MovieChat Forums > Reed Between the Lines (2011) Discussion > Why must every BLACK show...

Why must every BLACK show...

posted 12 years ago by clusterc5
28 replies | jump to latest

have a light complected and/or biracial-looking teenage daughter????

The VAST majority of African Americans are a similar complexion/similar look to the youngest daughter

I am sure that there are African American-looking young actresses out there who are just as suitable as this young actress that plays the oldest daughter.

It simply irritates me how TV producers think that it's okay to have biracial (looking) girls and women replace non-biracial Black actresses for Black characters on television sitcoms and this has been happening since I was a child at least

And what's funny is that you'll never see this with the male actors on the show... they're almost never biracial.

I know if I'm sick of seeing this happen (and I am light complected) then how must Black women and girls feel, who are darker, when they see that the majority of "Black" girls used in film/tv/media work are actually biracial-Black?

[–] SouthernDiva01 12 years ago

In this case I think they just wanted a kid to resemble the mom who is biracial. But understand what you mean. I wonder also about lots of characters in Hollywood having to style their hair like girls on this show when a lot of times you can tell their hair is not "natural". I wondered if its because the biracial look is in like you said. If they don't have long weaves that seems like the only alternative style.

[–] clusterc5 12 years ago

I don't have a problem with any of the girl's natural hair on the show but I understand what you mean

When I was younger (before 'going natural' was a movement) I used to notice how all the girls on TV were light with curly hair (back then curly hair meant that they were either mixed or had 'good' enough hair to wear out without a relaxer)

It used to really bother me that we were suppose to be stupid enough to believe that these girls were 'truly' Black. I feel like this is the big pink elephant int the room that never gets mentioned in Black spaces

Why don't we ever talk about this?

Oh. Problem b/c it would open up a can of worms about the beauty standard for women in the Black community

[–] corporateraider1 12 years ago

Ahhh you do realize Tracee Ellis Ross is biracial don't you.

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[–] Aettea 12 years ago

I must applaud you, a light skinned girl, for being brave enough to acknowledge this. Most people on the planet abide by the motto: "if it doesn't affect me, it mustn't exist" so your ability to recognize and acknowledge a problem that affects your darker skinned sisters is commendable. Why don't people talk about this? The most affected people, the darker skinned black women do. They go unheard and are quickly dismissed as being oversensitive even by some light skinned sisters. You will find the same situation in India. You will be surprised at how utterly clueless most light skinned Indians are to the blatant shadism and lack of equal opportunities plaguing the darker skinned Indians. I actually had one of them tell me that "it has always been this way. It is not racism because it is amongst Indians so it is ok". And this was the only person who would actually acknowledge it just for a fraction of a second but then immediately trivialized it!

There is nothing wrong with biracial or light skinned casts for female roles but as you say, why must they, the minority, always represent black women in everything including music videos and why isn't this "courtesy" being extended to the male roles? Darker skinned women are gorgeous AND desirable too and it goes without saying that they are more than capable of handling those same roles. It is outright shadism and as Ms. Kaci Reynolds would put it if she were dark skinned: "They would never do this to a boy. Just because I am a girl they are trying to use my skin as a tool of oppression."

To the other poster Corporateraider1, you are missing the point. No one is questioning Tracee's looks or background. Why didn't they cast a light skinned girl as the little kid and a much darker girl as the teenage daughter for a change? That is the point the OP is making. It never happens even though in reality, a son could be light skinned and the daughters much darker. You can clearly see this when you look at black families in your neighbourhood and if it is not such a big deal, why don't we see this reality being portrayed on screen?

[–] clusterc5 12 years ago

I just don't understand how Black people can be so against racism and then turn around and impose the same system (more or less) to our own community

How can we expect for people to take us seriously and respect us for being the civil example?

It's completely irrational and hypocritical imo

I guess it is unusual for me, a light skinned girl, to be concerned with television over representing my type but I am still a Black girl. I know a ton of light skin girls like myself who see and can acknowledge the truth. I think many of them are insecure themselves and exhausted from all the inequalities they receive just from being Black girls that they tend to latch on to any privilege that they can get. Other light skin girls are just blind b/c they've received this preferential treatment their entire lives so some might feel entitled to it. Light girls, like myself, can see the bias and openly disapprove of it. I guess it helps that I wasn't always aware that 1) I am "light skinned" and 2)colorism exists in the black community

I grew up in California where bigger "ism" is the preferential treatment to race admixture. I was light but I was not "mixed" so I grew up noticing how preferred they were over "regular black" girls like myself. Plus, I am called "light skinned" by Black people but I was raised in a city where 80% of the population is lighter than me so I never really considered myself "light" until I moved to the South. You know television representation is OFF when you have a young Black person, like myself, grow up thinking that most Black people are the same complexion as me and Tyra Banks. Boy, was I in for an awakening when I moved to the South! I guess all that gives me a really unique perspective on colorism in the Black community

At the end of the day, I am still a black girl. I have colorism in my family (not as much as the older generations but it's still there). I have an older sister who is darker than me and she's always telling me how beautiful my skin is. It upsets me that she doesn't feel the same way about her own skin tone. It's just exhausting to think that this type of bias still exists. It's annoying to say the least

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[–] clusterc5 12 years ago

Khadayzia, your point is neither here nor there and really has nothing to do with the discussion at hand. That's a topic for another thread, this topic is about colorism and favoritism

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[–] Jilipen 12 years ago

I agree. I just feel it's a really big issue that needs to be discussed.

And if they want to keep hiring these biracial girls, they should have the guts to show an interracial family and show a white parent. It's rare, it's happened and I think FOX is airing a show with a teenage girl like this with a white mother soon, but it's rare.

Why did I have the bowl, Bart? Why did I have the bowl? -Milhouse

[–] clusterc5 12 years ago

And if they want to keep hiring these biracial girls, they should have the guts to show an interracial family and show a white parent.

Exactly!!!!

I wouldn't have a problem, at all, with them showing a biracial parentage of the biracial child. It's just doubly offensive when the TV father is Black, the son is Black, the mother is Black (usually light or visibly mixed) and the daughter is mixed race. GOSH that's so offensive!

Do they really think Black women and girls are too ugly to be on TV or not pretty enough to be viewed on the regular?

I just feel like mixed-race women get their cake and get to eat it too! They can play mixed race and "full" Black and they usually are taking the spots from "fully" Black women. But in real life try throwing them in with into the "Black" category and some will quickly remind you that they're "Biracial" and their experiences are considerably different from that of an "fully Black" person

[–] Aettea 12 years ago

You both put it very well. I could not have said it better myself. It is certainly implying fully black women are not pretty enough. I hate BET for this very reason. Just look at most of their presenters. I don't know why blacks aren't being more verbal and getting on their blogs more about this. So many opportunistic blacks on television! True, at least be honest and cast an interracial family in these instances. This way blacks will be forced to face the reality that everyone else is well aware of. I once found myself watching a video on youtube by an asian guy who claims to love black women (do not ask me how I got there lol! I couldn't even tell you if I tried). He brags about how he freely loves black women "you know, those fine mixed chicks". Go figure! So much for media not having an influence.

[–] Jilipen 12 years ago

Yes, because when you cast biracial teenagers on a show with black parents and portray her as the most beautiful and popular girl in school, you're showing this is what beautiful black girls look like. Now, this wouldn't be a problem if the majority of shows with black teens didn't do this. But they do.

If you showed an interracial relationship, at least the girl would be beautiful and not presented as a "black" girl. She'd just be a beautiful girl. It would certainly make black people and even people of other races more uncomfortable in saying that's THE ideal black girl because the white parent would be right there in our face. We'd be honest about what she is.

The worst part about casting these biracial girls are these shows present themselves as "positive black shows." If they didn't slap on the word "black" it wouldn't rub me the wrong way. Not as bad. "Hey, we're all one" is what I'd be thinking. But when you say "This is an ideal family, audiences, watch us and our light skinned curly haired beautiful daughter and slightly airheaded son!" it just makes me want to turn the TV off.

I'm rambling, I think.

Why did I have the bowl, Bart? Why did I have the bowl? -Milhouse

[–] Aettea 12 years ago

You are definitely not rambling. I totally agree with everything you said. These are the same issues that bother me. And what is soooo dangerous about casting a full black, nappy haired dark skinned black girl as a main cast and as a sexual being instead of the angry, sexless creatures that pop up once in a while for a few seconds tops just as fillers for entertainment? It really does bug me that people think black women have to be mixed with something to be beautiful or that they need to be light skinned to be attractive.This is clearly false! There is no recipe for beauty and beauty is diverse! Why not give equal opportunity and equal representation instead of favouring one type? I just don't get it.

[–] FCA1975 12 years ago

I feel you OP. It makes me miss the great, late Bernie Mack and the Bernie Mack show for that among many other reasons.

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[–] PeggyFromMannix 12 years ago

Just curious - were you equally disgruntled with Bill Cosby at casting Lisa Bonet and Sabrina LeBeof as his daughters? I see your point, by the way.

____________________________________
Take it from me someday we'll all be free.

[–] th3302 12 years ago

Peggy, I think the OP may have been a little too young in 1984 when The Cosby Show first aired. However, I was a tad disgruntled, but they also had Vanessa & Rudy (neither of whom were light-skinned), so there was a balance. He also had a balance on A Different World by having 2 bi-racial women (Jasmine Guy & Cree Summer), yet he had Charnelle Brown (Kim) and Dawn Lewis (Jalisa).

However, look at the cast of The Game. Actually, come to think of it, NONE of the starring cast is dark-skinned, not even the men (some may mention Janay, but she has a recurring role, not a starring role). But, you had Wendy Raquel Robinson (who is light-skinned, not bi-racial), Tia Mowry (bi-racial), and Britney Daniel (who is white).