DAYS Becoming More Diverse?

[Darn]

I can't believe some people are justifying settling for scraps in 2013. White people are quickly becoming the minority in this country, we can't just keep accepting whiteness focused storytelling on daytime or elsewhere.

Especially with the fact that daytime's become less ethnically diverse than it was just 10-15 years ago. Angie and Jesse's romance started 30 years ago, we can't keep pointing at them shouting "Look! Progress!".

[Cheap21]

But it's better than nothing

[ajsp35801]

Neither Ethiopian, Caribbean, nor Indian is a race...however, Ethiopans are "black" and many people from the Caribbean are "black" for how it is defined in the good ole USA. Now if you start getting into the percentages of mtDNA and Y chromosome DNA, you might find something totally different. But when has Hollywood not played fast and loose with casting black people...they tend to always go for the mixed race people..but then in the USA, many mixed raced (with black) define themselves as just "black". (Side note: You would be hard pressed to find many black people in the US who are 100% racially black).

[frequentsoapfan]

I've been offended for years over it especially when asked about playing a Hispanic character when he's not Hispanic he replied "It pays the bills!"

Galen is Jewish/Basque and Lindsay is Greek/Italian. DAYS has done that type of casting before though with some other family who's name escapes me. And I'm sure most of us forget that Nicole's dad was Hispanic.

I don't understand why DAYS always gets a free pass when it comes to diversity. Everybody goes hard on Y&R and GH over diversity and light on DAYS.

[Khan]

IOW: take your forty acres and your mule and keep movin'.

[Eric83]

SMDH @ you.

I remember an episode of Bonanza a pasty white woman was playing a Native American.

[Khan]

And it does. And I can't be angry with Galen (or with any actor) for taking the job. My displeasure lies with the producers and casting directors who think we won't notice or care.

"Bonanza" also cast Marlo "That (Lebanese) Girl" Thomas as an Asian.

[Eric83]

This character will not last. Only reason Hispanic characters sometimes last is because they are OK enough for the white audience. Anything that deviates too far away from the standard European look will rarely get any substantial airtime or story.

[ChitHappens]

Can't remember the movie (Winchester 73, perhaps), but they died Ricardo Montalban orange so that he could horribly play a Native American.

[SFK]

Meanwhile, Christel Khalil would have been perfect for this role. And "gorgeous" is subjective.

[SFK]

I appreciate the gesture to add more ethnic diversity, but what offends me is the wide net they've cast. When they want a Caucasian they know they want a Caucasian, no ifs, ands, or buts. Why is it so hard to make a definitive choice about this Mary Beth's ethnicity? If I had faith that they'd be so taken by their choice that they'd build a family around her casting more actors of her ethnicity, that would be great. But I feel like race is being treated in a trivial way here, a casting gimmick. When they start casting all roles with such open ethnicity, I'll feel differently.

[frequentsoapfan]

I know it pays the bills. But it told me he doesn't give sh*t about the character's background/heritage or that some Hispanic people would like to see a lead on the American soaps with the same culture as them(when he made his pay the bills comment he was at the top of the episode counts and his onscreen family was eating all the airtime). I still plain the producers and casting people heavily but I dint like his comments either.

[ajsp35801]

Nothing annoys me more than someone playing a character of a different ethnicity or race than they are...especially when they make a point to say they are not that and are flippant about it..It pays the bills indeed. It t is very insensitive of him.

[SFK]

I hear you, and ideally we'd all get chances to play characters of our true ethnicities, but it's all about presenting a passable look. I'm half black and have played mostly latin, Italian, and Greek characters, or ones where race is unspecified. I've never been cast in a Wilson or Hansberry play for example, and I had a mini emotional breakdown in the audition room not long ago when I was reading for a character in Seven Guitars and we touched upon the touchy subject of my fair skin. Take Me Out, Yellowman, and Flyin' West would be perfect for me but I'm not going to deny myself the chance to act waiting around for such specific roles to come. So it's tough.

[Khan]

Oh, definitely, GG could have been more sensitive in his response. If nothing else, he could have been all, "Well, even though I think human behavior is universal regardless of ethnicity, my wife's cousin's best friend's partner is Hispanic, so thank God he's there to fill in some gaps for me whenever they reference Rafe's heritage in scripts and I have NO idea what they're talking about." You know, something like that.