DAYS Becoming More Diverse?

[frequentsoapfan]

In the case of Arianna the actress before Lindsay was Felisha Terrell who is half black/white. So not hispanic either but they did bump a woman of color out of the role

I've also noticed that alot of casting calls for characters that are supposed to be Hispanic says white or Hispanic for ethnicity and many tend to lean towards casting white actors.

In the case of DAYS they do it far too much. It's not fair either that actual Hispanics are constantly losing roles to non hispanics either just because that non hispanic had dark hair and olive skin.

[~bl~]

On the prior page there was a reference to Days casting non-Hispanic actors for a family...I wonder if that was a reference to the Ramirez story including April, Emillio and Julio back in 1988 or so...

[Skin]

Honestly I don't look for color to enjoy television. Ultimately I think quality television is quality television, I don't look for skin color to justify my enjoyment in a program. There are people who say "if there isn't at least one black person on this show I won't watch it" and I just refuse to limit myself to entertainment in that way as I just don't think that's in anyway logical. I do not feel I am "settling for scraps" when I watch television, I don't see race when I look at people, I just see people. In that way color has never bothered me I enjoy stories regardless of complexion.

The only thing here is that there is no real heritage in most soaps these days. There are almost no references of a person's cultural heritage, traditions or legacy in most soaps and that happens all the time. All most all holidays and traditions are ignored and it's not even just the ethnic minorities but also characters who are Jewish, I can't remember the last time I saw a character celebrate Kwanzaa, Passover, Cinco De Mayo, Good Friday or any other religious or cultural holiday. Culture just isn't a big deal outside of the typical holidays like the 4th of July, Thanksgiving and Christmas on soaps. I would say in American soaps, you just get the general default of being "American" and that's all that really matters when it comes to the writing. I think this is a double edged sword, on the one hand you are treating ethnic characters exactly as you would any other white character, which is a great benefit I believe. It would be perceived as ill in taste if ethnic characters received different story treatment simply for being a different ethnicity. But at the same time you basically make these characters all the same with no differences and wash out part of a persons linage.

[will81]

I do prefer the idea of just casting someone because they are good, not because you need to fill a quota or because you think your audience prefers a certain skin colour on their tv screens. Unless they are tied to an established ethnicity on the show, just have a call for anyone of any cultural background and choose the best person.

I think of the Winters/Barbers/Hastings family on Y&R and think in terms of story content and even character descriptions they could have been played by any ethnicity, it was the actors who made them an African-American family, it was the smaller details, sometimes just in dialogue. I never felt like I was watching a white family (The Abbotts) then a black family (The Winters) on Y&R, they were all just people, but damn it was refreshing to see diversity of skin colour and the way Dru and Malcolm or Olivia would interact, which was different than the way Ashley and Jack would interact.

[Darn]

You're joking, right? I feel like I'm being punked.

[YRBB]

Can I just point out the irony of you saying you don't look at skin color when your Name is "Skin"?

Couldn't help myself.

KThanxBye

[SFK]

Are any of OLTL's casting directors interviewed in the oral history book? It would be great to hear some straight answers about the issue of race in casting. Probably more of an EP question, actually. We've read about writers who've said things like, "I don't know how to write for a black woman." I'd like to know where the upper-most PTB have stood on the issue, if new characters of color were vetoed for example, and the reasoning behind that.

[Dr Neil Curtis]

Preach!!!!

[Skin]

No. I don't know what about my post is funny.

Perhaps I am more than skin deep?

[YRBB]

Perhaps I should have added a " " to point out the facetious nature of my post

[difficultdiva]

I don't find DAYS to be more diverse at all. I actually think things have regressed, due to the continued cancelations of aired soaps on broadcast TV. General Hospital is the most diverse, out of all the remaining four soaps still on the air.

The UK soaps continue to do a better job, in making all their shows more diverse. Hell, even Emmerdale, a show based in the countryside has minority characters and they're not written as tokens.

[frequentsoapfan]

I think Y&R beats GH in diversity in that their minorities actually have their own story they lead. On GH they all feel like tokens used as plot points.

[Dr Neil Curtis]

I agree

[Dr Neil Curtis]

I don't think anyone was saying Days was diverse especially with just Abe, Theo, Cam, and recurring Maxine

[Skin]

I understood. I was joking as well.