Teen Wolf Race stuff

I don't watch the show. My brain rebels against that level of terrible acting and plotless nonsense. But it's interesting that he was accused of not giving the black character any backstory or plot, and responded by saying that he doesn't know how to tackle "issues" of race. The fact that he conflates "having a black (were)person on the show" with "making an 'issues' show". I don't think anyone is asking for a thoughtful coverage of modern issues of race or anything else in a fluffy teen werewolf MTV show, just asking to see a more inclusive main cast. People just want to see themselves reflected in the media they enjoy. I know I do!

That said, the article said his main character is Latino (or half, anyways), and is including a gay supporting character this season, which makes it more diverse than plenty of other current shows.

I would like to note that Ryan Murphy never complains about how hard it is to understand what heterosexuals are like and come up with a realistic storyline for them with their strange and mysterious ways. You never hear Shonda Rhimes complaining that she simply can't come up with a plot that speaks to the issues that white people face, and that it's just too confusing so she'd better leave the white experience up to someone better suited to plotting it. Drama is drama, guy.

writeaway said:

I agree with that you wrote.

I appreciated his honesty. It made me think that is why there aren't a ton of black characters with depth, these white writers just don't know how to write them and are afraid to write them. They say write what you know, if they don't know us....

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I would respectfully disagree and venture that there aren't a ton of black characters with depth because people think a given movie/show will make less money with black characters than with white because fewer white people will want to see it. In the US, at least. In the UK, this seems to be much less of an issue.

I would respectfully disagree and venture that there aren't a ton of black characters with depth because people think a given movie/show will make less money with black characters than with white because fewer white people will want to see it. In the US, at least.

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I couldn't agree more. Look at all of the drama from the Hunger Games movie. A large portion of white America, still consider themselves to be the master race, and unfortunately the entire entertainment industry caters to them.

It's always the same, and it's always the same excuses. The black guy is only there to either be a token, or fill the usual stereotype. At least on Southpark, Tre and Matt came straight out and named the black kid Token.

Kitty Pryde said:

But it's interesting that he was accused of not giving the black character any backstory or plot, and responded by saying that he doesn't know how to tackle "issues" of race.

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Yeah. To me that's the actual "story" here, if there is one. If he had just left it at his initial quote of "It's not easy to service every character equally," and then clarified that it has nothing to do with race, it's just that this particular character doesn't have a ton going on right now, then it'd be a complete non-story. But I think his response, well-meaning as it appears to be, reflects the real "issue," which is that too many writers, regardless of what their actual background is, think they have to give minority / "diversity" characters the type of story that highlights their race / gender / sexuality / disability, etc.

As you say, a character can just be a character. Drama can be drama. Boyd doesn't have to be "the black guy," he can just be a guy.

Jcomp said:

Yeah. To me that's the actual "story" here, if there is one. If he had just left it at his initial quote of "It's not easy to service every character equally," and then clarified that it has nothing to do with race, it's just that this particular character doesn't have a ton going on right now, then it'd be a complete non-story. But I think his response, well-meaning as it appears to be, reflects the real "issue," which is that too many writers, regardless of what their actual background is, think they have to give minority / "diversity" characters the type of story that highlights their race / gender / sexuality / disability, etc.

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QFT.

His excuse seems pretty lame. Why do black characters have to have "issues"? Are all black people from the hood? Doesn't he have any black friends? I write white chatacters all the time. The have issues, not because they are white, but because they are people. I know how to write them because I have white friends and care about them and because I am human. Seems to me that a lot of white middle-class writers are just terrified of "getting it wrong"; they think they have to address some aspect of race. They don't.

Typical cop out.

But on the other hand,I respect his honesty. If you CANNOT relate to or see a POC character/real person as anything other than a normal person,it is best that you leave such characters alone. The potential for racefail fuckery is immense with a writer of that mindset. We've seen it happen too many times before.

The fact that he equates Black characters with "issues" speaks volumes.I agree with JComp. This kind of writer must always give the character some kind of tribulations tied to who they are.

If he can't do it because like,it's too hard,why not hire a Black writer on the show? Or let one of the other writers who aren't of his mindset write for the character?

I also agree with Kitty. There is a persistent belief that Blacks don't read or that we don't watch these kinds of shows. I know for a fact that AA's have huge discretionary income.Hollywood runs off the dollar yet they continuously ignore people of color's spending power. I really wonder what they are going to do when this country's population becomes minority dominant as it is projected to do in a few decades.

aruna said:

Doesn't he have any black friends?

... I know how to write them because I have white friends and care about them and because I am human.

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^ This made me think, Aruna.

I have many, close Caucasian friends, but when I stop to think about it, I am their ONLY brown friend.

Wassup with that?

Thinking about it, that's true for me too... Hmmmm.