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Race & Ethnicity On TV

callie lee 29

By callie lee 29
in Everything Else TV

Meredith Quill
Message added by Meredith Quill,

This is the place to discuss race and ethnicity issues related to TV shows only.

Go here for the equivalent movie discussions.

For general discussion without TV/Film context please use the Social Justice topic in Everything Else. 

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jhlipton
jhlipton

I have a lot of friends who are very active in working against racism and sexism and not a single one hates whites or men.  White male ego is so fragile that two women of color on the latest Star Trek

Trini
Trini

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.

DearEvette
DearEvette

Megyn Kelly doesn't have the charm or charisma to attract a morning talk show audience or any sort of positive attention.  The only time she gets any attention is when she does something execrable.

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Sparger Springs

Sparger Springs

(edited)
3 hours ago, jhlipton said:

Or.. here's a thought... not have the mom be dead at all.  But that means they might have to cast an adult black woman -- the horrors!!!!

She needed to be an orphan for the plot. They needed a kid with no attachments and one no one would look for.

Edited by Sparger Springs
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ursula

ursula

(edited)
3 hours ago, Sparger Springs said:

She needed to be an orphan for the plot. They needed a kid with no attachments and one no one would look for.

 

I actually liked the backstory they gave her. Because - let's face it - if the government wanted a disposable child to do evil experiments on, the odds are that it will be a black child of that background. There's real history of unethical medical experiments on poor and/or enslaved black people. Them casting a blonde white girl as the face of "under-privilege and forgettable" in present-day US of A would have been more aggravating imo.

 

I had a bigger problem with the casting of the  medical staff. The leader of the team who gave the go-ahead to kidnap and exploit a "disposable" child is a Black woman. The sociopathic doctor is Asian or part-Asian. The humane/Only Sane Man in the medical team is White Desmond. Oh, and let's not forget the walking talking White Savior Fantasy or his boss/friend who while White, looks like someone who has some PoC ancestry. 🤦🏿‍♀️

 

Is there a board for this show? I tried to find one but couldn't.

Edited by ursula
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jhlipton

jhlipton

I think that if the Mom had died any other way, there wouldn't be the "disposable" feeling -- there might be a candles and all that, and sympathy for the child.  I think that if they had used a white actress, having her mom be a dead meth addict would work the same.

13 hours ago, AmbrosiaK63 said:

I get that, however, the 1st two people of color are a black man on death row and a dead crack addict.  Not exactly the best imagery.

13 hours ago, ursula said:

The leader of the team who gave the go-ahead to kidnap and exploit a "disposable" child is a Black woman.

I felt that we're supposed to be sympathetic towards Dr. Major Nichole Sykes, who is balancing thousands, if not millions of deaths, vs one child.  It doesn't hurt (for me) that she is definitely Black and gorgeous!  I hope we see more of her moral quandary in weeks ahead.

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Trini

Trini

Kenan Thompson comedy gets NBC pilot order,

Quote

Saturday Night Live star Kenan Thompson is a step closer to moving from late-night to primetime. His starring vehicle, the single-camera Saving Kenan, has been picked up to pilot by NBC. The project, from SNL creator/executive producer Lorne Michaels and his Broadway Video as well as Superstore executive producer Jackie Clarke, had a big pilot production commitment.

...

Written by Clarke, Saving Kenan centers on a newly widowed dad (Thompson) determined to be everything for his kids while begrudgingly letting his persistent father-in-law become more involved in their lives.

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galax-arena

galax-arena

I looked up In the Dark and was like, "Oh, a tv show with a blind woman as the protagonist! That's awesome, disabled people deserve representation too!" I mean, yes, of course being blind and being woc aren't mutually exclusive, but speaking as someone who has always resented feeling like being forced to choose between my own different marginalized identities - in my situation, sexual orientation and race - and as someone who isn't disabled, I wasn't going to shit on this show unless it was explicitly problematic with respect to race. 

But then I googled, and it looks like the main actress might not actually be blind?? Not sure, I haven't found much info on the actress. But this show will be troubling in another way if it turns out that they cast a sighted actress in a blind role. But that's probably a subject for a different thread (do we have a disability representation thread?).... 

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aradia22

aradia22

Quote

Kenan Thompson comedy gets NBC pilot order,

  QUOTE

Saturday Night Live star Kenan Thompson is a step closer to moving from late-night to primetime. His starring vehicle, the single-camera Saving Kenan, has been picked up to pilot by NBC. The project, from SNL creator/executive producer Lorne Michaels and his Broadway Video as well as Superstore executive producer Jackie Clarke, had a big pilot production commitment.

...

Written by Clarke, Saving Kenan centers on a newly widowed dad (Thompson) determined to be everything for his kids while begrudgingly letting his persistent father-in-law become more involved in their lives.

Why with the dead moms? I guess it creates an excuse for the father-in-law to enter but black-ish managed to include Laurence Fishburne without killing off anyone.

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possibilities

possibilities

4 hours ago, galax-arena said:

I looked up In the Dark and was like, "Oh, a tv show with a blind woman as the protagonist! That's awesome, disabled people deserve representation too!" I mean, yes, of course being blind and being woc aren't mutually exclusive, but speaking as someone who has always resented feeling like being forced to choose between my own different marginalized identities - in my situation, sexual orientation and race - and as someone who isn't disabled, I wasn't going to shit on this show unless it was explicitly problematic with respect to race. 

But then I googled, and it looks like the main actress might not actually be blind?? Not sure, I haven't found much info on the actress. But this show will be troubling in another way if it turns out that they cast a sighted actress in a blind role. But that's probably a subject for a different thread (do we have a disability representation thread?).... 

I thought there was a thread for Disability On TV, but I couldn't find it when I looked just now.

kathyk24

kathyk24

4 hours ago, galax-arena said:

I looked up In the Dark and was like, "Oh, a tv show with a blind woman as the protagonist! That's awesome, disabled people deserve representation too!" I mean, yes, of course being blind and being woc aren't mutually exclusive, but speaking as someone who has always resented feeling like being forced to choose between my own different marginalized identities - in my situation, sexual orientation and race - and as someone who isn't disabled, I wasn't going to shit on this show unless it was explicitly problematic with respect to race. 

But then I googled, and it looks like the main actress might not actually be blind?? Not sure, I haven't found much info on the actress. But this show will be troubling in another way if it turns out that they cast a sighted actress in a blind role. But that's probably a subject for a different thread (do we have a disability representation thread?).... 

There isn't a disability on tv thread but we discuss disability issues on the Speechless forum.

jhlipton

jhlipton

15 hours ago, galax-arena said:

I looked up In the Dark and was like, "Oh, a tv show with a blind woman as the protagonist! That's awesome, disabled people deserve representation too!"

Can you post a link to the cast or IMDB page, please? 

13 hours ago, aradia22 said:

Why with the dead moms? I guess it creates an excuse for the father-in-law to enter but black-ish managed to include Laurence Fishburne without killing off anyone.

Obviously, black women are scary.  SMH.

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jhlipton

jhlipton

Re High Flying Bird (courtesy of @xaxat):

On 1/23/2019 at 8:14 AM, Sparger Springs said:

Oh look another biracial woman as the lead love interest. 

2 hours ago, Minneapple said:

Good diverse cast

Looking at the IMDb page, I see the following female cast (order is by "IMDb STARmeter", not by screentime): Zazie Beetz (biracial), Sonja Sohn (black), Michelle Ang, (Asian)Jeryl Prescott (Black), Teea Loreal (Black), Bobbi A Bordley (Black), and Farah Bala (White). Zachary Quinto, Kyle MacLachlan and Bill Duke are far better known than any of these women.

So I would agree that it's a diverse cast, especially on the female side.  Definitely worth a look.

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Ms Blue Jay

Ms Blue Jay

(edited)

The star is still Andre Holland, and there's other black men in this movie as well.  https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8128188/

I wouldn't trust Mindy Kaling to showrun anything considering her entire show was about her dating approximately 400 white men, including 2 men who are actual BROTHERS in real life.  Like, she cast more men from the same white FAMILY than she did non-white men.  Seriously.

Edited by Ms Blue Jay
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jhlipton

jhlipton

25 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

1) The star is still Andre Holland, and there's other black men in this movie as well.  https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8128188/

2) I wouldn't trust Mindy Kaling to showrun anything considering her entire show was about her dating approximately 400 white men, including 2 men who are actual BROTHERS in real life.  Like, she cast more men from the same white FAMILY than she did non-white men.  Seriously.

1) yeah, I figured that was obvious, given the screenshot of the video @xaxat posted. (I just watched the trailer and it's clear Holland is the star and there are a lot of black men in the cast (which makes since since many players in the "real" NBA are black).  It does look like Beetz is the female lead, unfortunately.)

[I was thinking that all these black men who date and marry white women should only have very dark daughters when they reproduce, but then I realized it wouldn't be fair for a kid to have a dad who hates them.  But that's another story..]

2) Kaling isn't involved with this project.  Her latest ("Champions") looks a real dud.

paulvdb

paulvdb

Some series in development with Asian actors:

Anna Karenina YA TV Series With Korean-American Lead
 

Quote

In a competitive situation with several companies pursuing, Entertainment One has acquired the TV rights to Jenny Lee’s upcoming YA novel Anna K, a modern-day, multicultural retelling of Leo Tolstoy’s classic Anna Karenina, to adapt as a TV series with Drew Comings’ Creative Engine Entertainment and Scooter Braun’s SB Projects.

Described as Gossip Girl and 13 Reasons Why meets Crazy Rich Asians, Anna K is set between Manhattan and Greenwich, CT. It follows a Korean-American “it” girl caught between her picture-perfect, family-approved boyfriend and the guy who might just be her one true love, along with her high-flying cast of friends and family.

And a Star Trek: Discovery spin-off with Michelle Yeoh

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In2You

In2You

I've been seeing an interested in Korean YA stories lately. 

 

There's the recently released 29 DAtes which Disney already greenlit as a movie for their streaming platform. Unfortunately I didn't like the book when I read an advance of it.  Hopefully they got a Korean writer for the movie because Melissa De La Cruz wrote it like some Korea boo fiction. On the plus side the lead is fully Asian with two Asian male love interests.

 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/deadline.com/2018/12/29-dates-book-melissa-de-la-cruz-movie-disney-streaming-the-gotham-group-1202520374/amp/

In2You

In2You

There's also Fake it Til You Break it which like TATBILB has a fake dating trope and whose publisher revealed they are working with a studio to develop their books into series and movies.

https://www.swoonreads.com/blog/a-e-studios-partners-swoon-reads-develop-ya-tvfilm/

Mia and Jake have known each other their whole lives. They’ve endured summer vacations, Sunday brunches, even dentist visits together. Their mothers, who are best friends, are convinced that Mia and Jake would be the perfect couple, even though they can’t stand to be in the same room together.

After Mia’s mom turns away yet another cute boy, Mia and Jake decide they’ve have had enough. Together, they hatch a plan to get their moms off their backs. Permanently. All they have to do is pretend to date and then stage the worst breakup of all time—and then they’ll be free.

The only problem is, maybe Jake and Mia don’t hate each other as much as they once thought

ursula

ursula

https://www.themarysue.com/rachel-true-the-craft-race/

Quote

 

Over the weekend, actress Rachel True brought up in a Tweet (which turned into a quite informative thread) that conventions were booking her fellow The Craft costars Robin Tunney, Fairuza Balk, and Neve Campbell, but leaving her out.

...

The entire thread is really poignant, and while there are some who will write True off as just complaining, the reality is that, even as a viewer, it is clear that her character has the most cut from her background (absent parents). By bringing this up, True is highlighting the way that POC characters get ignored in fandom, because they do.

 

Great read. And the Twitter thread starts from here:

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jhlipton

jhlipton

20 hours ago, ursula said:

https://www.themarysue.com/rachel-true-the-craft-race/

Quote

Over the weekend, actress Rachel True brought up in a Tweet (which turned into a quite informative thread) that conventions were booking her fellow The Craft costars Robin Tunney, Fairuza Balk, and Neve Campbell, but leaving her out.

 

That's awful, but I'm nor surprised.  It does sound "about white".  Grrrrr!

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aradia22

aradia22

Quote

Anna Karenina YA TV Series With Korean-American Lead

Skimmed the article. Based on a book but I don't know how it could work. Other themes in the original aside, the plot hinges on her being married (and to a lesser extent having a child).

Spoiler

If she just ends up cheating on her boyfriend, that seems pretty low-stakes. It's something that happens on teen shows all the time.

How does that work as a YA book? It's a little like updating a classic book to modern day when the plot of the other book could be solved by having cell phones/technology. Context matters. To bring it back to diversity, that was the problem with the new Heathers. Sometimes changing race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, time period, etc. changes the power dynamics and the sources of conflict, societal pressures, etc. 

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jhlipton

jhlipton

(edited)
1 hour ago, aradia22 said:

The plot hinges on her being married (and to a lesser extent having a child).

Spoiler

Both the man she's married to and the man she cheats with are VIPs in their society, while she's "just a woman".

It could definitely help to change one or more of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, time period, etc.

In fact. modern audiences are more likely to sympathize with Anna than those of Tolstoy's day.

Edited by jhlipton
aradia22

aradia22

Quote

In fact. modern audiences are more likely to sympathize with Anna than those of Tolstoy's day.

That's my point. If it's YA, they're probably not old enough to be married. And if she's from this wealthy background, I doubt her parents were cool with her having a child out of wedlock, especially as a minor. So you just removed most of the stakes. She could just break up with her boyfriend. This sounds dumb. Considering the fact that modern audiences would be more likely to sympathize with Anna, it makes even more sense to keep the historical context. 

If you wanted to update it and add diversity for a modern audience, I don't think wealthy East Coast Asians is the right context. You need a world where there's still a strict social code and an affair is a big scandal. I would not age down the characters. It should be a world where there's a double standard for men and women (Anna's brother's affairs vs. Anna's affair). The world of politics would be a great choice and there's no reason to not have racial diversity there. You could also set it in any number of countries (except maybe France... ;) ). Suburban gated community also works. 

To replace the stakes of social rules among the aristocracy I suppose you could play around with class and race but that gets into murky territory and I'm not sure I can think of a pairing that doesn't make this melodramatic plot come across like a Tyler Perry movie. It would need a really sophisticated writer/director at the helm. You have to be very careful with the implications of who you cast for Anna, her husband, and her lover. But as thorny as that might be, it sounds more interesting to me than this movie with all the stakes removed. 

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DearEvette

DearEvette

Apparently Rachel True was finally invited to a con with the other Craft castmates.  Good for her.  She sounds happy.

In current/upcoming tv news, I believe the TCAs are happening now,  and yesterday was CBS' day.  On of their shows, The Red Line, EP'd by Greg Berlanti and Ava Duvernay looks interesting.  It is also very diversely cast with Emayatzy Corinealdi as a lead along with Noah Wyle.  Also prominently features a gay, interracial marriage (Wyle) with transracial adoption.  I may actually be looking forward to a CBS show! who knew?

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jhlipton

jhlipton

2 hours ago, DearEvette said:

Apparently Rachel True was finally invited to a con with the other Craft castmates.  Good for her.  She sounds happy.

One of their shows, The Red Line, EP'd by Greg Berlanti and Ava Duvernay looks interesting.  It is also very diversely cast with Emayatzy Corinealdi as a lead along with Noah Wyle.  I may actually be looking forward to a CBS show! who knew?

Good for Ms True.

The Red Line looks cool.  But you don't look forward to God Friended Me????  Hmmmph.  I'm an agnostic and I love it.

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SimoneS

SimoneS

(edited)
4 hours ago, DearEvette said:

Apparently Rachel True was finally invited to a con with the other Craft castmates.  Good for her.  She sounds happy.

In current/upcoming tv news, I believe the TCAs are happening now,  and yesterday was CBS' day.  On of their shows, The Red Line, EP'd by Greg Berlanti and Ava Duvernay looks interesting.  It is also very diversely cast with Emayatzy Corinealdi as a lead along with Noah Wyle.  Also prominently features a gay, interracial marriage (Wyle) with transracial adoption.  I may actually be looking forward to a CBS show! who knew?

 

Greg Berlanti and a show that focuses on issues around race/racism. RME. Ethnic diversity must bring a profit these days because he never gave f' about ethnic diversity among the main cast on his shows before DC forced him.

Edited by SimoneS
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xaxat

xaxat

5 hours ago, DearEvette said:

Apparently Rachel True was finally invited to a con with the other Craft castmates.  Good for her.  She sounds happy.

In current/upcoming tv news, I believe the TCAs are happening now,  and yesterday was CBS' day.  On of their shows, The Red Line, EP'd by Greg Berlanti and Ava Duvernay looks interesting.  It is also very diversely cast with Emayatzy Corinealdi as a lead along with Noah Wyle.  Also prominently features a gay, interracial marriage (Wyle) with transracial adoption.  I may actually be looking forward to a CBS show! who knew?

 

"From Executive Producers Greg Berlanti." Ehh.

"And Ava Duvernay." Now you've got my attention.

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callie lee 29

callie lee 29

  • Author
6 hours ago, DearEvette said:

I want to love this show.  Brandon Michael Hall has real star charisma and I love the cast.  But man... I.. just... it's too...there's something...... I dunno....

LOL.

Hmm, this is maybe where I'm at. I still have a lot of episodes recorded. Unreached. I like the cast. I love the lead. I really like the idea if it and I like that (at least in the beginning) they respect his  agnostic choice. Everytime I watch the show I like it. But I don't think about watching the show and now I have a bunch of unreached episodes sitting in the cloud. 

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Dee

Dee

(edited)

Will This Diversity 'Moment' In Film And TV Last? Canadians Of Colour Weigh In

Quote

On Sunday night, Sandra Oh stood before a room full of Hollywood A-listers, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and the millions who watched the 76th Golden Globes from their living rooms, and acknowledged the magnitude of her role as the first Asian person to host a major U.S. awards show.

"I said yes to the fear of being on this stage tonight because I wanted to be here to look out into this audience and witness this moment of change," she said. "And I'm not fooling myself, I'm not fooling myself. Next year could be different; it probably will be. But right now, this moment is real. Trust me, it is real. Because I see you. And I see you. All these faces of change. And now, so will everyone else."

Oh went on to win the award for Best Actress in a TV Drama for "Killing Eve" ― the first Asian woman to do so in almost 40 years. And in a heartfelt acceptance speech, the Canadian-Korean thanked her parents in Korean and bowed to them.

Oh's win and hosting gig comes on the heels of what has been referred to by some as the "Year of Diversity" in Hollywood, when the need for inclusion is being fiercely debated across the entertainment industry.

"Black Panther" and "Crazy Rich Asians" were heralded for breaking barriers with their all-black and all-Asian casts respectively. "Black Panther" made history by being the first superhero movie to feature a predominantly black cast. The critically acclaimed movie rounded out 2018 as the highest-grossing film in North America and the second-highest earner at the world box office, pulling in more than US$1 billion.

"Crazy Rich Asians" was the first major Hollywood production to have an all-Asian cast in 25 years, not seen since the "Joy Luck Club." The rom-com has earned more than $170 million in North America alone.

When both films hit multiplexes, audiences around the world saw a more diverse range of heroes, with Asians, black people, and women taking centre stage.

In 2016, films with casts featuring 21 per cent to 30 per cent minority actors had the highest median global box office ticket sales and the highest median return on investment.

In 2017, "Get Out" became the the highest grossing debut film based on an original screenplay. The movie, directed by African American director Jordan Peele, won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

In spite of such strides, the films failed to garner any Golden Globe wins Sunday night.

We asked folks of colour connected to Hollywood North about where the industry's at currently. Here's what they had to say....

Edited by Dee
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Meredith Quill
Message added by Meredith Quill,

This is the place to discuss race and ethnicity issues related to TV shows only.

Go here for the equivalent movie discussions.

For general discussion without TV/Film context please use the Social Justice topic in Everything Else. 

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