Had enough of white supremacists? Hope that they’ll adopt a lower public profile in 2017?
Bad news. A&E has just announced they’ve been filming four Klu Klux Klan families for a new eight-episode reality TV series, Generation KKK.
The subjects of the series include an “Imperial Wizard” trying to recruit his daughter into the KKK and an Iraq war veteran talking racism with his 4-year-old son. Unlike previous TV appearances, KKK members will not have their faces blurred or their names changed for the series.
A&E’s Executive Vice President and General Manager Rob Sharenow is very enthusiastic about his new show. “This series gives viewers an unprecedented look at what it is like to be born into hate,” he said. “Our producers gained access to Klan families allowing for full immersion into this secret world and its impact on the next generation,” he said.
I’m not sure whether the Klu Klux Klan’s outlook really is all that secret, but A&E is desperate to find the new Duck Dynasty and hopes it will be a viewing smash when it airs starting January 10.
The media is divided about the merits of this show. The Hollywood Reporter wrote: “To say that the series’ arrival is timely would be an understatement. The racial divide and white nationalism have been among the bigger themes to emerge from the recent election. David Duke, a former Klan leader and perhaps one of the most outspoken racists in America, was a vocal Donald Trump supporter and has called his presidential victory a win for ‘his people.'”
But Salon took a negative view with its headline reading, “This is not normal.” On social media they’re also not happy:
Dear @AETV & @nytimesarts, I’m absolutely horrified that you would produce Generation KKK & that NYT would review as if this is all normal.
— Ellen Oh (@ElloEllenOh) December 19, 2016
You must be f-ing kidding me! White Supremacist show comes to A&E.
A https://t.co/eJR8ipOdYo via @variety
— American Girl (@TheAmerican22) December 19, 2016
a+e is doing a tv series called “generation kkk” https://t.co/Wl9EGfzEQi would @AETV do a tv series on al qaeda? the kkk is a terrorist org
— Oliver Willis (@owillis) December 19, 2016
Yet A&E has been lobbying unusual suspects in support of its new reality show, like woke New York Daily News justice columnist Shaun King:
When watching the preview episode of Generation KKK, it was clear that it was NOT them normalizing racism & bigotry, but exposing it.
— Shaun King (@ShaunKing) December 19, 2016
We wish him well in his new company.
