Page 89 - Purchasing Power Black Kids and American Consumer Culture

74 . "What Are You Looking At, You White People?"

sphere socialize them into the culture of commerce, the roles, rules, and
expectations of buyer and seller. Although they may not yet have mastered
the arts of cost-benefit calculation, the girls' understanding of several basic
elements is undeniable.

Television
While the girls were minding their cucumber stand I asked Tionna about
the television programs she watches. She did her sassy act for a while,
saying, "I don't know," in a bratty, challenging way when I'd ask her
about shows she watches and when they're on. Eventually, she took the
pad from me and started writing them down herself. Her list was not
particularly long and included only eleven shows; even during the sum-
mer, a period in which she might be expected to watch a lot of television
because of increased free time, especially during the day, she included
only two daytime shows (see table 3.1).

Table 3.1. Tionna's Television Programs

MTV Raps daytime MTV
Video Soul daytime BET
Living Color night 8:30 61
Rachel Gunn, R.N. night 8 or 9 61
Who's the Boss? night 20
Bill Cosby day/night 5 & 6 20
Growing Pains night 20
Full House nighttime ?
Family Matters nighttime 61
TGIF nighttime 61
Step by Step nighttime 61

With three televisions in her home, one or more of which was nearly
always on, Tionna had plenty of opportunity to watch all kinds of pro-
grams. Her great-grandmother had a penchant for daytime talk shows
like Oprah and Sally Jessy Raphael because, as Ella herself said, "I like to
watch people being stupid!" Whether Tionna actually watched much
television was unclear, and it always seemed to me that she spent a great