It's hard for me to answer questions like this. I am a full, bonafide white girl. I live a privileged life, and there has never been a time where I felt like my race was a problem. But even I get a bad taste in my mouth when I think of a show that is supposed to be representative of my generation that only displays white people. Dunham says she writes about her life, a life in New York (one of the most diverse cities in America), and yet she doesn't have a single person who isn't Caucasian in her life? Not even an acquaintance or a coworker? As I said before though, this might just be similar to most shows today. Even though most shows have POC characters here or there, most are tokens in the cast. Though I think Girls is deserving of its criticism, I think the main problem is that unless you're a white, you won't be represented.
I might be white and I might be represented in terms of race, I feel like I know a little bit about how it feels to me misrepresented. Look at female characters in the media. Most fall into the archetypes of stupid, rude, or weird. It's rare that you find a show with well-rounded female characters who talk about more than boyfriends. It's even more rare to find powerful black women on shows who aren't all just 'sassy', and forget about ever finding an Indian or Middle-Eastern woman. The point is, our world isn't white. It is true that there are places in America that are largely dominated by white people, but every state and every city is made up of people of every color. If Lena Dunham really wants to make a show that is representative of our generation, it should star more than privileged white women.
Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem. "Girls Just Wanna Have (White) Fun." The Huffington Post. The Huffington Post. 31 January 2013. Web. 10 February 2013.
Johnson, Megan. "Lena Dunham And Her Mother Address "Girls" Criticism." BuzzFeed. Buzzfeed. 7 February 2013. Web. 10 February 2013.
Joseph, Adi. "Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has tough criticism of HBO's 'Girls.'" USA Today. Gannett. 1 February 2013. Web. 10 February 2013.
McEwen, Lauren. ""Girls": Taking a real step towards diversity or just answering critics?" The Washington Post. The Washington Post. 14 January 2013. Web. 10 February 2013.
I totally agree with you Katey because I am growing incredibly sick with every single heroine or main girl in any type of media production being non-rounded and not unique either. Every female in shows turn out to be the same: portrayed as strong, independent, popular with huge posse, glossy hair, and typical high school drama that they are somehow involved in. It is ridiculous and I refuse to watch some of these shows becaause I feel that they are disrespectful to all the other females out there that don't fit into their tiny little stereotypical mold. And yeah, I also don't think it is likely that the creator demonstrated a proper view of contemporary society so the show is most likely biased towards what she wants.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Katey in the fact that many of the characters on shows today are, to use a good English term, flat. I love what Navodya said about females in shows always portrayed as independent. In ABCs "Once Upon a Time", the main character, Emma, is depicted as a women who lived on her own in New York City and often refuses to ask for help. TV companies are continually attempting to liberate women by telling them they can be independent, but don't acknowledge that it is okay to ask for help. As my chorus teacher, Ms. Cook, always says, "The most courageous thing to do is ask for help."
ReplyDeleteAbout the race issue, I can see both sides. There is a large focus on diversity in TV right now. But how can a TV show like "Girls" be attacked when "Gossip Girl", with over five seasons, was focused on very privileged caucasian teenagers. This show did not receive any kickback from the lack of diversity. I agree that shows need to be diversified, but if we are going to attack one show for the lack of diversity, we need to set the standard for all shows to have diversity.
Like the previous, I also agree with you. Many shows today, deemed 'reality' TV shows, contain characters that are quite unalike the real world. Surrounded by fellow airheads who only gossip about the latest scandal and Person A is going out with Person B, the heroine finally makes progress by, guess what, finding her one true love. "Girls" exemplify how entertainment, especially American entertainment, has degraded, focusing on shallow plots, little development, and even more shallow characters. However, some may argue that entertainment is 'for fun' and 'just for kicks,' something to relieve the day's stress, but the shows do not need to be so insensitive about diversity. For example, old Disney show, the "Suite Life of Zack and Cody" had a very diversified cast, including, but not limited to, the ethnicities of Caucasian, Asian, and African American. There are perfectly fine shows which included diversity and quality entertainment.
ReplyDeleteAbout the writer, she can wish what she wants for her show, because it is hers to manipulate. Perhaps she was trying to indicate her reflection of an ideal society, which, honestly, causes me great concern for the future of world.
Katey, I agree with your position completely. I haven't seen this show, but it seems a lot like "Gossip Girl". Gossip Girl has a cast that exemplifies privileged, upper-class and spoiled white teenagers. The only cast members that aren't white have very small roles, they only come every once and a while. TV shows desperately need a diversified cast in order to appeal to all races. I don't know about every one else, but I can only watch so many "upper-east side" teenager shows that highlight first-world problems.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your position that television shows need to be more well rounded. Shows have little diversity these days, but some are getting there. For example, shows like The Mindy Project, which stars an Indian woman, and the show Scandal, where the starring role is played by an African-American women, Kerry Washington. So I don't think its impossible to find shows that have diversity. Some series in particular need to portray more races and cultures.
ReplyDeleteWhen you point it out, it does seem ridiculous that the show based on young people's lives in New York fails to have any ethnic diversity or culturally rich viewpoints. I think that the show might be a wake up call for those of us who it is supposed to appeal to, and fortunately it seems like people who are putting forth their criticisms are realizing what you are.
ReplyDeleteLike Ayesha reading about this show automatically made be think of Gossip Girl, a show primarily about rich white teenagers, partying, and sex. Although entertaining to a certain extent, Gossip Girl is completely unrealistic and ultimately pointless apart from fueling my guilty pleasure for racy TV shows. America is a melting pot, yet its extremely hard to find TV shows that reflect our diversity.
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ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your position Katey, as an Indian girl, I find it hard to find good role models in the media for me to follow in American culture. One of my favorite new shows though, The Mindy Project, a show created by Mindy Kaling, who also plays the lead role. Mindy is a smart, funny, Indian ob/gyn and I love that a show like this exists on one of the most major networks, Fox. Although I have never watched Girls, from your description, I feel like The Mindy Project is a better representation of our generation, even as a comedy show.
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