Black Character Portrayals in Soaps Today

[DeeeDee]

David Fumero is one of the very few initially wooden minority actors who was given time to grow into a solid actor.

He'll never be Michael Zaslow but he held his own in enough pairings to justify his hiring.

[SFK]

I agree with that, I never thought he was *great*, but it was refreshing to see a dubiously talented minority actor kept around for as long as he was. I mean, if Aiden Turner was kept around for as long as he was while they tried to figure out what to do with him, I say Fumero deserved the same. I also like how Fumero had a very noticeable accent and presumably wasn't encouraged to get rid of it, and how Cristian dated a pair of white sisters and a pair of black sisters.

[frequentsoapfan]

Seeing all the posts by GH fans that RS should be kept on as a romantic lead(his horrible acting is half the reason why that should never happen) do you think they'd ever want a black, hispanic or asian character that is a rapists and murderer to be redeemed and kept around?

[NothinButAttitude]

This thread has had me rolling from start to finish. So glad that other people feel the same way that I do when it comes to the "lack there of" of blacks in daytime.

[miche]

RS?

[frequentsoapfan]

Richard Steinmetz

[marceline]

I know I've mentioned this before but given the various conversations I've seen here about why web series don't/can't/won't work, I think this article is very timely. I'm a big fan of the web series The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl and now the creator of that series is fielding offers from networks to bring the series to television and has sold a show to ABC. Granted ABG is basically a comedy but it has some soapy elements. Last season was all about a romantic triangle. Of course it was two guys competing for a woman's attention which is unheard of in the soap verse. Issa Rae is gaining increasing success by creating programming for the audience that soaps consider irrelevant.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/issa-rae-and-her-web-series-the-misadventures-of-awkward-black-girl-are-rising-stars/2012/10/01/bf3c04a4-fc2b-11e1-8adc-499661afe377_story.html

[Khan]

This is the show I've dubbed (lovingly!) "The Days and Nights of Molesha Dodd." (Get it?)

Good for her!!!

[VirginiaHamilton]

I'm not keen on Shonda Rhimes being involved in this (I have my own issues with her), but I am glad that Issa Rae is attaining more success.

[DramatistDreamer]

That series often has me laughing hysterically. It would be nice if she had more financing and could put out episodes faster. It takes so long between each installment but I understand that she's hustling on a shoe string budget. Still with the obvious following she has, it is a bit disconcerting that she wouldn't have more influential people stepping up to give ABG a bigger production boost. If she were Lena Dunham, that show would've been on HBO or Showtime.

[Khan]

Same.

[frequentsoapfan]

http://www.theroot.com/views/memoirs-black-soap-star

[teplin]

I don't think anyone's mentioned Another World yet. I think there were a half-dozen black actors on regular contract back in the early 80s, when playwright Corinne Jacker was at the helm. Quite honestly, I was bored by their stories, but the acting was so good and the actors themselves so charismatic, I kept watching. From an AW Today interview with the lovely Petronia Paley (Quinn Harding):

AWT: In the early 1980s, AW attracted some phenomenal African-American talent. In addition to you, there was Michelle Shay, Joe Morton, Howard Rollins, Reggie Rock Blythwood, and Morgan Freeman, among others. How in the "world" did Bay City get so lucky?

PP: At some point, the decision was made to expand my character, which meant giving Quinn Harding a love interest. The wonderful Bob Christian was hired. Because soap opera thrives on youth and the eternal love triangle, I was given an adopted daughter, Thomasina, who in turn had a boyfriend who just happened to be Bob’s character’s son. The plot thickened when the lovely Michelle Shay was brought on as his wife. From there, the characters and story grew. Howard Rollins, fresh off the success of the movie, Ragtime, was brought on as my brother. Jackee was hired as Thomasina’s funny and irascible aunt. Eventually, I had a construction company and Morgan Freeman was brought on as a business partner who later married the available Henrietta after Bob’s character was killed. Over the ensuing years, there were other love interests in Joe Morton, John Carter, and James Pickens. It came as a shock when I was told that Quinn would be killed, but all good things must come to an end.

[DRW50]

You can see a lot of the vibrancy and character which Shay, Paley, and Jackee brought to the show (I don't think the men fared as well). There was no good story reason to kill off Quinn. It was shock value and probably ageism. When fans wrote in to SOD to protest, they were told that AW had no idea she was popular.

[Cyberologist]

All I can say is WOW this is awesomely well said may main gripe as I've said repeatedly for years when I watched soaps in black and white as a little kid...this is 2012 they had/have with the few left a huge opportunity to "redefine the genre" yet steadfastly refuse(d) to do it and stuck with the old school soap formula not even their triangles / pregnancies etc...have evolved into the 21st century its the same old story women aren't like, this for the most part we've come a long way baby...speaking of which....although it is a primetime (soapy drama)....Kerry's Olivia Pope is the only black lead character (heading a show) and this is 2012 on the main networks so I think this pretty much says it all.