Is media/television too white?

[Daltron]

Do you think reality tv and other shows are over saturated with white people and not other cultures etc?
Do your favourite shows feature nonwhite actors? Do you care?

[Cerys]

Does it matter?

I think that going out there saying 'There's too many white people in this show' just shows that you've got a problem..
If you really treat everyone as equals then there shouldn't be a need to find other ethnicities to put in the show, you should just take the best actors who have auditioned and that's that.

[sexpot]

I'd say it's the other way around, at least where I'm from.

[MKR&*42]

no i'd say it's equal.

[Jurv]

depends what you watch but i wouldn't say it's outstandingly obvious that it's majority white people nd it doesn't bother me either

[JACKTARD]

I'd say there are less white people in a lot of shows than you see day to day where I'm from. I'm sure it varies depending on where you are though.

[dbgtz]

Does it really matter? It's not like there's some representation crisis, infact to even suggest there was is massively flawed. And at the end of the day, the media is run by companies who will react to trends in the market.

[lemons]

it doesn't matter

people will start complaining there isn't enough white people on BET channel soon lol

[Empired]

Actually TV (particularly advertisements) are casted very carefully for a reason. If you think the shows you're watching have too many white people in this actually reflects the person you are rather than what's happening on TV. Every aspect of the programme you're watching has been thought about carefully. Every prop, the setting, the way they talk is all for a reason and it's the same with race.

So although television is dominated by white people, it's like this because its audience wants it that way.

[Bowie]

I would have thought it was pretty equal from where I am.
So called 'reality' TV shows are a waste of time, but not all of those shows are full-white casting anyway. I know I'd rather watch a show with good actors, than bad actors of contrasting cultures and ethnicity just to show that they believe in equal rights and what not. So no, I really couldn't care less if a show does not feature a certain race or whatever, because it's not the colour of the actors that puts them through the audition, it's their skills. Anyone who makes it a problem is just making fuss over nothing.

Oh, and to answer your question about my favourite shows: one of those shows, being Luther - the main character is black, but he is exactly right for the part, without the colour of his skin being a reason. CSI/SVU and such, another example of a mixture of races and cultures. There's so many more shows with these qualities.

[lawrawrrr]

In a lot of TV shows, it's not fairly represented at all - not a fair representation of where the program is set anyway. More relevant to shows which have been going on for a while though - take Eastenders for example, in which I think there is only 1 black family, a few other black characters and one Indian family - not representative of East London at all, imho.

In media, the presenters are very carefully chosen to show diversity and equality - even (I would definitely argue) going as far to exclude white people. There's more white people in this country, in general.

Say the BBC has an opening for 10 new broadcasters. I'd say they'd look for 5 cis white anchors, 3 of other race and 2 with other minorities (if you don't know what cis means - here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cisgender)). There might be 50 people applying for the first, but only 10 for the other two... well you know where I'm going and that's an argument for another day.

Look at the cast of Glee, right. Each one is a 'token'. Disabled, gay, 'other' ethnicities - it's just not a situation you'd find in real life. It's prevalent in other TV shows too, because if they didn't, the activist community for minorities would kick up a fuss and a media storm and maybe even risk the show being taken down.

The thing is, TV is a business, and they have to sell it. Although in many cases it's unbelievably diverse, that makes the target audience, people who can relate to characters, much much much larger, meaning more profit.

Even if it's not that the audience can relate to a character, people will also tune in to see the weird and wonderful, the characters who represent a life that they don't lead, Rizzoli and Isles for example (lesbian crime-fighting duo), even Game of Thrones, an ancient (is it ancient or just elsewhere?) kill-a-thon.

[Mr-Trainor]

It's not so obvious to me with the shows I watch, so it doesn't really bother me.

[AgnesIO]

I want to watch the best actors, don't care if they are white/black/pink/... :L

[Empired]

Look at the cast of Glee, right. Each one is a 'token'. Disabled, gay, 'other' ethnicities - it's just not a situation you'd find in real life. It's prevalent in other TV shows too, because if they didn't, the activist community for minorities would kick up a fuss and a media storm and maybe even risk the show being taken down.
I actually studied Glee for a month for GCSE media studies and I don't think the diversity has anything to do with people kicking up a fuss. Although this may be true for other TV shows, Glee is aimed at younger teenagers who maybe don't fit in so much at school. I find it interesting to see that E4 really only plays it at 4pm (ish) and saves Prime Time for shows with a wider audience range.

When I was looking at it for Media my whole class came to the agreement that although the characters in Glee are very different, none of them actually "fit in" at Mckinley High. This explains perfectly why their audience is younger teenagers who aren't really in a "clique" at school.

Of course there are some people who watch Glee who don't fit that stereotype, but I'm pretty sure these people are the exception rather than the rule.

Edit: I forgot to mention that Glee is a special case really. Most TV shows fit what you were saying Laura!

[lawrawrrr]

I actually studied Glee for a month for GCSE media studies and I don't think the diversity has anything to do with people kicking up a fuss. Although this may be true for other TV shows, Glee is aimed at younger teenagers who maybe don't fit in so much at school. I find it interesting to see that E4 really only plays it at 4pm (ish) and saves Prime Time for shows with a wider audience range.

When I was looking at it for Media my whole class came to the agreement that although the characters in Glee are very different, none of them actually "fit in" at Mckinley High. This explains perfectly why their audience is younger teenagers who aren't really in a "clique" at school.

Of course there are some people who watch Glee who don't fit that stereotype, but I'm pretty sure these people are the exception rather than the rule.

Edit: I forgot to mention that Glee is a special case really. Most TV shows fit what you were saying Laura!

Nooo, I meant the diversity STOPS people kicking up a fuss. If there wasn't​ a diversity, if it was full of cis white people, the activist communities would pick up on it. But it's completely unrealistic, something which a lot of people forget when watching all these typically outcast children become popular and happy, giving unrealistic expectations sometimes.

[Empired]

Nooo, I meant the diversity STOPS people kicking up a fuss. If there wasn't​ a diversity, the activist communities would pick up on it.
No that's what I mean! Glee isn't diverse to stop people attacking it, it's diverse because of its target audience!

[-:Undertaker:-]

Can you IMAGINE if this thread was the other way around? can you IMAGINE if someone made the comment that London was too black?

As for television though - here's my opinion. Quite frankly, i'm fed up of the outright propaganda that's put across where every single face in an advert is black, chinese, yellow ... with one white person at the end. This is, whether some people like to admit it or not thanks to 'white guilt', a white country. Therefore, I expect white faces to appear 9 times out of 10 on television.

Do you think the Chinese have these sorts of discussions? do the Africans? do the South Americans? not a chance in hell.

[lawrawrrr]

No that's what I mean! Glee isn't diverse to stop people attacking it, it's diverse because of its target audience!

Same difference really, it has a larger audience because it is diverse, and attracts people who can relate to one of the minorities... the pilot was diverse an that wasn't affected by the audience...

[Aiden]

not really