Preview

The Role Of Diversity In TV Shows

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
663 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Role Of Diversity In TV Shows
There is a lack of diversity in American sitcoms regarding the main cast of each show. Most shows have diversity however, the crucial roles are not accessible to most. These shows that have dominantly white casts, the recurring roles for people of color are limited. If there is someone of color, maybe they will stick around for one or two seasons tops, before replacing them. For years TV shows have been reinforcing white supremacy by displaying the main casts as predominately white Caucasians.

Since the beginning The popular show Friends have been extremely successful, it aired in 1994 and lasted for about 10 years. In the show, there are six close middle-aged friends residing in Manhattan. The show generally is comedic, with some romance revolving around the close group of friends. Starting in their twenties, they made some poor career choices and are struggling to stay afloat. Over the years, they managed to get into heterosexual relationships with each other which involves the romantic part of the show. However, the problem that needs to be assessed is the lack of diversity shown. Not one of them is something other than
…show more content…
Like Friends, this show is based upon comedy and romance revolving around their daily lives. The group had intimate relationships involving themselves and others looking for the right individual to settle down with. Their lives mainly revolved around romance, career choices, and having a drink in parties or bars. Surprisingly enough, Barney, Ted, Robin, Marshal, and lily who are mainly Caucasian, all have had recurring roles starting from the beginning of the show, till the end. A special guest by the name of Tracy came towards the end of the show, but she was not a person of color so to speak. However, there were a few that are other than white, who had crucial roles in the film, such as their cab

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Racial stereotypes are used throughout the movie for comedic relief.. The main example in the movie is Mr Yunioshi, Holly’s Japanese landlord. The character is played by white actor Mickey Rooney, who used makeup to fit the Asian stereotype. Although the character was seen as comedic in the 60’s it has recently caused a lot of criticism from many people and has even caused a ban of public showings of the movie. As the large majority of characters in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, there are not many major examples of racism. But, we can see in some scenes there are background characters who aren’t white, these characters are portrayed as a stereotypical example of their race. One example of a background character being portrayed stereotypically is an Asian woman in the background in one of the party…

    • 455 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The characters of color are in fact the protagonists in the show and with the exception of the homosexual love interest of Jaden Smith’s character the White people are actually the shallow and occasionally villainous antagonists to the artistic expression of the Black and Brown characters. To dive right in to the first category of Beltran’s “meaningful diversity criteria,” “are the characters of color fully realized individuals?” While the show is certainly a coming-of-age drama as well, the characters are unquestionably developed and complete, the main characters Ezekiel Figuero, Shaolin Fantastic, and Mylene Cruz are multidimensional and complicated characters. To use Ezekiel or “Zeke” as his paramour Mylene refers to him as an example, he is…

    • 1310 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    As members of a multicultural society we are exposed to our peers’ various values and customs on a daily basis. While it may be true that some characteristics may seem unfamiliar at first glance, the media inherently relies on oversimplified stereotypes in order to get the audience to connect with minorities. Even shows that deal with diversity as subject matter fall victims to the trope of using stereotypes as a humor device. Take Modern Family, a sitcom that airs on ABC, as an example. The show challenges the notion of a traditional family but it constantly depicts the characters as parodies of what they are supposed to represent. Gloria Pritchett played by Sofia Vergara is often overly sexualized and given a short-tempered demeanor. Vergara…

    • 340 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    For when the Wayans Bros aired, it honestly brought African American back to the comedic aspect instead of the severity of African American life. In this show Sean an amateur actor goes to an audition for a job but he always gets high before he is about to audition. In an Ebony magazine, it quoted “white producers are the majority behind the scenes, and it seems as though they think African Americans are not good enough for prime-time networks.” They continued stating that “in 1992 nearly one out every five characters on prime-time network entertainment programs was African Americans” (Ebony Magazine, 83). Lastly in Color Adjustment it stated that one main reason why black males are not in Caucasian shows is because there is no demand for them to integrate with them, giving executives the lack of effort to make integration.…

    • 1547 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    No Sugar- Characters

    • 414 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The only white character, Frank brown is the only one who has a real relationship with the aboriginals and he is the only one of the white characters who’s afforded a white name.…

    • 414 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Essay On Shonda Rhimes

    • 1638 Words
    • 7 Pages

    As explained by comedian Dave Chappelle in the quote above, in order to achieve progress in matters like race, it has to be openly addressed, especially by mass media. And this is where Shonda Rhimes has failed with television. Undoubtedly, she has created space for ethically flexible and multifaceted female characters in network television through shows that challenge audiences – something rare outside of cable nowadays. Her protagonists – two of them black – are successful women, which demonstrates she is willing to defy common notions of race and, especially, gender. Nevertheless, in all her shows, Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal and How To Get Away With Murder, race is never a part of the dramatic situations that drive the characters’ narratives.…

    • 1638 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The amount of shows with only all white cast members, or mostly white, is abundant. Although this issue is slightly better than what it was a decade ago, it is still a concern today. A popular show, Saturday Night Live, has only had four black women on its show since its debut in 1975, according to the Huffington Post. Four black women, out of 137 people hired over the…

    • 754 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Stereotypes In TV Show

    • 559 Words
    • 3 Pages

    A lot if TV shows now a days are very satirical and stereotypical. There is one TV show which catches my attention more than any other and that show happens to be Black-ish. It takes a black family who happens to more fortunate than others but that doesn’t change the way people perceive them, to other races there still just Black.…

    • 559 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Non-White Cast Diversity

    • 848 Words
    • 4 Pages

    If you go surfing through your tv channels, you might notice that the majority of the people you see are of the white race. People of that certain group hold a bigger position in the television industry than all the other ethnic groups combined. Individuals of other races do not make a large enough appearance in today’s television or movies.Television and movie directors should create a more diverse cast for their production. Many channels have an all white cast, the way children view themselves depend on how they’re represented and people of specific ethnic groups are placed in certain stereotypes. However, some television producers are attempting to fix that.…

    • 848 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the old day’s people believed that black people did not know anything and were slow which is what everyone for the most part think of Liam the black son of Frank and Monica. He is always seen hitting himself or shoving things in his nose or just starring blankly into to space. Everyone just thinks that Liam is stupid. For the other black people in the show well they completely support the stereotype that black people are thugs who sells drugs and shoot each other. While the white people in the show are poor people who portray ghetto “trailer trash” type of people.…

    • 1010 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Diversity On The Show

    • 141 Words
    • 1 Page

    Overall, the show does not challenge stereotypes, but instead uses them as a platform for humor. The bold message conveyed is that smart people are awkward and pretty people are not smart (with the exception of Bernadette who is pretty and has a doctorate). The elitist flaws of characters like Sheldon provide contrast to his intelligence, so that he is flawed in some capacity which makes him someone we would not want to emulate. Likewise, Penny is attractive, but her professional failures and lack of intelligence also make her flawed and someone we would not want to emulate. The lack of diversity on the show, and the frequent representation of other races as nothing more than stereotypes does nothing to improve societal perceptions based on…

    • 141 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    It is important to understand our diverse America because in order for people to commit on working in diversity, everyone needs to feel they are important. Each person needs to feel welcome and know that their culture is not just important to them but others. It's important to become allies with those who get discriminated against. Blaming and shaming people will not make America diverse. The encouragement of diversity benefits our society. Diversity is any unique difference between people. It includes our religious beliefs and physical appearance. Understanding our diverse America is something everyone should be aware of because it's what makes us, us.…

    • 104 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    It seems like television writers run out of jokes so they go for an easy joke to fall back on. So that’s why they always create a character to aim at. Rather that be; the dumb brother or the goofy dad, it’s always easy to take a shot at them. However there is an issue when it comes to race in these television sitcoms we see today. For example in the hit television show Modern family. Gloria, Columbian mother who marries a rich white man, is always being picked on because of her accent or for her lack of knowing any of the references. It is like the writers purposely make it so that all immigrant women are hot headed, loud, dumb bimbos. I agree they can be loud however for them to purposely make fun of her is wrong. Another example of this is…

    • 224 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Stereotypes of African Americans have been around since slavery. Once media got involved it was able to give society a visual as to how other races portrayed them. With television, it’s becoming more and more vivid of how bad the stereotyping is getting. Now a day’s some writers of these shows and try to hide the racial remarks, while others are blunt with it and receive no type of punishment for their actions. You do have some sitcoms that will shine a positive light on the African American community, but these shows never last long. The gatekeepers do not want to put a positive image in your head they want you feel a certain way so therefore they come up with shows like Family Guy and South Park that…

    • 393 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Diversity in America

    • 494 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Diversity in america is a trademark of the beauty in our country. Without diversity, America wouldn’t be what it is today. A country that is an obvious reflection of the multiple cultures it contains. The rise and struggle of the African-Americans, The Spanish, Asian, and European immigrants who have all come to the U.S. and contributed to a diverse country. Chinese resturaunts, Soccer, Spanish music, There are so many diverse things that we love. With myself being a part of the Diverse community, it has shown me that being different doesn’t matter. Whether you’re Black, White, or Guynease, anyone can be accepted and become a good friend.…

    • 494 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays