Racism and racial representation on soaps

[Vizion]

 

Preachhhhhh!!!!! Viewers are complicit

[GLATWT88]

Surely not, but I'm sure it didn't cross their mind to have racially diverse dolls since the show lacks so much in diversity. 

 

Similarly, I think the lack of diversity comes from the top and stems from an irrational fear of scaring off the last remaining viewers. As if having black characters front and center is going to drive away white viewers. 

[pdm1974]

wow....

https://tvline.com/2020/06/24/melissa-reeves-racism-days-of-our-lives-instagram-controversy/

 

 

Gina Tognoni could be fire in the role (still can't believe Y&R let her go!) and take it in a whole new direction...maybe free Jennifer from the Jack union since both characters are kind of written in a corner at this point.

[ReddFoxx]

Just a little bit of context about why Reeves liking anything by Candace Owens is disturbing.

https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/429180-candace-owens-if-hitler-just-wanted-to-make-germany-great-and

[janea4old]

 

Direct link to above fb video:
https://www.facebook.com/TheYoungandtheRestless/videos/1392131277640398/

 

Youtube link to the same clip, but it might be geo-blocked outside the US:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/FqEoQBAzomI

 

The clip is from the 2006 epi that was rebroadcast today June 24.  Bryton won the 2007 Emmy for it.

 

Devon was talking about Drucilla but...

As I watched today, it felt like a parallel to Victoria Rowell. She's not crazy. She just defends what's right.

 

And even more, this clip feels to me like a parallel to everything that's going on on the world.  Carmen Mesta is being a Karen getting Dru arrested for no reason.   Carmen is afraid. Says Dru started it. etc. And Devon calls her out.

Edited June 25, 2020 by janea4old

[OzFrog]

 

Ok my curiosity is piqued by this. Whose name is being censored exactly?? It’s rushing way over my head here. PM me if you need to...

[Adamski]

 

What an incredible interview, thank you for posting that, @SFK  I live in the UK so I wasn't familiar with Ellen Holly, but I will watch the rest of those interviews with her. 

[BetterForgotten]

This is an isolated clip, but overall, Latham wrote terribly for Dru even though she kept her front-burner. 

 

Latham had scenes like Dru breaking into Carmen's closet and madly ripping up her clothes with a pair of scissors, and of course getting physical with Carmen at Newman. She often wrote Dru like a "ghetto woman" stereotype in other parts of that story. Carmen was definitely insensitive and indirect with her animosity a lot of the time though, which was the opposite of Dru and really pushed her buttons. 

 

Can a Latina like Carmen be classed as a 'Karen?"  It's a complicated matter when all characters involved are underrepresented minorities. 

 

 

Edited June 25, 2020 by BetterForgotten

[juppiter]

I’m so happy we got a [S.W.S.N.B.N.] appearance! 2020 would not have been complete without it. 

[janea4old]

 

I read an old recap or summary mentioning Dru cutting up Carmen's clothes and I thought that was not really what Dru would have done.  The show wrote Phyllis cutting up Sharon's clothes, too. But Phyllis is supposed to be crazy.  Dru isn't. 

Carmen isn't a really a Karen, as you pointed out.  But I was trying to say that Dru being upset at Carmen, and even cutting up the clothes,  Dru getting physical with Carmen --- for those things Carmen wanted Dru imprisoned and the D.A said the best deal he could offer was two years in prison.  Two years in prison is not appropriate.

 

I haven't seen many of that year's episodes, but I've been reading the recaps for that year, and It seems like Carmen was written to be a manipulative character who "preys on married men" said one summary. I don't know. I haven't seen enough clips of her to get what she was really like.   Was Carmen simply being a bad person and trying to get rid of the competition for Neil and didn't care if imprisoning Dru was unjust?   Or was Carmen being a "Karen" in that the writers were using Carmen as someone who thought of Dru as ghetto/dangerous/unsafe and must be arrested?   I can't tell from reading the recaps.

 

 

[BetterForgotten]

Carmen was a mess of a character, much like everything else Latham wrote. Dru/Neil were having marital problems before Carmen (mainly due to fining out Lilly was Malcolm's biological daughter), Carmen saw an opportunity there and tried to weave herself in. 

[DramatistDreamer]

Speaking of "Dru", I came across this tweet from Angie Thomas, author of top-selling YA novel "The Hate You Give".

 

[KMan101]

 

Yep! And it's SO frustrating.

 

I tried to get folks on social media talking about Rowell and Dru and was blown off. "It's too late" etc. It's not even about that. It's CORRECTING THE WRONG DONE TO HER.

 

The outrage viewers had over Loren Lott's firing lasted all of like a day or two until Y&R placated fans by bringing Mishael back at the same time.

 

Why is more noise not being made about a Black actress being told "we have no story for you" yet they have no trouble with everyone else. 

Edited June 25, 2020 by KMan101

[Aback]

 

Thank you. I don't think there was much thought put into the Carmen character. However I'll say that the "Of course you don't understand, you can't hear me" was a subtle way to show how condescending and ignorant she was. For all of Latham's fault, I think we were supposed to be on Dru's side.

[KMan101]

Latham did seem to want to write for Dru and she was leading at the time. It wasn't "Winters Wednesdays".