This past semester the main focus of my English 150 class was race in America. At first it was a little odd, constantly discussing the topic of race in a class of predominantly white students. Yet as the semester wore on, the class really began to open my eyes to a large variety of issues to do with race– representation on television being one of them. Recently we had to write an essay on race in a text, whether that text be a movie, book, or television show was completely up to us. I had decided to write about the topic of race in of my favorite television shows, Scandal. While writing the paper, my research made me realize how important proper representation of a race was in the world of television. Some of you reading this may be thinking, “Who cares? It’s television, it doesn’t matter.” But if you’re thinking that, chances are your race has been represented on TV all your life. I can only hope that if you read on, I can shed some light on an issue that has been lurking in the shadows for awhile now.
Growing up and watching cartoons, race on TV never resonated with me. Mainly because 99 percent of my time was spent watching Spongebob Squarepants where talking sponges and aquatic squirrels living in a tree dome don’t exactly have a race. Yet other TV shows created for children such as Rugrats, Fairy Odd Parents, and Power Puff Girls were made up of groups of white characters with maybe one or two characters of color popping up throughout the series. Even as I transitioned from cartoons to shows such as Drake and Josh, Hannah Montana, and iCarly, the cast was primarily made up of white people. If there ever was a character of color, chances are they played a minor role where every stereotype about their race was applied to them for humorous effect. Since it was what I grew up with, nothing ever seemed wrong with this. As I got into high school and began binge-watching shows like Friends and How I Met Your Mother, two shows about a tight-knit group of straight white people is what I accepted as normal.
But that’s the thing, it shouldn’t be normal. Part of the reason people have had such a hard time accepting same-sex or interracial couples today is because in the past there has been little to no representation of them on television. There are so many shows about conventional white families that sadly, a conventional white family has become the social norm. Luckily, there are people out there in the world of television who have realized that needed to change. Fast.
Shonda Rhimes, creator of ABC hit shows such as Greys Anatomy, Scandal, and How to Get Away with Murder, is famous for creating shows with a cast swimming in diversity. She’s no stranger to breaking social norms, ensuring that people from every gender, every sexuality, and every race are properly represented and given the spotlight that they rightfully deserve. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, Scandal star Kerry Washington spoke about Shonda Rhimes, stating that, “She knows the power of reflection and wields that power with grace and generosity. Shonda allows for more people than ever before to see themselves and feel as though the world sees them too.”
It’s important for people of color to have their race represented on television in a positive light because it shows the rest of America that the stereotypes that have weighed so heavily on them all these years aren’t always true. Also, when people aren’t equally and appropriately represented on television, they don’t feel as if their stories are important. While some people may still argue that they’re just television shows and they aren’t meant to be taken so literally, other people such as Oprah feel differently. In her article in Time, she writes that “when you don’t feel seen or heard, you don’t feel validated or valued.”
Oprah isn’t the only one who feels this way. Race representation matters, people. Fortunately, we’re living in a time where acceptance of people who differ from societies idea of normal is becoming a social norm in itself. A time where more and more television shows are representing more races, genders, and sexuality. Here’s a list of some of the shows doing their part in adding a little more color in the world of television (and Netflix) that I highly recommend checking out:
Fresh Off the Boat
Orange Is the New Black (Netflix Original)
Scandal
Master of None (Netflix Original)
How to Get Away with Murder
Black-ish
Sense8 (Netflix Original)
The Fosters
Of course these aren’t the only shows who include characters of various races, sexualities, and genders, they’re simply what I thought of at the top of my head. These shows range from dramas to comedies and do their part in breaking the social norms that have been etched in our brains since we were too young to understand what exactly it was that was being etched. I can only hope that when my children are growing up, shows like the above are on every channel at any time of day and that representation on television will be an issue long forgotten.
