My First Post

I don’t really get to watch a lot of TV, but when I do I binge watch. I’ll watch almost anything, from Spongebob to Criminal Minds, Worst Cooks in America to Empire and almost everything in-between. In the recent years, I have noticed a trend in shows featuring more people of color, and I couldn’t be gladder. Blackish, the Mindy Project, How to Get Away with Murder and Parks and Recreations have brought more color to TV. Representation in the media matters, more than most people think. Watching Viola Davis become the first black woman to win an Emmy was inspiring . When I was younger, almost every show I watched had a Caucasian heroine/main character and barely any people of color. Majority of the time, the people of color within the show were just background characters, who were barely given any screen time ,or worse if they were given screen time, it was used to perpetuate racial stereotypes. The usual stereotypes were the sassy black girl, the really smart Asian guy, or the Hispanic character who had a massive family and was loud. The few shows that had people of color as main characters who had unique personalities, didn’t last long, were just about to go off air, or were just reruns. I remember watching the Proud Family and relating to Penny and her struggles, Sister Sister had me wishing for a twin sister, and I lived for That’s So Raven. Now don’t get me wrong, I loved Lizzie McGuire and Even Stevens, but I never truly bonded with the characters the way I did with the other shows. I am thankful, that there are more shows showing the beauty of people of color and the fact that those old stereotypes are dying.