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Aren't you thankful?
Aug. 2nd, 2008 08:21 pmSo minorities on TV/Movies and how I should be 'thankful' that I'm being 'represented'. This is a post that has been brewing for a while, because I feel like I can't complain about representation on a show, if that show has at least one token minority. It has probably been done to death, and I'm just adding to it, but deal. This post deals with mostly Asian representation on television, with some commentary on minorities in general on TV.
I admit that I don't watch a lot of TV, and I can't speak for every minority group (let alone everyone that is mixed) out there, or assume that every other POC has the same experiences that I do about this subject. What I can speak about is how I feel, and that I find it tiring and enraging to have people patronize me and tell me, in not so many words, that I should be grateful that there are minorities on TV. Nevermind that they are shoved into stereotypical roles, or killed off. Nevermind that the handful of characters may not represent my racial background - those characters represent every minority in North America. I suppose I should be doubly grateful that there are Asians on TV.
( cut for length )
So no, I'm not thankful at all, because I feel marginalised, and I feel like what is being shown about Asian-Americans/Canadians/Britons is that we are really, really smart, don't talk about our emotions, or don't speak english very well. Oh, and we're also martial arts masters, and may own a convenience store.
I admit that I don't watch a lot of TV, and I can't speak for every minority group (let alone everyone that is mixed) out there, or assume that every other POC has the same experiences that I do about this subject. What I can speak about is how I feel, and that I find it tiring and enraging to have people patronize me and tell me, in not so many words, that I should be grateful that there are minorities on TV. Nevermind that they are shoved into stereotypical roles, or killed off. Nevermind that the handful of characters may not represent my racial background - those characters represent every minority in North America. I suppose I should be doubly grateful that there are Asians on TV.
( cut for length )
So no, I'm not thankful at all, because I feel marginalised, and I feel like what is being shown about Asian-Americans/Canadians/Britons is that we are really, really smart, don't talk about our emotions, or don't speak english very well. Oh, and we're also martial arts masters, and may own a convenience store.
