Diversity on Netlfix: Breaking Barriers by Climbing Mountains, No Matter How Small
Ellen Lynette Williams
After achieving a childhood dream of climbing a small mountain, my body revolted. It painfully announced that I may have pushed it a bit too far with a 1.7 mile hike up a steep 456 ft. Luckily, overcast clouds transformed into a spits of drizzle and downpours, leaving me feeling justified in my two day Netflix binge. With minimal movement from my couch I enveloped three shows; #blackAF, Never Have I Ever, and Hollywood. Each with quite different styles, target demographics, and storylines; I found a common thread throughout all of them; equality in entertainment.
With heating pads in place, I started #blackAF. As a fan of blackish, grownish, and mixedish, I thought this would be a great watch for me. Set as a mockumentary of Kenya Barris’ life, the creator of the aforementioned shows, Kenya’s second-oldest daughter is making a film to get into NYU film school. We see Kenya as he “struggles” to provide for his family of six children and his lawyer wife, turned stay at home mother. I’m using the term struggle loosely, very loosely. Think of “struggle” as how Brad and Angelia “struggled” over who would get the castle in their divorce. At first glance, this show feels like blackish with more children, more swearing, and less likable people. While Kenya plays himself the rest of the family is portrayed by actors, including Rashida Jones as his wife, Joyda. If you liked Rashida in Parks and Rec, you’ll probably hate her in this. THIS FAMILY IS TERRIBLE! I don’t mean terribly acted; I mean they are horrible people. I don’t believe there is a single episode in which Kenya isn’t called a dick. The mother is petty and constantly needs to be reminded to care for her kids. Each kid has their own reason to loathe them going down the line from, self-absorbed, know-it-all, psychopath, overly sensitive, pathologic liar, and the three-year-old that must care for himself. After the second episode, I was ready to give up, I despised these people. Internally I was struggling with how this represented a new part of Black culture, Hollywood Black Culture. That’s when it hit me. I needed to keep watch, despite my disgust for these characters.
How many TV shows have I watched even though I didn’t like a single character? Shows like The Sopranos, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, MadMen. I had no issues watching these shows, but I was demanding that Black characters needed to be better. If we want entertainment to move forward, don’t we have to accept a Black Al Bundy, Black Tony Soprano, Black Don Draper? Kenya himself addresses this issue with the episode “yo between you and me…this is because of slavery.” Side note: every episode is entitled with something about “because of slavery”. This episode breaks down what does Black representation mean in Hollywood. How to get honest criticism in the era of #metoo, #blacklivesmatter, #oscarsowhite.
While Kenya gets kudos for doing some real talk about Black Culture in today’s society, the way that the show talks about women and women’s issues is still primeval. He is constantly talking down to his wife, belittling what she adds to the marriage and child-raising. He slut shames his oldest daughter for the way she dresses. Calling her a “THOT” which means “That Hoe Over There”. There is the repeated undertone that childcare and home care is women’s work, and less important. Some of this gets addressed through the arc of the show, but most of it is pushed aside.
Another concern is how they have scripted one of the sons. He is called “sensitive and soft” repeatedly and is told he needs to toughen up. Though the show hasn’t eluded that he’s homosexual, it really set my teeth on edge, because he could be. Being a member of the LGBTQIA community is hard. To be Black in this community is especially hard. There continues to be a stigma in the Black culture that there is something wrong with loving a member of the same sex. While it is starting to change, it’s an issue impacting the health and safety of Black LGBTQIA people. If there is a second season of #blackAF, I hope that they address it well. Representation on television can make it safer for people of color to come out to their family. Whether it’s the son or another family member I hope they tackle this issue. While Barris discusses being Black in Hollywood, it’s not his story to say what it’s like to be Black and gay in Hollywood. That’s what Hollywood is all about.
Hollywood set in the golden age of the moving pictures is the latest installment from creators Ian Brennan and Ryan Murphy. This revisionist drama is the “what if” Hollywood made a movie with an ethnically diverse cast and gay men were out and proud. The series starts with the historical truth of Hollywood, that minorities are domestic or caricatures of their ethnicities, and members of LGBTQIA community must live in the closet and aren’t represented in movies at all. We meet Anna May Wong a real actor that started in the 1920s and was passed over for a role-playing an “oriental” because she looked too Asian. We also meet a young Rock Hudson, whose agent played brilliantly by Jim Parsons, preys on this novice to fulfill his own sexual delights. The other characters are fictional versions of young starlets, studio heads, and directors.
Through the course of seven episodes we see how with luck and a plucky demeanor a groundbreaking movie can be made and break records. In this fictional movie we have a young black actress who is staring in her first motion picture opposite a beautiful white man. With the script written by a black man and directed by a half Filipino man, we learn about the ups and downs of getting this picture made. The first couple of episodes felt juvenile and Glee-esque in how it handled what it was like the be a minority in Hollywood.
Yet, the story was compelling, so I continued to watch. In the third episode the show found its gravitas and really started getting gritty. While the ending felt a little in your face, the lessons learned were clear, chances must be taken if we want to see a change in this world of entertainment. Unlike #blackAF where it doesn’t offer any opinion for change, Hollywood wants to actively see change. The question becomes change for whom? The answer: old white women and gay men.
Though the story centers around a movie about a young black woman, the representation of black culture was lacking along with lesbians of Hollywood. With brief glimpses of Tallulah Bankhead kissing Haddie McDaniels after a threesome with a black gentleman caller and one threesome with all women, lesbians seem to be an afterthought. I respect the representation of older women as sexual beings, still needing sex and love after the wrinkles set in and finding it. It’s a welcome change. While Hollywood calls for change it still looks similar to the current system it’s trying to change. The only way to change the dynamic of Hollywood is to change the story. That’s exactly what Never Have I Ever did.
Never Have I Ever is created by Lang Fisher and Mindy Kaling and is billed as the typical coming of age show for young teen girls. It is that, but so much more. It’s an unapologetic cultural soup that we have been waiting for! So many cultures represented, without stereotypes (OK maybe some. I mean; nerds and the one gay guy {more on this later}). This 10-episode show is what I have waited my whole life for. The story follows Davi a young Hindu girl in California as she tries to make her Sophomore year the best it can be, by getting laid. Her two best friends, one Black and Hispanic and other of Chinese descent help her manage this pivotal point in her life. We discover that each of these women have their own struggles to overcome and learn what friendship really means. The show tackles issues such as loss of a parent, abandonment, sexual discovery, and sexual identity.
What makes this show so different from #blackAF and Hollywood is that the show’s diversity didn’t feel forced. The characters were just diverse and allowed the freedom to react as members of their backgrounds would. All professional positions on the show were held by women of color. Davi’s mother is a successful dermatologist who can support her family and provide a home for a cousin who is studying for her Ph.D. in Engineering. The psychologist and the principle of school show two vastly different versions of strong black women.
While representation for women and minorities is exempla, the lone gay male character is a farce. I feel that I’m thrown back in time to Molière’s fop character. Gestures are overly flamboyant, the not so subtle lisp, the fierce fashion sense, leaves the character two dimensional at best. When the character decides to come out, everyone is unimpressed with the news. I’m aware that there are beautiful gay men that live this truth, but it’s not the 1990’s anymore. I thought we have evolved from this stereotype. My hope for the future is there will be better representation of the LGBTQIA community. There is a vast tapestry in this community that still need their stories told.
While none of these shows have a perfect recipe for inclusion and diversity, they are all on the right path. If it’s telling our truth in a mockumentary or a dramatization of what should have been, or hysterical coming of age show, it important to hear the stories and see the people. Having multiple platforms looking for new content will be the ally we need to change Hollywood. Change doesn’t come from wishing and hoping, it comes from doing. We must climb the mountain and take on the challenges that holds to get our voices heard. Thank you Netflix for starting that climb.