I don't usually copy/paste stuff but I'm going to do it with this blog. I hope Mala don't mind at all.

Awesome blog!

Blogging With Mala

May 1, 2009

You know, I've been pretty upbeat about soaps' handling of LGBT issues lately, glad that daytime's being so supportive and making the effort, etc. There's a problem with that, though. It means that in my mad rush to praise soaps, I've forgotten to be vigilant of how there's still a bunch of EPIC FAIL in the racial diversity department. Shame on me. Because this is a cause very, very close to my heart. Not to mention plastered all over my skin.

You would think that a genre whose largest audience is people of color would actually make the effort to represent that audience. Even Y&R, who gets consistent kudos for featuring the Winters family, has some issues to work out. Like ... why were Neil, Karen, Tyra, Devon, and Ana basically in a bubble all year? And why has Lily never dated a black man? I'm not saying there's anything wrong with her being with Daniel or Cane; it's just something to think about. Lily gets free rein to run around with the Chancellors, the Abbotts, etc. Whereas Neil really only does that for business reasons. Lily has, in Cane, a pass to the more lucrative storylines. Y'all know I'm not exaggerating. OLTL's Evangeline and RJ were barely a blip on the show's radar. In sticking her with John, all of a sudden Vange had worth and a pairing name (JoVan) and 'shipping wars being fought for her. Luckily, OLTL has gotten better by bringing back all the Gannons, pairing Layla with Latino Cristian, featuring Shaun and Destiny, etc. But are they as important to the show as the Buchanans or Rex and Gigi or, heck, Starr and Cole? You be the judge.

Look at ATWT for a similar issue. Jade, who returned with the stereotypical Latin thug boyfriend, Robbie (thanks, ATWT...not!) is in the featured twenty-something set...and is it primarily because she's been involved with Casey and her extended family is white? It sure looks like it. Because she has a potential love interest in Dallas, who is never seen, and her newly discovered dad, Derek, and his girlfriend Bonnie are never on. What's that about? I've been reading Internet rumors lately that Bonnie will soon be paired with Dusty, and while I love Dusty and think Grayson McCouch is a sweetheart, the very idea gives me rage blackouts (no pun intended). I will not even be able to vent my feelings in a coherent, non-four letter word manner if it happens, so let me do it now while I still have the socially acceptable terminology at my disposal. It's wrong. Straight up, flat out, wrong. Because you know IF Bonnie is paired with Dusty, she'll be catapulted onto the front burner. It's a fact. Thus sending the message that Bonnie and Derek, a black couple, are not good enough or important enough to have a story on their own. I mean, for all the people who complained about a kissing ban for Noah and Luke...where is the same outrage for Bonnie and Derek not having an onscreen love story? Where is the calling out of ATWT for being afraid to show two black people being affectionate? They have not kissed. At all. She didn't even fix his freaking tie, okay? Noah and Luke have lived out a Homerian epic (as in Homer, the poet) in comparison to Bonnie and Derek!

And yet no one says anything. It's like there's a sense of complacency, or just plain exhaustion, when it comes to fighting the racial diversity fight for daytime. Why? Is it that ridiculous old media chestnut that people of color don't sell? Because that doesn't really wash. Plenty of white people don't sell either. But what was the #1 movie at the box office this week before Wolverine premiered? Obsessed, starring Beyonce Knowles and Idris Elba. Have you ever heard of a Tyler Perry movie not making money? Do people not buy Essence and Ebony? What won the Oscar for Best Picture this year? Slumdog Millionaire, which had no white people of consequence in it. (Which is probably why there were no acting awards handed out, but I digress...) The market is there. The audience is there, just waiting to be tapped into. I mean, soaps have been on for 70+ years, so why are we moving backward in this department, just when we need to be exploring every single avenue available to make soaps more viable?

Here's a quick rundown of how the rest of the shows are doing. (If I missed someone, feel free to add a name in the comments!)

AMC: The Hubbards; seen on occasion

B&B: Marcus; seldom seen

DAYS: Abe, Lexie and Theo; seldom seen

GH: Sonny, front burner. Dr. Lee, Nurse Epiphany, Robin's therapist; all recurring and seldom seen

GL: Remy and Christina; featured more in recent weeks and Mel, who is seldom seen. Natalia, half of a front burner interracial, gay relationship. Rafe, seen on occasion.

Y&R: In addition to the Winterses, there's Rafe and Estella.

And that's pretty much it. A handful of black characters, even less Latinos (two of which are also sexual minorities), and ONE Asian character.

Maybe this is is why we haven't heard hide nor hair of GH: NIGHT SHIFT coming back...because heaven forbid daytime get shown up again by the Little Show That Could, a 13 week series helmed by an Indian head writer that airs at 11 p.m. I mean, pound for pound, GH: NS had a more minority balanced cast than the entirety of daytime.

No wonder it's...seldom seen.

http://soapoperadigest.com/opinions/mala/

Even Y&R, who gets consistent kudos for featuring the Winters family, has some issues to work out. Like ... why were Neil, Karen, Tyra, Devon, and Ana basically in a bubble all year?

I think the bigger question is why was the story terribly written, with inconsistent, confused characterization, hackneyed stereotypes, and bad casting. Another question is if anyone at Y&R even cares about the Winters family at this point in time.

Thanks so much for sharing this, Rakesh! Fantastic read, dead-on, honest, and also extremely clear-minded and level-headed. Really well-written.

Edited May 3, 200916 yr by brimike

I don't except these writers to do black on black love they can't even write for a indivsional black character.

Blacks are always in a bubble then they'll disappear.

I'm not going to go into why they rehire CK so Lily can venture out & date how many white guys she wants & reassure people that she is part of a black family. By keeping saying that she just like her mother. When the viewers don't see it on the screen.

Edited May 3, 200916 yr by MoTheGreat

Again, Nancy Curlee got it. Gilly, David, Kat, and Hamp were all rooted in black families and black culture and yet their stories affected everyone in town. I loved the antagonism and blackmail between Roger and Gilly at WSPR.

And, of course, their stories all went to hell after regimes changed at GL.

Edited May 3, 200916 yr by Faulkner

I don't except these writers to do black on black love they can't even write for a indivsional black character.

Blacks are always in a bubble then they'll disappear.

I'm not going to go into why they rehire CK so Lily can venture out & date how many white guys she wants & reassure people that she is part of a black family. By keeping saying that she just like her mother. When the viewers don't see it on the screen.

but she is like her mother- she's black!

AS for OLTL- they aren't re-issuing the Gannons, they're re-issuing Rachel. They'll cast as many counselors, teachers, and security that they can just so people will shut up about diversity. "Hell, if Y&R can do it, so can we."

At this point, TIIC can't even write well for their White characters, yet alone any of the minority groups. I'd seriously rather they don't write for minorities, if they insist on throwing this stereotypical rushed crap on our screens.

At this point, TIIC can't even write well for their White characters, yet alone any of the minority groups. I'd seriously rather they don't write for minorities, if they insist on throwing this stereotypical rushed crap on our screens.

That's just it, they're not even stereotypical! They aren't anybody. It's the elephant in the room whereby we're waiting for someone to acknowledge that they're black.

Stereotypical would imply the Winters are eating chicken while Neil plays the sax and slaps Karen on the ass while Devon talks "jive".

That's just it, they're not even stereotypical! They aren't anybody. It's the elephant in the room whereby we're waiting for someone to acknowledge that they're black.

Stereotypical would imply the Winters are eating chicken while Neil plays the sax and slaps Karen on the ass while Devon talks "jive".

Yeah, thinking about it closely, it's almost like they're too afraid to admit these people are Black - which is nonsense really.

But I guess with the lack of Black writers and producers in daytime, and existing writers not really trying, it's the final product we get.

Yeah, thank you for posting, Rakesh. No matter what the New York Times said this week, race will always be a hot-button issue in America. And it's a shame it's not being portrayed in any entertainment medium as well as it once was.

At this point, TIIC can't even write well for their White characters, yet alone any of the minority groups. I'd seriously rather they don't write for minorities, if they insist on throwing this stereotypical rushed crap on our screens.

To me, it's not that they're being stereotypical at all. In the soaps where I've seen Black families the most, they're just boring. They're not even caricatures anymore.

But again, I don't want to see Lily finding her roots by sporting a fro, reading Angela Davis, and becoming an activist for the AIDS orphans in Sierra Leone (actually, the last idea would kinda be nice; I mean, if Mac can go to Darfur...). I just want to see reality.

For instance, I loved when Devon shared his grandma's recipe with the Winters of those brownies or whatever. That's not a "Black" thing but it's REAL. It's human. And none of the damn characters are human anymore.

I think giving the Black characters these token social issues like adoption drama, illness, crack-addicted mothers, and absent parent comes off as deeply stereotypical to me. It seems like for years the Winter's family, in particular, has been used as the token social issue storyline family.

Edited May 4, 200916 yr by Y&RWorldTurner

The adoption story wasn't played with enough integrity to be a stereotypical "Black," thing, though.

I don't know. Maybe because it was developed so poorly, because the Winters are now so non-Black without Dru, I just didn't see the stereotype.

I think giving the Black characters these token social issues like adoption drama, illness, crack-addicted mothers, and absent parent comes off as deeply stereotypical to me. It seems like for years the Winter's family, in particular, has been used as the token social issue storyline family.

It's either that, or they make us sing! I wonder if the actors feel embarrassed? I know it's work, but still...

Is Mala's blog comment making it into the SOD mag? The soap mags rarely publish anything controversial. I have to admit that I am tired of arguing about the importance of diversity on the soaps. It has been years of this [!@#$%^&*]. Daytime is determined to write itself into cancellation. There is nothing I can do about it.

but she is like her mother- she's black!

That's wasn't what they imply when they was doing that modeling thing.