For many years, thousands of movies and television shows have been produced. There have been so many great television shows, books, and movies put out into this world that it's hard to name even a few.
A friend of mine once didn't want to watch a movie because they felt they couldn't relate to the character. I let it go but then I thought, "Well, I've been relating to characters that aren't my skin tone my entire life." Just look at any of the big movies out there, most of the characters are white. This is not to say that there is any problem with movies having actors/actresses that aren't of color because that is not the problem. It's the fact that movies that have the same concept or underlying message as movies with white people are being overlooked because it's not relatable enough for some people, and that is the problem.
As told by "Master of None"
Aziz Ansari's television show "Master of None" does a great job of reflecting this in an episode titled "Indians on TV." The show hits a lot of important topics that many shows never have. This specific episode discusses how when you see an Indian actor or actress on TV they are portrayed with a certain stereotype. That relates to any other race because you always see the characters portrayed a certain way and while there are some people in the world who may fit the stereotype, it isn't representative of the vast majority of the people in that race/ethnicity group. People have to constantly relate to these stereotypes that are placed on television shows when there is only one person of that ethnicity on the show.
The episode also talks about how when more than one Indian is displayed on a show, it suddenly becomes an "Indian show." This also relates to how people view any other show with more than one person of color because the show is suddenly not relatable anymore because there are too many people of color on the show. In a society where people are preaching that everyone should be accepted, and others are claiming that they don't see color it doesn't make sense why we can't have forms of entertainment that are relatable without the characters being white.
There are certain ways that characters are being cast in these shows and movies. It makes complete sense that if a show is following a certain culture it should have a cast of a certain ethnicity or race, but it shouldn't be a requirement in order to make it more relatable. I think the ethnicity of a character should not make the show less relatable for anyone. As long as the same story is being told, it is essentially the same show, with the same content and complexity as it would've been if the characters were white.
Not everyone is going to relate to every single story that is being told, but the reason shouldn't solely be because of the actor or actress's race. There are some messages that are universal and can be put across with any type of character. So next time we think a movie, show, or book is not relatable because of someone's race, it's important to actually watch or read it before making the judgment. Learning to look past that may end up being one of the best experiences we've ever had.
