Obviously, advocacy is necessary. Hopefully, this whole self-segregating, self-stereotyping business is just a phase the culture is going through as it moves on from the bad old days. But there's probably better ways to conduct advocacy....
GLAAD grades the networks
- Thread starter Temis the Vorta
- Start date
Well, that's the thing. The only way to have gay content is to create a gay network - hence Logo in the US, I think... And BET... and Telemundo.
It's why in Canada people are perfectly happy paying 50 bucks a month just for a Chinese channel. We already live in a market of forced segregation.
It's why in Canada people are perfectly happy paying 50 bucks a month just for a Chinese channel. We already live in a market of forced segregation.
The notion that advocacy groups are an important factor in balkanization strikes me as pretty dubious. It seems to me that de facto segregation is due to other things.
Separate networks like BET, Logo, Univision are themselves examples of segregation. There are also a fair number of more or less all Black comedies with token white members, where the white majority (which it mostly still is,) disappears, in the same way that that the nonwhite minorities disappear in too many television shows. I think the last integrated comedy was Mavis, on supposedly retrograde CBS.
In terms of starring roles, the situtation is still pretty dire for all groups. There's Lawrence Fishburne on CSI (which is drawing even more hate than usual amongst the self appointed Glorious Young near as I can tell. Wonder why?) Naveen Andrews' character on Lost is increasingly irrelevant to the main storyline nor can he keep a girlfriend. That poor boy on Heroes was supposed to be the scientist hero but has never successfully scienced anything. They had to dope him into a superhero to even keep him around. And his only girlfriend was Dominican, in spite of being one of the prettiest male actors on television. He sure isn't the star.
There's Jada Pinkett on Hawthorne. But we're already talking basic cable.
As for the lesbian/gay characters as stars, there hasn't been anything other than Will and Grace and a couple of series on Showtime? Kings had David and Jonathan, which is starring roles. But part of rebooting the Bible was rewriting the love that passeth the love of women. And people refused to even sample Kings, in droves, anyhow. It hardly seems there's any respectable reason to get heated up over GLAAD ratings.
Separate networks like BET, Logo, Univision are themselves examples of segregation. There are also a fair number of more or less all Black comedies with token white members, where the white majority (which it mostly still is,) disappears, in the same way that that the nonwhite minorities disappear in too many television shows. I think the last integrated comedy was Mavis, on supposedly retrograde CBS.
In terms of starring roles, the situtation is still pretty dire for all groups. There's Lawrence Fishburne on CSI (which is drawing even more hate than usual amongst the self appointed Glorious Young near as I can tell. Wonder why?) Naveen Andrews' character on Lost is increasingly irrelevant to the main storyline nor can he keep a girlfriend. That poor boy on Heroes was supposed to be the scientist hero but has never successfully scienced anything. They had to dope him into a superhero to even keep him around. And his only girlfriend was Dominican, in spite of being one of the prettiest male actors on television. He sure isn't the star.
There's Jada Pinkett on Hawthorne. But we're already talking basic cable.
As for the lesbian/gay characters as stars, there hasn't been anything other than Will and Grace and a couple of series on Showtime? Kings had David and Jonathan, which is starring roles. But part of rebooting the Bible was rewriting the love that passeth the love of women. And people refused to even sample Kings, in droves, anyhow. It hardly seems there's any respectable reason to get heated up over GLAAD ratings.
Problem is, forced segregation is becoming voluntary segregation.
Yes, but the advocacy groups help to perpetuate it.
Exactly. These types of separate entertainment outlets are seen as empowering, which makes segregation appear benign and desirable, which in turn leads to the self-segregation concept.
Well, that's the thing. Why are there black and Asian theater companies? Because these actors find it hard to get into "traditional" theater companies.
Part of it is wanting to tell your own stories - stories that just don't get covered all the time and part of it is making it making it on their own because they don't have any other choice.
What's silly is that people look at the acting roles available but don't really consider the production side. I mean, it's another reason why I have a problem with the "liberal" conundrum of American SF - all the behind the scenes people are white, from most of the writers to pretty much all the producers.
So you get awkward scenes in Heroes and Stargate SG-1 where Asian women are submissive flowers and Asian men are misogynist pigs (let alone all the shitty Chinatown episodes on L&O and CSI and whatever).
I don't know what the answer is. I mean, the number of Asian American actors I can list on one hand, but the number of Asian American directors? Justin Lin and James Wong are the only that come to mind - and James Wong is just doing Final Destination 6: Final Destination-er.
Part of it is wanting to tell your own stories - stories that just don't get covered all the time and part of it is making it making it on their own because they don't have any other choice.
What's silly is that people look at the acting roles available but don't really consider the production side. I mean, it's another reason why I have a problem with the "liberal" conundrum of American SF - all the behind the scenes people are white, from most of the writers to pretty much all the producers.
So you get awkward scenes in Heroes and Stargate SG-1 where Asian women are submissive flowers and Asian men are misogynist pigs (let alone all the shitty Chinatown episodes on L&O and CSI and whatever).
I don't know what the answer is. I mean, the number of Asian American actors I can list on one hand, but the number of Asian American directors? Justin Lin and James Wong are the only that come to mind - and James Wong is just doing Final Destination 6: Final Destination-er.
Like Bravo?
(how would I know, you ask? Well, I have caught the occasional rerun of Law & Order: Criminal Intent, although I have no idea why they show it...doesn't exactly seem like their target market)
As for GLAAD, and what they think...well, as soon as I find my care face, I'll be sure and put it on.
No, they already have one. It's called LOGO.
No, they already have one. It's called LOGO.
Oh.
A network even gayer than Bravo? I didn't know such a thing was possible...
(no offense is intended, of course.)
The only reason why I know of Logo is because they bought afterellen.com network.
No, they already have one. It's called LOGO.
There's also a network called 'here!'
I agree. But the solution seems to exacerbate, or at least perpetuate, the problem. It's more of a band aid. I don't really know what the real solution is, either.
Well, full integration - except that it'll never happen. So here we are.
I look at it this way - intellectual blowhards said that the Internet would empower people and bring everyone together, but instead all it has done is create extremely specialized and fragmented communities. The fact that this is a Star Trek board and not some kind of super mega general conglomerate board is a testament to that.
Which I guess is sort of ironic, because the Federation is the fantasy organization where everyone just gets along, Star Trek fan or not.
I look at it this way - intellectual blowhards said that the Internet would empower people and bring everyone together, but instead all it has done is create extremely specialized and fragmented communities. The fact that this is a Star Trek board and not some kind of super mega general conglomerate board is a testament to that.
Which I guess is sort of ironic, because the Federation is the fantasy organization where everyone just gets along, Star Trek fan or not.
Ming Na playing a lesbian solves both those problems.
Cheap but funny.
Ming Na playing a lesbian solves both those problems.
We can rate Stargate's cynical lipstick lesbian ratings ploy vs Heroes'.
Oh, it will happen eventually. But it's always two steps forward and one step back.Well, full integration - except that it'll never happen. So here we are.
Sam's a pretty minor character to call a "lead." Is he even a regular?
That's an improvement on "Ten white people and the token.", which is what you see in most places.
Gays aren't represented very well on TV; GLAAD is just pointing that out.