Diversity and Television

[mecegirl]

I am probably opening the biggest can of worms... But I saw a link to this article on Tumblr http://mic.com/articles/113676/one-...ots-ethnic-casting-trend-backlash-1201386511/. I'm sure that there are better articles about this topic, when I find them I will post the links.

Long story short, one writer notes how the success of shows with minority lead characters have changed the casting choices for new shows. So now shows are actually purposefully casting minorities, and not just in minor roles. She's concerned about quotas and the like. The writer criticizing the first writer finds the concern disingenuous because in their view there has been a "quota" prioritizing white actors since basically its inception.

I in general agree with the criticism. The casting directors have been focusing on skin color the whole time. We know this. It isn't a secret that casting calls generally designate the ethnicity of the actor that the studio wants for the role. It was never happenstance that the majority of actors for a given show were white. So nothing's really changed. TV is following the money like they always have. The bad ones will have bad ratings and the good ones will last. To complain about it now is silly. But that's just my opinion on the matter. What do you all think.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Yeah, it's a teensy bit naive to complain about a tiny amount of shows specifically hiring people who aren't white, given that so many shows specifically hire people who are, and have for years.

 

[Secondhand Revenant]

If people complain about pandering then I must wonder where they've been ever since white people have been pandered to. If they just whine and say they make the most money that way then we must ask, how does this person know they aren't making more money this way? I find that such complaints are often just grounded in what seems to be racism. There hasn't been any other explanation for it I've seen. There appears to be a double standard where its fine so long as white people are the intended demographic but not others.

 

[mecegirl]

Yeah, it's a teensy bit naive to complain about a tiny amount of shows specifically hiring people who aren't white, given that so many shows specifically hire people who are, and have for years.

Naive is one word for it. It just seems a bit alarmist to me.

If people complain about pandering then I must wonder where they've been ever since white people have been pandered to. If they just whine and say they make the most money that way then we must ask, how does this person know they aren't making more money this way? I find that such complaints are often just grounded in what seems to be racism. There hasn't been any other explanation for it I've seen. There appears to be a double standard where its fine so long as white people are the intended demographic but not others.

Its probably more privilege than racism. They rarely have to think about what's its like to not have a member of their race be a prominent cast member on TV, so to have so many seems natural to them. When that changes then suddenly the have to think about things they've never considered before.