hill should show the good times, the bad times, and the truth, not just ignorance and the downside of HBCU’s. Reality shows work better and are more interesting when producers shape their characters, and allow audiences to watch them grow. Action will be shown, but so will emotions that engage us and pull us into each individual’s personal life. On College Hill ,the show moves so fast, you don’t really have time to learn anything about the characters. The minute you think you’re really getting deep into someone, the show moves to someone else. Unfortunately, College Hill only gets 2 stars from me: 1 for effort, the other for hope.