We’ve all seen and heard the dissension lately about the
lack of diversity on some TV but mostly in the movies. The old way of thinking goes
something like the majority of people watching (or reading) are white so give
them white heroes and heroines. This has always been short sighted, as so many
TV programs have shown. Nowadays, young and new adults are colorblind. The
majority of people in the US will soon be non-white, so why not reflect the real needs of Americans.
What about what's right or wrong?
I confess, I marched for civil and equal rights. We
older writers might notice things differently than our younger readers. A
liberal writer might feel guilty not seeing any other race in the lead role.
The same might be said, nowadays, for a cultural conservative. They’d say let
the most talented rise to the top. These are people who love Doctor Carson. The
point: We all might see color, our younger readers won’t. This is why whoever
you write as your hero or heroine, make that person and their problems compelling
and be colorblind.
Is the Academy of Arts and Sciences prejudiced in practice?
I don’t know.
Is the popular TV franchise the Bachelor/Bachelorette
failing to be diverse? I do know. Paul Lee, ABC Entertainment Group President
and The Bachelor producer, Mike Fleiss are tweaking the system for choosing the
next lead, not by simply picking the one who has the maximum exposure. Near and
dear to my heart is the gorgeous half-Filipina woman, Caila, who is expected to
get the nod as next Bachelorette. My wife is Filipina. Please know that the
show has had many people of color on it, they just haven’t won with the notable
exception of another Filipina, Catherine, who married her “Bachelor,” Sean.
Hallmark Romance TV movies (there are hundreds of them) has
always had white heroes and heroines. It’s embarrassing (as I have remarked before).
So, consider that your younger hero/heroine is very likely to be
colorblind if you tell the story true.
Pitfall for writers: infusing your young characters with the
mindset you carried through another era.
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