American television for the most part is the world according to white men. Because most of the writers and producers are white men. That is why black characters on television are few and are mostly flat or stereotyped.
Some general patterns in American prime time network television:
- When a network is new it will come out with plenty of black shows, like “Martin” and “Roc” on FOX or “Girlfriends” and “Moesha” on UPN. They do this to get their numbers up quickly in certain key cities. It works because blacks are underserved by the older networks. But they are just using blacks as a stepping stone. Once they get a foothold, white shows drive out black shows.
- Half of black characters appear on comedies while less than a third of white characters do. That was as true in the 1970s as it was in the early 2000s.
- Black dramas are rare, particularly middle-class ones. When they do come out they tend to be safe, boring and not given much of a chance to catch on. That means that most dramatic roles for blacks are on white shows where they mostly play safe, boring supporting characters.
- Many shows have no regular black characters at all, supporting or otherwise. Like “Cheers”, “thirtysomething”, “Seinfeld”, “Friends”, “Sex in the City” and so on. In fact, it seems like most shows are either almost all white or all black.
These are just general patterns. There are, for example, some white shows with good black characters – who get their own storylines, who have love lives, who are more than just cardboard cut-outs. “ER” is a good example.
But most shows are not like that. If they have black characters at all they turn out to be sidekicks, best friends, judges, doctors, secretaries, police officers, etc. They are there only to serve white characters. Like the doctor on “The Simpsons” or Uhura on “Star Trek”.
The great thing about “The Cosby Show” is that it did not show blacks in a flat or stereotyped way. And it also showed the black middle-class, something you barely ever see on television.
In 1999 the Screen Actors Guild counted the number of black characters on prime time network television. America is 13% black but its prime time characters were 16% black. But half of those were on comedies on UPN and the WB. Those shows are gone.
To get a rough idea what the number is now, I counted all the black people in the latest issue of TV Guide (July 27th 2009). Not counting the ads, it comes to just 6%.
Cable television is worse: blacks are seen mainly in reruns of old network shows and in rap videos and reality shows that push the worst ghetto stereotypes imaginable. In the 1990s BET, the main black cable channel, was kind of good but now it seems to hate black people. That leaves TV One. Is it any good?
And for news how come Michel Martin does not have her own show on MSNBC? Her and Pat Buchanan would be priceless.
See also:
Just to play the “devil’s advocate”, I can be like the Uncle Miltons of the world and argue that since blacks are a minority in the U.S., why would American network television dedicate significant airtime to them?
This is an arguement that many industry types make in defense of the dearth of East Asians and non-black minorities on US television.
LikeLike
How many whites are on east Asian TV? Asians make up %5 of us population. Blks 13 percent. Black people are over represented on TV.
LikeLike
I would not say that blacks are overrepresented, but it is true that Asian Americans are even less well represented than blacks, especially as lead characters. Hispanics, however, are even worse off and worst of all are Native Americans.
LikeLike
mynameismyname said:
Just to play the “devil’s advocate”, I can be like the Uncle Miltons of the world and argue that since blacks are a minority in the U.S., why would American network television dedicate significant airtime to them?
This is an arguement that many industry types make in defense of the dearth of East Asians and non-black minorities on US television.
The advertising money is clearly there for more black shows, particularly good ones. And we both know the acting talent is there.
From what I can tell black screenwriters seem to be the bottleneck: either there are not enough good ones or, more likely, they are not given enough creative freedom by whites higher up in the chain of command.
But the broader argument for why more blacks should be on television is that whites, particularly white children whose ideas of race are just forming, get much of what they know about blacks from television. Frightening but true.
The black voices you hear on cable news are also not terribly balanced either. It would help everyone, especially in the age of Obama, if, say, Michel Martin had a show on MSNBC. I think she would have dealt with the Sotomayor and Gates affairs much better than most white people who have a cable news show. And it would be much better than rolling out Al Sharpton or Juan Williams for a sound bite or two.
LikeLike
I do agree with what mynameismyname said #1. I am in the industry and although I am black, I have to think about what appeals to the “mainstream”. I remember awhile ago, I created this script about an upper middle class Hispanic family and I was told “No one’s going to go and see that.” (because unfortunately, there’s the stereotype that if Hispanics have money they must have gotten it through illegal means,i.e. drugs)I think it’s all about what sells, even if it means relying on stereotypes, unfortunately. There was an episode in “Sex in the City” that had a Japanese businessman say something to Carrie while she was waiting for Mr. Big. My friend from Japan said that she found the actions of this Japanese character a bit “strange” and was a bit bothered. She also noticed that when Asians are depicted in western television, that they are viewed as “strange.” Take the show “The Sopranos.” One of my friends who is Italian-American, her mother was extremely opposed to the show saying it depicted Italians in a negative light.
I guess my question is, if the US so happily claims diversity, why does tv and film not reflect this?
I dated a white French guy and when I told him that I loved the film Amelie, he kind of snorted and said that “Amelie” does not portray how Paris really is–for example, he said that in Paris there are blacks, Asians, etc–but you wouldn’t know it.
@Abagond
But most shows are not like that. If they have black characters at all they turn out to be sidekicks, best friends, judges, doctors, secretaries, police officers, etc. They are there only to serve white characters.
Shows like Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice come to mind. What I find interesting about those two shows, although created by an African-American, the blacks in those shows seem to be just “support”.
LikeLike
It seems to me that they just needs to be more folks behind the screen like minority screen writers, producers, and distributors in order to properly reflect minorities in three dimensional roles.
Waiting for TV execs to change things…well, we’ll be waiting a long time. It has to start at the grass roots.
LikeLike
To Mynameismyname:
I can be like the Uncle Miltons of the world and argue that since blacks are a minority in the U.S., why would American network television dedicate significant airtime to them?
Actually I don’t have that opinion.. and FWIW I am inclined to agree with this latest blog entry. My contention before was that I didn’t think the majority of portrayals of blacks in TV shows and Movies was negative. I admit that I rarely watch cops shows, rap videos, or reality TV so those may indeed be a major source of negative stereotypes.
LikeLike
To Nicole:
How many whites are on east Asian TV? Asians make up %5 of us population.
It sounds like you have never lived in East Asian.. relative to the percentage of whites who watch East Asian TV they are easily over represented, especially in advertising. I was actually solicited for a spot on a show in one country I was visiting because I spoke a smattering of the language and I was considered a little unusual looking. If you are white, fluent in the local language, and fairly young, the chances of you getting a spot on the local TV shows are much higher than the average citizen of that country. Also mixed race (Asian/White) people are dramatically over represented relative to their population in Filipino, Thai, and Indonesia TV and Movies. (A little less so for Japan, Korea, and China but it is common to see mixed raced models in those countries..)
LikeLike
To Nicole:
Regarding your previous comments here’s one example (and I know there are others…) as a rebuttal to your notions about East Asian movies and TV:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel_DeWoskin
“DeWoskin was raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA, where she attended the alternative Community High School. The daughter of a Sinology professor at the University of Michigan, she majored in English and studied Chinese at Columbia University in New York City. She went to Beijing in 1994 to work as a public-relations consultant and later starred in a Chinese nighttime soap opera, the hugely successful Foreign Babes in Beijing, which was watched by approximately 600 million viewers. DeWoskin played the character of Jiexi. As the Reuters news agency noted, the show was a “sort of Chinese counterpart to Sex and the City revolving around Chinese-Western culture clashes.” At the time, she was one of the few foreign actresses working in mainland China and was considered a sex symbol.”
LikeLike
one thing i am happy about…the first real successful sitcom on disney channel was that’s so raven.
what i mean is, it was not the first blacks how on there, as jett jackson has that title…but thats so raven was the first show to hit 100 episodes (it was because of the success of this show they decided to do away with the 65 episode rule).
but yeah, you are right, they do not show alot of blacks.
and i did notice, that native americans are the most underrepresented of all….and it seems when they show them, its also in a stereotypical manner….
i have watched tv one a couple of times….its not that bad….i dont like all the shows on there though, but its pretty interesting.
tv land does play black shows, they are all 70s and 80s, but lets face it, most shows these days suck, most of the good shows were 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, regardless of the color.
the problem i hate is the token black. im glad they show the token black in less stereotypes, ive been a token black myself in situations…but i do wish they would have 2 minorities on the show…it would just see more interesting in my opinion.
i hate BET…although i might watch it occasionally for smart guy….but most music channels suck nowadays anyways….
but i do wish they would stop with the gangsta rap stuff and the stereotypes (not just on BET but on any channel).
but like i said…the entertainment industry sucks. music today sucks, movies suck, and tv is starting to suck.
can you blame anyone for migrating to the internet?
LikeLike
^^^
I rarely watch television myself. The last three TV shows that I was engrossed in were “The Wire”, “The Shield” and “Weeds”. And I discovered all of these cable series on DVD.
However, when I do turn on the TV on ocassion, it is clearly from a white perspective. Although quite a few black faces do pop up. Can’t say the same about non-black minorities. Some of that may have to do with the fact that the racial system in the U.S. is binary (“black”/”white”) so other ethnicities just slip through the cracks and get ignored.
LikeLike
The only tv shows that I watch are reality television, shows and yes their are plenty of black peple on reality tv, but they are showcased in stereotypical “roles”.
Even in non reality tv black people play stereotypes. In Greys Anatomy chandra wilson plays a loud fat black woman, in The View their is a loud fat black woman, even Hannah Montana their is a loud fat black woman. This has got to stop!
And why do Black families have to be funny like Meet the Browns and House of Payne? Why can’t we have a black version of 7th Heaven?
The only good black television drama we had in the last decade was The Wire, but even that was about “the hood.”
Now as for the non-black minorities that are on television, they aren’t represented enough. I would love to watch a television show about an asian family 🙂
Plus the hispanics they show on tv, are mexican and look white, watching hispanics on tv you wouldn’t know that latino people come in all colors.
LikeLike
I was a huge fan of the Shield( love the seasons with Forest Whitaker).
Julien’s storyline was interested.(played by the AA Micheal Jace).
LikeLike
like Not a hater , I would love to watch the life an American Asian family too but without the stereotypical drama and conflict between the first and second generation of immigrant.
LikeLike
And abagond look at this offensive commercial
http://necolebitchie.com/2009/07/26/is-this-commercial-offensive-to-black-women#comments
Im suprised you haven’t wrote about yet because its been all the internet and local television.
And I thought things couldn’t get worse.
LikeLike
I loved The Shield. I actually missed on the final two seasons. I have to catch up. I also thought that Jace’s turn as Julien was really intriguing. Very interesting angle.
See, Not A Hater, that’s the thing: many blacks complain about their representation on TV but when positive, intelligent, serious vehicles do emerge with a black cast, nobody watches. Can I hear ya say “21 Hope Street”, “City of Angels”, “Frank’s Place”, etc.?
Oh, talking is great but folks need to start putting their money where the mouth is.
LikeLike
Not a hater:
I found out about that video yesterday. Thanks. Not sure yet whether I will do a post on it, though.
LikeLike
Not a hater:
about the link,
The 2 things I can say about the video,
first, the cast should have been multiethnic.
I mean not only black women wear fake hair 95% of women in the industry( and some men) wear fake hair, JLO, Eva Longoria, Gisele B, Bee, Jessica simpson, Miley Cirus, Vivica, Victoria Beckham, Rihanna, Halle Berry ect… they just call that extention!!!
in the real life I know plenty of women with different background ethnic(from asian to black) who wears fake air too.
I also found the video in term of production and realisation very bad.
LikeLike
I think what was great about Jace’s character, it was the fact that I rarely see a black man( dark skinned?!) showed as a gay( and cop), they generally show them as we say in french tres homme.
I was also a huge fan of Rescue me(Denis leary was so great on this show).
LikeLike
No shows about Italians other than Mafia shows.
No shows at all about Jewish people.
No shows about Arabs.
No shows about Indians.
I think the word should be ARIAN or WASP, as other folks are not represented as well. Myself, being a half Jew Half Italian, see the stereotypes all the time.
LikeLike
Nubiah,
Yeah, Jace was great. As was the entire cast. Although ‘dark skinned’ black men are plentiful on television (much more so than their lighter-skinned brethen) as are black actors as law enforcements, his character brought a whole new dimension of a black male character and a public offical.
LikeLike
No shows at all about Jewish people.
Disagree, the shows Friends, the West Wing, and Seinfeld definitely had Jewish characters (as well as actors, producers, creators, and screenwriters..) One Jewish character that comes to mind on a current show is Ari Gold of Entourage and also Charlie and Marcy Runkle on the show Californication. I am sure I could find more characters on current shows if I looked. Given the relatively high percentage of Jews involved at multiple levels of the TV/Movie industry I wouldn’t say that they (or we, my father is Jewish..) are powerless over how they are represented.
LikeLike
Although, it seems as if some ethnic groups other than Blacks (eg. Asians, East Indians, Italians, Jews, Native American etc.) are not being represented in HW, the truth is that there are many actors/actresses (some are of mixed white ancestry) who belong to these ethnic groups but don’t APPEAR to who are definitely getting a variety of POSITIVE, NON-STEREOTYPICAL roles in HW.
Also, no other ethnic group but Blacks continue to be limited to mostly one-dimensional, stereotypical roles that NEGATIVELY influence the way BP are viewed in American society.
LikeLike
Friends, Seinfeld and the West Wing have not been on the air for 10 years.
As for ARI GOLD, talk about a stereotype – A money hungry cash loving cut throat agent. Jesus! Wait, he was a jew – Jesus that is.
Fact is that entertainment always plays to the lowest common denominator which is why we should not place so much importance on it.
LikeLike
Myname,
Yep, it’s true light skinned men are rare on TV.
Generally the media potray them( only?) as pretty or player or pimp!LOL
LikeLike
Nubiah,
…Or, “manipulative mulattoes” and villians. A la Mel Jackson’s turn in Soul Food or many of Terrence Howard’s characters.
Since he’s perceived as “obviously part white”, he’s similar to “the man”. LOL. It’s so ridiculous!
LikeLike
To canalpublishing:
Friends, Seinfeld and the West Wing have not been on the air for 10 years.
West Wing was on till 2006 and Friends till 2004… I choose them along with Seinfeld (for 10 years till 98..) because they were widely popular and well known and of course Abagond referenced Friends for this blog entry.
As for ARI GOLD, talk about a stereotype..
Granted I have only seen Entourage about 4 or 5 times but I like the character Ari Gold.. let’s face it.. being a Hollywood agent is cutthroat.. supposedly the person it’s based upon Ari Emanuel, also likes the character.
There’s also the characters Lisa Cuddy and James Wilson on the current TV series, House. And for a real life person, Jon Stewart.
Personally, I just don’t think Jews are poorly or under represented in Hollywood.
Fact is that entertainment always plays to the lowest common denominator which is why we should not place so much importance on it.
For the most part I can agree with you….. I almost always find something lacking or problematic in almost every production. And then there are productions that take the cake for new lows… the one reality TV show I did allow myself to watch a few times when I was sick, Tila Tequila’s “A shot at love” was absolutely abysmal.
LikeLike
West Wing was on until 2006? Wow! I stopped watching once I got married. Loved that show.
I guess when people stop watching mainstream media and start selecting the shows available to them on the internet, or, you know, go outside and see what is going on away from the saturated world of the networks, they will find that there are many many many many many shows and entertainment out there.
Books would be a great place to start, which is why I have dedicated my life to producing them.
This is another interesting discussion on a blog that always provokes them, which is why I enjoy my visits. Nice to be back.
LikeLike
Myname,
First off,
Terrence is not light skinned to me!
He is the masculine version of Halle Berry ( of course is much more talented than her), I mean since he brought up his mixed heritage White do find him different in certain way.
( strangely I always thought his parents were black or mixed).
I am not a big fan of him,his choices of characters and movies leaves me often perplexed.
I don’t find him charismatic.
I didn’t watch Soul Food the movie but I do know Mel jackson as a singer!LOL!.
LikeLike
I was thinking about Grey’s Anatomy even I don’t like it.
I was very suprised to know that the show is created by a black woman because in
Grey’s Anatomy, Chandra Wilson’s character is the stereotypical strong and angry black woman.
LikeLike
I was surprised too.
LikeLike
To Nubiah:
Re: Terrence Howard
I mean since he brought up his mixed heritage White do find him different in certain way.
( strangely I always thought his parents were black or mixed).
He’s not biracial, (according to Wikipedia) both of his parents are (or consider themselves..) black although apparently his father has a fairly light complexion. Personally I never regarded Terrence Howard in a different way than say Jennifer Beals, who I didn’t know was biracial until years after I saw her in Flashdance. When I saw her again in the show “Lie to Me” playing the wife of Tim Roth’s character I thought she was white until I read up on the actors on IMDB. In my eyes someone like Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums or Jeremiah Wright appear quite light skinned to me but Terrence Howard less so. I, of course can only speak for myself and not other white people.
LikeLike
See, skin color is super-subjective. I don’t consider Howard to be light skinned either. But he has described himself in that way to the press.
Of course, Howard, like the vast majority of black Americans is “biracial” or more accurately, “multiracial”. It’s just that he’s not the product of an interracial union. Like damn near any other black American, he is predom. African with some European blood. Or Native American lineage.
Howard’s grandmother is the legendary black actress, Minnie Gentry.
I’ve never watched Grey’s Anatomy. It always seemed like a weekly chick-flick to me. LOL. I think Chandra Wilson does some good deeds though. Originally, the entire cast was to be white but she insisted that it would be multienthic. And that black actors would be cast in exalted positions. “Grey’s Anatomy” has also given work to many out-of-work black actors. So, I have to give Chandra her due. I’m proud of her.
LikeLike
Myname,
Even I am proud of her too( I should add most of black or colored person who makes a move in Hollywood!).
I think when Rhimes says the entire cast was supposed to be white but she “insisted” to have a multiracial cast so the parts went to the best.
but to me she’s not really honest, I mean Grey’s Anatomy look mainly the white viewers, do you really think if the character of ellen pompeo was black or another lead character, do you think the same viewers would watch it?
Both in her shows( Private pratice and Grey’s Anatomy) the black are the same status(and stereotypes) like the others shows produce by white folks.
Why in hers shows none have an attractive black woman( I would love to see someone like Miss Union on it or Miss London, anyway a sexy and hot black chick!)
Why no BW/BM couple.(I have nothing against IR but a loving black couple would be great too )!
the show is based on a white doctor flirting with other white women.
She has the power to change the black woman image but she just does like the others?
She could make the character of Dr.bailey more interesting and not invisible!
Why DR Bailey doesn’t have a love life?
For example Angela Basset in ER has a better and complex character!
LikeLike
I almost forgot why Terrence describe himself as a light skinned?
why journalist describe him as the product of an IR?
I have read this in Ebony about 2 or 3 months ago when he made the cover.
LikeLike
Nubiah,
See, I never really watched Grey’s Anatomy so I didn’t know of the depth of the non-white characters on there or how they were protrayed. Wow. No black couples? LOL.
No attractive black actresses? LOL. That’s cold! LOL. I think Chandra Wilson is a decent looking woman. She’s no “babe” a la Miss Union but she’s not ugly in the least.
Howard described himself as light skinned in either Ebony or Vibe. He said that he faced lots of hostility (from other blacks) because of his physical appearance while growing up in 1970s Ohio. I was just as dumbfounded as you when he said that. Perhaps, it was all relative. He was the lighest black guy there so he became “light skinned” in comparsion to others?
LikeLike
Did you know that Terrence Howard played Jermaine Jackson in the Jackson’s Movie? It was on the other day and I saw.
LikeLike
Myname,
I didn’t mean Chandra was ugly.LOL!
I just think “they” generally don’t put a hot black woman because they would have to explore her sexuality.
If someone like Vanessa A Williams( who I find beautiful and talented) played Dr Bailey, that would have been different to me.
I am still confused with Howard if he was that different what happen to those who are more ( racially) ambiguous looking than him.(Wentworth Miller, Cassie…)
Maybye as you said it’s all relative because I don’t see what makes him think that, I do remember him in the movie the Best Man, to me he was a regular AA.
Does anyone know K-Ville ( I know it isn’t a recent serie)?
Also if anyone knows about the show Girlfriend?
LikeLike
I don’t know what TV programs you are watching but the ones I watch on Dish all have the people with authority Black.
Fringe, 24 Hours, Flash Forward, Grays Anatomy to name a few. Not sure why or who is behind the casting but it sure seems like they are trying to put Blacks in control of the Whites.
LikeLike
@ Herneith
Thanks for the spam alert.
LikeLike
Remember that scene from Beverly Hills Cop where Eddie has the two white detective’s accompany him to the strip club ? (and where “else” would a black man want to go , besides to satisfy his base desires?? but , I digress .) Anyway , this post has been around for a few years , it’s just the first time that I’ve read it … after Eddie Murphy instructs the bartender to pour club soda’s for his two cop buddies (because they were still on-duty) , he said to give him a “rum and coke” , or he would throw-up … was / is the feeling that I get from the idea of watching these shows … “Friends” , “Seinfeld” … those two generate an emmediate gag response … and to think that these thoughts could come from a man who grew-up watching Batman and Robin , and Happy Days , and MASH … good lord … the epitome of cognitive dissonance .
LikeLike
Reblogged this on Life in Anglo-America.
LikeLike
who cares. they have had quite a few black ppl oriented shows but they’re very tyler perry like where they stereotype black ppl. you see one black show then they’re all alike. loud, baptist like preaching, in your face… etc. i don’t know any middle class black ppl and really what percent of society are middle class blacks? all the stereotype stories are done and old news and they became stereotypes for a reason. who cares??? things aren’t going to change anytime soon. we have a black guy in the white house and nothing has changed. That change bs that obama was spouting was nothing but a fairy tale that everyone wished would happen quick but change might be seen in 50 years. Until then who cares about representation in tv? ratings are ratings and stereotypes exist for a reason.
LikeLike
WOW.
I guess you don’t know many “ghetto” blacks or wealthy blacks either.
I grew up in metro DC., which has over 1.3 million blacks, only about 200,000 actually live in poor black neighborhoods. 1 million are in middle class neighborhoods and maybe 100,000 are upper middle class to wealthy. Since white and most Asians avoid the poor black neighborhoods like the plague, they really never get to encounter poor blacks directly, except on television. They do have opportunities to meet black middle class (eg, government workers).
LikeLike
Oh my goodness! Amazing article dude! Thank you so much, However I am
going through problems with your RSS. I don’t know why I can’t subscribe to it.
Is there anybody else getting identical RSS issues?
Anyone who knows the answer will you kindly respond? Thanx!!
LikeLike
Hey There. I found your blog the usage of msn. That is a very neatly
written article. I’ll be sure to bookmark it and come back to learn extra of your useful information.
Thanks for the post. I will definitely return.
LikeLike