Where is my representation on TV? We want to talk about diversity and claim that prejudice and bigotry are relics of a bygone era and antiquated thinking....so, I am forced to ask...where the hell is my representation on the tube?
Let's keep it real and raw...shall we...I am not part of the Huxtables and I ain't part of the Evans (Good Times) family either. Just where do I fit in? What show had an abusive drunk father that lived in the house and beat on the wife and kids? I missed that show while I was buying into the Brady Bunch- six kids with one bathroom. I mentioned before that my mom was Julia (Diane Carroll) a nurse and an extremely attractive Black woman; behind the scenes was the man stealing the rent,pitting his kids against one another like some sick gladiator competition and beating the hell out of everyone just because he felt like it. That created some interesting situations...maybe my TV representation is rooted in every therapy show or newscast of war torn countries.
Where's my TV representation? I'm more like the "militant midget"Michael Evans - Good Times than the kids of A Different World. For me, academics and social justice are necessities and very real part of who I am. I'm not Mary Tyler Moore"making it after all..." Where do I see myself on TV? I didn't see myself sitting on the couch with the gang at Central Perk (Friends) - How do you film a show about NYC with one Black person -short lived mind you, in the cast? I don't see myself in any show on the LOGO network although it was allegedly set up to represent the LBGTQ community. I'm not one of the folks on the L Word, Noah's Arc or Queer as Folk...the shows a fraught with cliché characters and stereotypes. I was extremely let down by the L word and its pseudo-Black characters. I say pseudo because the show clearly showed that a character of color could not stand on their own. The characters had to either be validated by or in conflict with a Caucasian character.
Which leads me to my present day dilemma....Scandal, How to get away with murder and Blackish....I love the shows but absolutely hate the underlying Hollywood BS that once again...tries to pass as Black representation....SCANDAL and How To Get Away with Murder both do the same things that the L word did...try to pass of a Black character as strong yet the character can't be without the support or conflict with the with counterparts.Blackish does what the Huxtable's did , two Black "Yuppie" parents trying to cope with their privileged kids....um, excuse me...didn't the parents create the situation? I'm not knocking status and achievement what I'm saying is don't try to pass it off as the norm...what? Black people are only palatable for TV when they are of a certain socioeconomic position? Gays can only be seen when they're embroiled in drama, bed hopping or over the top flamboyant? Where are the garbage men,steel workers, unemployed, the struggling to keep their head above water single moms, The people trying to hold it together as best they can?
Where the hell is my REAL representation on TV?
No comments:
Post a Comment