A Girls Guide to TV Diversity
2013 started with more talk about the HBO series Girls & the diversity, or lack thereof, on the show. It appears that the 2012 version of this discussion was seen as a challenge by Girls showrunners to cast minority actors. On the show's second season premiere, the challenge was answered in the form of Donald Glover playing the love interest of Hannah, the main character portrayed by show creator Lena Dunham. In my opinion, this was not the move*.
Lena Dunham's Hannah & Donald Glover's Sandy (photo via nytimes/jessica miglio)
It's pretty corny to see a creative product addressing or catering to criticism in this way. The fact is, inclusion of minorities doesn't necessarily exempt a show from being racially biased or insensitive. In some cases, on screen diversity provides plenty more opportunities to be offensive. But this isn't another thinkpiece examining Girls & minorities on tv **. This is my imagining of the process by which Girls & other shows who find themselves similarly diversity deficient, react to criticism. This is me retracing the possible steps that lead to clumsy & reactionary casting choices.
So You've Decided to Cast A Minority, But Who?
The safe bet when casting minorities on a minority deficient program is to stick to the current archetype of your show & in the case of Girls, cast a hipster of any race (which is basically anyone under 30?). While I'm sure Girls and other shows really do mean "any race", a commonly employed time-saver is to operate under the assumption that the ethnic color spectrum is punctuated by white & black and having the two present on screen accounts for every shade that lies in between. There are of course shows who don't operate this way but those shows don't win Golden Globes.
So You've Cast A Minority, Now What to Write?
When writing for minority characters, many shows get trope-y or get trippy***. Since there's already a strong foundation laid for the personalities of minorities in tv and films, developing them can be a minimal task if you so choose. Popular minority tropes include the eager cultural guide, the vehicle for white morality, & the oracle.
A more contrarian approach is to get trippy and confront stereotypes head on by deliberately giving minority characters traits that juxtapose the stereotypes associated with their race. For example, a black Republican like the character played by Glover on Girls. Either way, minority character development can easily be guided by stereotypes, may it be using them directly or opposing them explicitly. It is also possible to develop a character without using their race as a focal point but how will your critics & audience remember that there are minorities on your show?
So You've Got A Minority on Your Show, Now What?
Once a minority character is on board, you can finally tell that joke about how [REDACTED] people are always [REDACTED] knowing that a minority's presence will deflate any accusations of bigotry. What will the critics say now? They might say your accessorized use of minority characters is tactless & you could respond by extending the arc of your minority cameos to permanent sidekicks. Or maybe this time you'll act with unfaltering resolution that this is exactly how you want minority characters on your show: undercooked, transitory & hackneyed. Maybe this portrayal is your meta-criticism of white privilege & how it perpetuates thoughtless narratives and pigeonholes minorities. Maybe, touché.
*My qualm with Girls isn't that the cast is white. While I understand that criticism, I don't necessarily agree with it. And this is why: Arrested Development featured a white family as their central cast. A family whose privilege was only paralleled by the pathos of each character. Anyone could be repulsed by & relate to the Bluths as individuals or a unit. Their dealings with race & class through characters like Lupe, Annyong & yes, even Franklin, revealed their ignorance & privilege in an absurdist & hilarious way. And in 2013, the Bluths are coming back! Huzzah!
**This is not a thinkpiece, it's a stink piece.
***Tropey & trippy...who's corny now.
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