I know many have abandoned Saturday Night Live with good reasons, including the show's decline in quality and its callous disregard to feature black actresses in the cast (though I hear one may be coming "soon"). I still watch the show, mostly out of nostalgia and to catch those two or three good sketches, but I totally understand that point of view. I think what actually gets me the most isn't the show's lack of racial diversity, but rather how it has approached the issue since being called out about it (with sketches that are probably supposed to be ironic, but only further highlight their misunderstanding of diversity in pop culture).
But I can't particularly say that a movie or a TV show has to have a character who looks exactly like me in order for me to consider it acceptable to watch. For what it's worth, I have yet to come across a character who looks and acts like me on either the big or small screens (though I am not really searching for that). I have seen many shows and movies with characters or circumstances with which I truly identified in spite of the fact that they looked nothing like me. However, my problem with SNL (outlined up above) has nothing to do with any of this.
Okay, so SNL claims that they may be hiring a black actress "soon." Great, but if we're judging specifically on its racial diversity what about an Asian or Latino cast member? Are they holding "secret" auditions to fill that quota too? If not, am I still going to have a problem with SNL? Yes, but not because of that. You see, SNL isn't the only show on TV that fails the racial diversity test. In fact, many of them do. But much of the outrage seems to be directed at the specific lack of black representation, especially as it pertains to creating a more honest depiction of American settings. That's understandable, but I'm also really concerned that whenever--if ever--that problem is rectified, it would result in a fictional world where only black and white people exist. That to me is also not very indicative of American culture. So then we could be back to square one. When will a more honest and racially diverse show exist? I hope "soon."
Meanwhile, with the exception of a few more diverse shows like Sleepy Hollow, I continue to see more American shows and movies crop up in which the minority character is in the background, written stereotypically or nonexistent. We've seen plenty of white male actors portraying U.S. presidents, and few black actors, but what about Latino or Asian American actors/actresses? Has that happened yet? I can't think of any off the top of my head, but please let me know. I get the impression that these other minority groups are considered more as foreign, and are too often restricted in foreign films. If they are in American films or TV, they fit an all too familiar standard.
Take Lucy Liu, for instance. She has undeniable talent, but even she has stated that she gets put in a box when it comes to casting. With the exception of her role on Elementary, an underrated performance in my opinion, and other lesser known roles she's portrayed, she's the no-nonsense, kick-ass heroine. She brings it regardless of the role, but still, she can do so much more if given the chance. But it could be a matter of paving your own way and creating opportunities for yourself, a la Ava Duvernay. Actors Diego Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal also have their own production company. Hats off to each of them. It further goes to say that if you want to see a certain type of character depicted, you may have to create him or her yourself.
But getting back to SNL. In addition to the countless black comediennes that too often go unrecognized, what about all the Latino and Asian comedians? There are too many to name, but Margaret Cho and Asiz Ansari come to mind. I just feel like if we're going to have an honest conversation about diversity on TV, we should also talk about the poor representation of other minority groups and not just on SNL.
Candice Frederick is a former editor for Essence Magazine and a NABJ Award recipient. She writes the film blog Reel Talk and serves as co-host of “Cinema in Noir”. Follow her on Twitter @ReelTalker.
