Race & Ethnicity On TV

[Neurochick]

On March 23, 2018 at 5:07 PM, BoogieBurns said:

I'd guess it's hard as a country or planet to move past the one drop rule. That's all I can come up with.

I find the discussion of "self identifying" very interesting.  For me, it's all about numbers.  When I was growing up in the stone age, if a person had one white parent and one black parent, they usually said they were black, no matter how they looked.  Full disclosure, I am the color of Shari Belefonte, both of my parents are black.  The reason people said they were black was all about numbers; there weren't a lot of biracial people (one black parent, one white parent) around, and if they were, there was a risk because interracial marriage was still illegal in the late 1960's.  Also, in school or wherever, there's safety in numbers.  You say you're black, you hang out with the black kids.  I had a roommate who was half Asian half white and she was very lonely because there weren't too many girls like her in my small college, forty years ago.  

Today there are just more people who are biracial.  If you go to school and say you're biracial, you can find people like you a lot easier than you would have forty years ago.  I have a friend who, fifty years ago would say, "my dad's black and my mom's white, but I'm black," but now she'll say, "I'm biracial."

[jhlipton]

On 4/6/2018 at 12:29 PM, Dee said:

Tiffany Haddish to Produce Comedy Series ‘Unsubscribed’ in Development at HBO

Any turpentine involved?

[biakbiak]

One of the many articles rightly calling out The Simpson's for their episode last night responding to Hari Kondabolu's doc The Problem with Apu.

Edited April 10, 2018 by biakbiak

[Sparger Springs]

Just watched Atlanta. Did not care for the storyline of the black girl yelling at the white girl because of her  black boyfriend. Donald Glover is not above wallowing in the usual tropes of evil hateful black woman and wonderful white woman. 

[possibilities]

I thought Van was out of character, too. Weakest episode so far. And kind of boring, besides.

[Dee]

The Blinding Whiteness of Nostalgia TV

Quote

The '90s were a heyday for black sitcoms, but you wouldn't know it based on the reboots and revivals currently in development. 

No one can blame A-lister Will Smith for ruling out a Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reunion or Jaleel White for his disinterest in donning Sally Jessy Raphael frames once more in a Family Matters comeback. But why aren't we reading about deals to bring groundbreaking, fondly remembered hits like Martin, Living Single, A Different World, Sister, Sister and countless other beloved black comedies back to the air? A few breakout stars — like Smith, Queen Latifah and Tracee Ellis Ross (whose beloved Girlfriends just missed the '90s cut-off date by debuting in 2000) — are keeping busy, but most castmembers are not. So the time has come to ask: Is there something problematic in the industry's embrace of Roseanne, Will & Grace and The X-Files, but not the iconic black sitcoms that also made the Clinton years an exhilarating time of experimentation and representation?

Given that TV's nostalgia projects now number in the dozens, it's worth asking if the trend has yielded any unintended consequences. The intended ones are evident enough. Netflix has generated staggering amounts of press — and apparently pleased many a viewer — by footing the bill for new seasons of Arrested Development, Gilmore Girls and Full House (now Fuller House). Twin Peaks: The Return seemingly inspired more think pieces than any other series in Showtime history. And Will & Grace and The X-Files' attempts to retake their perches atop pop culture were met with much hoopla and huge ratings, at least for their premiere episodes. 

But it's hard not to interpret the current iteration of nostalgic programming as a backlash to TV's increasing diversity — a throwback to the days of Friends and Frasier when people joked that "NBC" stood for "No Black Characters." Yes, these reboots and revivals comprise only a handful of the hundreds of scripted shows on the air, but many of them tend to be TV's highest-profile projects. The fact that, in their totality, they inadvertently re-entrench the normalcy of all-white casts while erasing women of color and queer people is notable and worrisome.

Edited April 17, 2018 by Dee

[Silver Raven]

Isn't DJ's son on the Roseanne reboot mixed race?  Of course, his wife is in the military and stationed overseas and we never see her ...

[GHScorpiosRule]

1 hour ago, Silver Raven said:

Isn't DJ's son on the Roseanne reboot mixed race?  Of course, his wife is in the military and stationed overseas and we never see her ...

DJ has a daughter, not a son.

[Browncoat]

1 hour ago, Silver Raven said:

Isn't DJ's son on the Roseanne reboot mixed race? 

Daughter, but yes.

[Silver Raven]

38 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

DJ has a daughter, not a son.

Right, thanks.

[jhlipton]

7 hours ago, Silver Raven said:

Isn't DJ's son on the Roseanne reboot mixed race?  Of course, his wife is in the military and stationed overseas and we never see her ...

DJ's wife has been cast but I've forgotten who will play her.  So it seems she will be in at least one episode.

Edited April 18, 2018 by jhlipton

[Irlandesa]

3 hours ago, jhlipton said:

DJ's wife has been cast but I've forgotten who will play her.  So it seems she will be in at least one episode.

I don't watch but I do like the actress.  It's Xosha Roquemore more recently known from The Mindy Project.

[jhlipton]

19 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

I don't watch but I do like the actress.  It's Xosha Roquemore more recently known from The Mindy Project.

Yep -- now I remember.  She played the sarcastic nurse.  She should be fun.

[In2You]

I don't want an A Different World or Sister Sister reboot. I'm sick of reboots in General. And what is the Martin one gonna even be about? Their kids?

[BoogieBurns]

10 hours ago, In2You said:

I don't want an A Different World or Sister Sister reboot. I'm sick of reboots in General. And what is the Martin one gonna even be about? Their kids?

Living Single and Sister Sister could both totally ace a reboot. Hangin with Mr. Cooper even.

But Family Matters and Fresh Prince, even though highly rated, aren't going to happen for the reasons listed several posts up but the death of James Avery makes the former just seem depressing, and the mini-reboot of the latter was such a failure. The final season or two of Family Matters switched stations and it was pretty much a different show. I think it fell apart and may not be worth piecing back together. Although, season 9 of Roseanne was apparently a garbage fire too, so what do I know? Just find a new actor to play Urkel, because Jaleel is out.

[HunterHunted]

11 hours ago, In2You said:

I don't want an A Different World or Sister Sister reboot. I'm sick of reboots in General. And what is the Martin one gonna even be about? Their kids?

The only reason a Martin reunion is noteworthy is because Tisha didn't want to be anywhere near Martin Lawrence by the end of the show and sued him. They had to film the finale without having them both on set. Given that level of animosity, I don't want to see a reunion even though the two of them reconciled during the last year or so.

[In2You]

1 hour ago, HunterHunted said:

The only reason a Martin reunion is noteworthy is because Tisha didn't want to be anywhere near Martin Lawrence by the end of the show and sued him. They had to film the finale without having them both on set. Given that level of animosity, I don't want to see a reunion even though the two of them reconciled during the last year or so.

She put aside her feelings even though he sexually harassed her because she needs the paycheck a reboot would provide. 

[Raja]

On 4/17/2018 at 1:16 PM, Silver Raven said:

Isn't DJ's son on the Roseanne reboot mixed race?  Of course, his wife is in the military and stationed overseas and we never see her ...

Is she mixed race or is it a blended family on Roseanne where DJ's wife already had a daughter?

[Sparger Springs]

56 minutes ago, Raja said:

Is she mixed race or is it a blended family on Roseanne where DJ's wife already had a daughter?

I don't know. It would make sense for it to be a blended family. But I wouldn't be surprised if she was DJ's biological daughter. When the casting calls for a biracial black actress they become difficult to find. 

[biakbiak]

1 hour ago, Raja said:

Is she mixed race or is it a blended family on Roseanne where DJ's wife already had a daughter?

Not sure if its been specifically mentioned yet because I am not watching but the mother who is not yet been on but will be 

Spoiler

Is the same character as the girl DJ refused to kiss when he was a kid because she was black.

[jhlipton]

4 hours ago, Raja said:

Is she mixed race or is it a blended family on Roseanne where DJ's wife already had a daughter?

As @Irlandesa noted,  DJ's wife will be played by Xosha Roquemore, who is definitely NOT mixed race.  (NOTE: this casting isn't on IMDb yet, so take with a grain of salt.)

[biakbiak]

11 minutes ago, jhlipton said:

As @Irlandesa noted,  DJ's wife will be played by Xosha Roquemore, who is definitely NOT mixed race.  (NOTE: this casting isn't on IMDb yet, so take with a grain of salt.)

It was confirmed by the showrunner. I believe the poster was not asking if the wife is mixed race but if the daughter is and if she is biologically DJs.

[jhlipton]

44 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

I believe the poster was not asking if the wife is mixed race but if the daughter is and if she is biologically DJs.

D'oh -- you're right.

[Raja]

8 hours ago, biakbiak said:

Not sure if its been specifically mentioned yet because I am not watching but the mother who is not yet been on but will be 

  Reveal hidden contents

Is the same character as the girl DJ refused to kiss when he was a kid because she was black.

I guess that spoiler gives it away. ;)

 

In any case if I am remembering the episode order correctly we first meet Roseanne's granddaughter even before DJ was introduced. and nothing about her physically suggested that both of her parents were anything but darker black people. Then she calls DJ, who just returned from a Syrian deployment "dad" and we find out that mom is still deployed.  And I immediately thought DJ married a single mother

[callie lee 29]

There hasn't been a whole lot with DJ and Mary yet (have they even released the wife's name yet?), but hopefully they'll start soon. Mary was on this week a little bit, but DJ has only made brief appearances with little dialogue. I think I just assumed Mary was his biological daughter,  but I dont know why...

[Picture It. Sicily]

Mary was named after his Nana Mary. She has to be his biological daughter.

[Dee]

Why can't Mary be DJ's biological daughter? Not every biracial/mixed race person is lightskinned with frizzy hair.

[jhlipton]

1 hour ago, Dee said:

Why can't Mary be DJ's biological daughter? Not every biracial/mixed race person is lightskinned with frizzy hair.

I think I'd actually prefer that Mary is DJ's biological daughter for this very reason.

[xaxat]

You want a nostalgic revival? I give you a nostalgic revival!

[Dee]

In Creating “Scandal” And Olivia Pope, Shonda Rhimes Changed The TV Landscape

Quote

“In order for Olivia Pope to work and to succeed ... she had to get to be as three-dimensional and as messed up and bad or good or smart or interesting as the Walter Whites of the world got to be,” said creator Shonda Rhimes.

[Neurochick]

On 4/19/2018 at 2:59 PM, Dee said:

Why can't Mary be DJ's biological daughter? Not every biracial/mixed race person is lightskinned with frizzy hair.

Thank you for saying this.  Mixed race people come in all colors too. 

[JBC344]

I have to say it is a little disconcerting to hear people rejoice in the "diversity" of the Roseanne reboot, but also refuse to believe that Mary is DJ's biological daughter because she doesn't "look" like what people "think" a biracial person looks like.  Honestly it is like one step forward two steps back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There are "dark skinned" biracial people in the world.  The answer is quite simple, genetics. 

Also Sister Sister is actually being rebooted.  The whole cast is back.  Tamera has briefly talked about it on her talk show The Real.

[Silver Raven]

Quote

I have to say it is a little disconcerting to hear people rejoice in the "diversity" of the Roseanne reboot, but also refuse to believe that Mary is DJ's biological daughter because she doesn't "look" like what people "think" a biracial person looks like.  Honestly it is like one step forward two steps back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

All people have to do is to look at Colin Kaepernick, Drake, or Tracee Ellis Ross and realize that there are dark skinned biracial people.

[TigerLynx]

Seriously, I don't understand how human beings are at the top of the food chain.  If there was a law against stupidity, the majority of the human race would be in prison.

I'm half Native-American Indian, and to say I am very fair skinned does not even begin to cover it.  I have red hair and green eyes.  My sister, who is my full-blooded biological sister, has black hair, a gorgeous olive complexion, and brown eyes.  I'm 5'8", and she is 5'3".

I like that DJ's daughter was simply in the episodes.  There was no idiotic explanation made about how she is DJ's daughter, and one isn't needed.  Mary is DJ's daughter (named after Nana Mary I think), and she is Dan and Roseanne's grandchild just like Mark and Harris are.

[talktoomuch]

Quote

On 5/4/2018 at 3:27 PM, Silver Raven said:

Quote

I have to say it is a little disconcerting to hear people rejoice in the "diversity" of the Roseanne reboot, but also refuse to believe that Mary is DJ's biological daughter because she doesn't "look" like what people "think" a biracial person looks like.  Honestly it is like one step forward two steps back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

All people have to do is to look at Colin Kaepernick, Drake, or Tracee Ellis Ross and realize that there are dark skinned biracial people.

 

I agree wholeheartedly with the truth that there are dark skinned bi- or multi-racial people in the world. But....Colin, Drake and Tracee aren't those people. 

[stillhere1900]

On 4/18/2018 at 8:13 PM, Raja said:

Is she mixed race or is it a blended family on Roseanne where DJ's wife already had a daughter?

I'm going with DJ's wife already had a daughter before marrying him, because no way is that child of "mixed Race"

[stillhere1900]

On 5/4/2018 at 2:27 PM, Silver Raven said:

All people have to do is to look at Colin Kaepernick, Drake, or Tracee Ellis Ross and realize that there are dark skinned biracial people.

Colin K and Tracee Ellis Ross are not "dark Skinned" people like Mary is

Edited May 7, 2018 by stillhere1900

[Picture It. Sicily]

Mary is named after Nana Mary, DJs Great Grandmother, played by Shelly Winters in the original series. Just like Mark as named after his late uncle. You are over complicating this.

[stillhere1900]

Maybe DJ's wife was pregnant when she met him. That child is not mixed Race

[Llywela]

17 minutes ago, stillhere1900 said:

Maybe DJ's wife was pregnant when she met him. That child is not mixed Race

Why, because she is dark? My cousin is the daughter of a white mother and a black African father, and she is every bit as dark as DJ's little girl. It happens. Genetics can be varied and wonderful.

[Picture It. Sicily]

There's been nothing to suggest that DJ is a stepfather as opposed to a father.

Edited May 7, 2018 by Picture It. Sicily

[GHScorpiosRule]

17 minutes ago, stillhere1900 said:

Maybe DJ's wife was pregnant when she met him. That child is not mixed Race

Just because the actress doesn't look mixed-race, doesn't mean the character isn't. What we know and have been told is that Mary's mother is the same girl DJ refused to kiss when he was a kid. I'm taking it on face value that she is their child until told otherwise.

[jhlipton]

10 hours ago, stillhere1900 said:

I'm going with DJ's wife already had a daughter before marrying him, because no way is that child of "mixed Race"

You might want to read the comments of those who know mixed-race people as dark as Mary.

[methodwriter85]

10 hours ago, Llywela said:

Genetics can be varied and wonderful.

See: The other end, where Robin Thicke and Paula Patton's son looks completely white. Or Wentworth Miller. It would make sense that the opposite would happen.

Speaking of biracial people, I've always kind of loved that Parks and Recreation would reference Anne Perkins as beautiful and racially ambiguous. Most shows would just pass her off as Italian-American, like they did on The Office.

[galax-arena]

After Years Of Playing The Friend, Sandra Oh Is Finally Getting To Be The Star

The fact that it took Sandra Oh this long after Grey's Anatomy to land a lead role is proof enough that Hollywood is fucked up wrt POC representation. I mean, it's Sandra Oh. And it's so telling that when she first got the script for Killing Eve, she was confused about what part she was supposed to be reading for because there weren't any stereotypical bit characters. 

Not gonna lie, the main reason I gave Killing Eve a shot was because it had Sandra Oh as one of the leads. Yeah, Killing Eve is an excellent show in its own right, but there are a lot of excellent shows out there; I don't think my life is suffering because I've never watched Breaking Bad (well, aside from the pilot). I only have so many hours in the day, and having a Korean WOC lead actress made Killing Eve stand out to me. I can think of, like, two or three other shows that had a Korean actress as the lead, and that's if I go back more than two decades to include Margaret Cho in All-American Girl lol. Things are better when you broaden the net to include all Asian ethnicities, which I still feel a connection to, don't get me wrong... I gave shows like Fresh Off the Boat, Nikita, Agents of Shield, and Elementary a chance because they all had Asian woc leads. But as a Korean woman I do feel a more specific affinity in seeing another Korean woman as a lead. 

Of course, even though I gave Killing Eve a shot because of Sandra Oh, I'm continuing to watch because it's a great show on its own. Diverse/atypical casting might work as a hook to make me give a show a chance, but after that the writing and the characters have to grab me. Nikita (sob) did that, Elementary and Fresh Off the Boat did that for the first couple of seasons but is now more hit-or-miss, and Agents of Shield...didn't. 

ANYWAY... I love Killing Eve. :) 

[CheeseBtwUrLegs]

Race and ethnicity should be abolished from television as they are neither real nor a true representation of the public. There is only one race- the human race!

[Trini]

On 5/11/2018 at 9:38 PM, CheeseBtwUrLegs said:

Race and ethnicity should be abolished from television as they are neither real nor a true representation of the public. There is only one race- the human race!

I mean, sure; but it would be weird to have everyone on TV look like this:

 

I personally like seeing people of different ethnicities in my entertainment.

[jhlipton]

On 5/11/2018 at 6:38 PM, CheeseBtwUrLegs said:

Race and ethnicity should be abolished from television as they are neither real nor a true representation of the public. There is only one race- the human race!

Someone hasn't watched the news, apparently. 

Yes, there is only one "human race", but people are treated differently because of their race and ethnicity (hence the name of this thread!).  Calling for race and ethnicity to "be abolished" means supporting the (racist) status quo.

[Ms Blue Jay]

On 5/8/2018 at 1:30 AM, methodwriter85 said:

Speaking of biracial people, I've always kind of loved that Parks and Recreation would reference Anne Perkins as beautiful and racially ambiguous. Most shows would just pass her off as Italian-American, like they did on The Office.

I actually thought that The Office WAS trying to make Karen Filippelli racially ambiguous - perhaps a black mother?  As Michael makes a classless remark when he first meets her (AT WORK) and asks if her father was a G.I.  But maybe I'm just being naively optimistic, and they definitely wouldn't go all the way with it.

The worst was the movie "I Love You Man".  They made her a fucking orphan so they wouldn't have to show black parents onscreen.  Disgusting.

Meanwhile, Maya Rudolph's father in Bridesmaids was black, which I definitely appreciated!!!!!

tl;dr I agree with you.

On 5/8/2018 at 1:30 AM, methodwriter85 said:

See: The other end, where Robin Thicke and Paula Patton's son looks completely white. Or Wentworth Miller. It would make sense that the opposite would happen.

Mark Paul Gosselaar is one of my favourite examples.  He played the prototypical blonde on Saved by the Bell but he's very proud and outspoken about the fact that his hair is naturally black, and his mother is Indonesian.  God, I love him.

Edited May 14, 2018 by Ms Blue Jay

[Silver Raven]

My very pale, blonde niece is a quarter Filipina.  :) Her Dad is very Asian looking.