CAT 2 Lecture 13: The Business of Diversity
22 Feb 2017
School
Department
Course
Professor
The Business of Diversity
● Diversity as Business: “And it happened only because a network realized it was
good business to have a prime-time schedule that looked more like America”
(“Empire’ and ‘black-ish’”).
○ Not unlike the early 1950s
○ Consumer power to demand better TV
Diversity Must Be Deep Not Broad
● Contemporary version of “talent has no color” policy is color-blind casting
○ Diversity as gesture vs. actual diversity
○ Major problems and unintended consequences: e.g. Bonnie on The
Vampire Diaries
■ Vampire Diaries conducted colorblind casting and ended with only
one black character that was subjugated to many black stereotypes
● “Magical black person”
Beyond Black And White
● Far more diversity than black and white
● Pop culture historically has largely imagine race along this device
● Television has begun addressing a broader vision of diversity, realizing a variety
of underserved and intersecting audiences
○ Not about showing diverse faces, but about showing diverse experiences
○ Just because a show appears diverse doesn’t mean it commits to it (ie. 24
legacy)
● Far more diversity than black and white
Master of None (2015-Present)
● On Netflix
● Aziz Ansari hired a diverse writing room and is himself a writer on the show
● Questions as we watch
○ How does Master of None envision racial representation in television?
What does it say about race and casting on television?
○ How can we think about Master of None in relation to the NYT article
about diversity as being deep (vs. broad)?
○ What is the final takeaway from the “Indians on TV” episode?
● Opens with very stereotypical Indian tropes (unnamed cab driver) and forces the
typical Indian accents
● Dev doesn’t use an accent in his first run through but then hesitates when he is
asked to do one, ends up refusing
○ Brings up the point about stereotypes and doesn’t feel comfortable
embracing the trope
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Diversity as business: and it happened only because a network realized it was good business to have a prime-time schedule that looked more like america ( empire" and black-ish" ). Contemporary version of talent has no color policy is color-blind casting. Major problems and unintended consequences: e. g. bonnie on the. Vampire diaries conducted colorblind casting and ended with only one black character that was subjugated to many black stereotypes. Pop culture historically has largely imagine race along this device. Television has begun addressing a broader vision of diversity, realizing a variety of underserved and intersecting audiences. Not about showing diverse faces, but about showing diverse experiences. Just because a show appears diverse doesn"t mean it commits to it (ie. 24 legacy) Far more diversity than black and white. Aziz ansari hired a diverse writing room and is himself a writer on the show. Opens with very stereotypical indian tropes (unnamed cab driver) and forces the typical indian accents.
