So CitizenSugar posted an article about Racism and one of the issues brought up was about Diversity on TV and why there’s so little of it. If 1/3 of the people in the country are minorities, why isn’t this accurately represented in TV shows?
When has TV EVER accurately represented any part of the population? It’s a fantasy land where everyone is skinny and has perfect skin. Over half the population’s fat too, yet no one on TV is.
Diversity on TV is a problem, but one that’s not going to be fixed by just throwing minorities in shows. What happens when there is a minority family on a TV show? 90% of the time they’re ridiculously stereotyped. You need good writers too.
The problem isn’t so much accurately representing diversity on TV, it’s accurately representing reality. It’s much more interesting to watch shows where the characters look and behave like real people than over the top freaks.
Take Firefly for instance. Not based in reality at all, but the characters were so real. You could relate to them and feel their happiness and pain. Then there’s something like the last few seasons of Friends. Who acts like that??? I didn’t really give a crap about whether Rachael and Ross got together at the end because they were both lunatics.
Even “reality shows” aren’t real. The first season of Survivor was great because the contestants were just regular people, not skinny models and wannabe actors.
The media has to stop worrying so much about appearances and just work on creating something worth watching. People know what good TV is.
I think TV has sucked, since these damn writers strikes. I find myself watching more of those different reality TV shows lately, such as Little People Big World, and Jon and Kate, Plus 8, since they’re real, based on real families. Sitcoms suck these days, always will.
Yep, I agree with you, we need to have something worth watching. I don’t think I watch many shows that are on TV anymore. Hmm, I’ve just been watching old shows, from the early 2000s. Heh.
And yes, I do know what you mean about reality shows! I hardly watch any of those shows anymore!
It would be nice to have more color on the television box.
Especially in non-comedy form, lol.
I don’t watch much television, because I don’t like commercial interruption.
But, if I’m bored enough see what’s on… I don’t mind the “reality” shows. They can be entertaining, like Bridezillas. I don’t mind that they don’t seem “real”, it’s tv.
I don’t make a point of watching reality shows but some days I find myself mid day bored out of my mind watching jon and kate plus 8 and or one of the many cop shows on a&e or spike. Then again it seems like all the good movies or shows are coming back in weird spin offs, that aren’t as good as the originals.
I do say we need people all shape,sizes and backgrounds on the tube!
TV pretty much sucks. The only how I bother watching is 30 Rock, because Alec Baldwin is amazing.
I don’t watch TV simply because there isn’t anything I really like on. I watch Stargate and One Tree Hill on DVD, so the only show I sometimes watch is American Idol, and only when there is someone on there I really like (like David Cook this year). I liked the first season of Survivor… I watched that one and the second, and haven’t seen an episode since :) I hate being confined to one space too, so I don’t like to sit and watch TV all day. At least with my laptop I can surf the net and still change rooms and do stuff, you know? If you are watching TV/a month you need to pause and do this and that xD I’m so lazy lol.
I don’t really watch that much television, but yes, I do believe there is a lack of realism in a lot of the television shows, even though we have tried to remedy the lack of diversity in them. I guess it’s also because we look to the entertainment of televison for a dose of fiction, and lack of realism. Even reality televisions are doctored to suit the expectations of the viewers. Life imitates art and art imitates life, right?
And this: “Then there’s something like the last few seasons of Friends. Who acts like that??? I didn’t really give a crap about whether Rachael and Ross got together at the end because they were both lunatics.”
I laughed so hard when I read this because I actually agree. As much as I was happy they got together, because my goodness, the show will be so different if they didn’t, I thought they inability to resolve their issues in less than five years was strange. I thought only high schoolers acted like that, and they don’t even have five years of high school.