As humans, we are addicted to
stories and the Hollywood entertainment industry caters to our thirst for these
stories by providing us with an endless stream of them. Whether it be
theatrical films or Television shows, we live vicariously through the pain
and pleasure of the multitude of characters presented in these productions. We
in a sense try on their predicaments for size and in the process of doing
so we reflect on who we are, who we are not, and who we hope to
be.
Historically
speaking there has been a dearth of gender, racial and ethnic diversity in film
and television, both in front and behind the camera. This reality has meant
limited access to employment for women and minorities and to a
truncating of the domain of media images available for circulation in
contemporary society.
After many
years of watching television change, I had to ask my self, does American TV
capture the diversity in America? Sadly the answer at least in my opinion
is a resounding no. We are however making changes that could lead to it finally
becoming a Yes.
Take for example Saturday Night Live, which has been on air since 1975 has in its life time only hired on three black women and had only featured one other black women, Yvonne Hudson in 1980, this says more about the show than about the talent pool. All three women casted over the four decades only lasted for a season or less.
In this context its no wonder that a prime cast member Kenan Thompson launched a debate in early November of 2013 explaining that the show is dearth of black women. Most people know that Saturday Night Live was built on the premise that the actor weren't quite ready for Prime Time TV, but this doesn't mean that the show’s executive producer is racist or is discriminating, just that he doesn't see the value in having a diverse cast.
In contrast Jay Pharoah, who predominately plays President Obama on the
show does see the value in having a more diverse cast. He has reach out and
argued with "SNL" that they should hire Darmirra Brunson a comedian
on Tyler Perry's sitcom "Love Thy Neighbor.” When Pharoah was asked why
they should hire her, his pointedly response was " Because she's black,
First of all," but he also went on to praise her talent.
The majority
of Prime Time television fails in truly representing the country that the
majority of its stories are based in. When marginalized groups in society are
excluded from the stories a nation tells about it self, or when those images in
the media are rooted so deep in stereotypes, inequality is normalized and is
more likely to be reinforced over time through our practices and prejudices.
Recently ABC
has taken a stand and Paul Lee the networks entertainment programming head
states "We really do think ABC reflects the new face of
America", "America has changed. It's the right thing to do.".
The new 2014-2015 line up host 10 new shows featuring non-white
characters and/or show creators, numbers that have not been seen since the days
of the Cosby show and the flux of people trying to
clone it. Don't think that this change is about fairness or altruism;
over looking the fact the America has been a largely diverse country for a
while now. Can the network keep its agreement to make diversity a
priority?, or will they screw this up?
ABC network has a whole slew of new shows that are ethnically and racially diverse, Black-ish, Cristela, Fresh Off the Boat, American Crime, casting more black, latino, and Asian people than any other network for the 2014-2015 season.
Fox has also
stepped up by casting more non-white character in shows like Red Band Society, Bordertown,
Empire, State of Affairs, and CBS is hosting Extant which features Hally Berry.
What are your thoughts? Does American TV capture the diversity of
America yet?
