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OLTL: SOAPnet March Preview


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That depends on what you mean by the paradigm. If you mean the soaps, then there'd be no reason for this board or to participate on it. But I think the fact that daytime has in fact devolved on minority representation in the last twenty years indicates that there is potential for growth and for more; we had more before, so why not continue to fight for it? Daytime and primetime are both backwards in different yet similar ways - the only way to change that is to continue to challenge it. Scrapping all soaps would only lead to a blank slate from which network execs could have the excuse of starting from scratch on representation - i.e., virtually none.

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I mean entertainment in general.

Minorities are never served beyond the meager scraps they're tossed & expected to be grateful for.

The only way for significant quality representation for minority groups is for us to create & support each other along with our own.

Because until the existing paradigm is addressed & modified there can't be any progress.

The glass ceiling exists for a reason & if you're a minority especially in Daytime no matter how you play the game you will be penalized for it.

Holly & Rowell were treated as "divas" & branded as "crazy" despite being RIGHT about & pushing for the modification of the existing paradigm.

Morgan, Williams, Marshall, Harbour, Tunie & Pinkins were severely backburnered, character assassinated and/or fired for being "good" & playing the game.

But that's the chicken & egg problem.

Is it better to be represented as tokens or not represented at all?

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Vee, re: your first response...

Perhaps I did misinterpret Leia's original point, and then I'd have to ask just what makes a character like Layla so revolutionary, so modern, so new and perhaps unappealing to older fans? :unsure: I don't really see it. First of all, I'm barely 30. But if we're asking if I prefer Dorian and Viki to Layla, the answer is yes but that's based on a history of storytelling. One cannot compare how Layla has been written to those two, but again, that really doesn't have anything to do with Layla being some new brand of character type or anything. I feel like the implication is that characters are "made" differently these days, with some newly developed recipe or something. That I don't agree with, or exactly follow to be honest.

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That depends on if you think Dru, Angie, Jesse, Carla etc. were all just tokens since time immemorium. I don't. They may have been treated that way at certain times, but I don't think that was all they were. And you're right, it is a chicken and the egg issue and one that defies an easy answer. I do think scrapping the entire primetime/daytime system will do nothing but give the next round of execs more excuse to play dumb.

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I was getting that from Leia's earlier post too. I say something is better than nothing. I'm with the late great Beah Richards on this one: Black actors, you take those roles, take the maid, the porter, whatever, and work it. Inject it with your humanity, your truth and things will inevitably translate to the audience. Black actors are capable of creating change in the most subtle of ways. This is why it's also so important to have GOOD actors in these roles! I think VR is the shining example of this ideal, look at what she brought to Y&R and what she was able to tell through Dru. Actors have more power than they sometimes give themselves credit for. Now of course soaps would rather hire the black Valley girl than the Around the Way girl, which is a whole 'nother problem (and thread)...

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I don't think they were tokens either, if anything, they were the gold standard and daytime has regresed rather than progressed in the storyteling for their black characters, most notably losing all cultural flavor and significance. I feel like daytime got to a point where when it came to race, they were "over it"... been there, done that. They'd keep black characters on, but they'd stop telling stories that reflected the particular issues and struggles of the black community and they would start a trend of hiring white-looking and white-sounding black actors who functioned just as their white characters, and yes I am generalizing/stereotyping, yes we are the world we are the children we're all created equal, but I'm not pulling this out of my ass because we ARE different and THAT's OKAY.

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I don't either but as we both know Daytime isn't that good anymore.

They weren't at the time but they're definitely all victims of last hired first fired when it comes to Daytime & if iconic actors like Holly, Williams, Rowell & Morgan can't get respect that doesn't bode well for their adherents to build on their legacy.

The next round of execs are/were always going to play dumb.

It doesn't benefit them to change a paradigm that works for them & I don't think Daytime has to be 100% scrapped but the paradigm has to be modified.

It's no longer a choice but a necessity.

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