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Taraji P. Blasts CBS and TV Guide!
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Look at all the publicity Maria Bello and Poppy Montgomery are getting for their shows. You'd never see anyone treated like this except a minority woman!
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Arch, I just can't understand why society and the media values a black man over a black woman. It is very sad but at least black men get some kind of shot. They won't give a black woman a chance at all.
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Yeah probably so. It is all about looks with men and they still run everything especially in the industry.
Stacy-Deanne wrote: "Look at all the publicity Maria Bello and Poppy Montgomery are getting for their shows. You'd never see anyone treated like this except a minority woman!"
Hi, Stacy. I watch Person of Interest faithfully. I understand and agree with your point, but Maria and Poppy are the main characters of their shows, whereas, Taraji is a support character. I think I've seen her act in four scenes since the show started almost three weeks ago.
I am glad she spoke up but to be honest I saw Ms Hensen all of 4 mins? if that much.
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Taraji should have been included in the picture.
When support characters are interviewed, they are asked about the show they are on. Why let support characters talk about the show, if they aren't as important as the lead characters? Lead characters can't carry a show by themselves.
Hi Arch. I'm not well-versed in the marketing of television shows, or anything else for that matter. I was just pointing out that the women referenced are whom the shows are about. I support ALL female actors. Just because Taraji is african-american does not, IMHO, warrant the same billing as Poppy or Maria. Person of Interest is about a billionaire, sudo-techy engineer and a traumatized ex-special forces guy. Taraji had a three minute scene as a Detective in the beginning to intro the "traumatized" homeless man who kick the butts of four punks on a train. That three minute scene by Taraji doesn't warrant equal billing as the two men the show revolves around.
Again, this is my opinion. I respect yours and Stacey's, as well. I think we're after the same thing. But, this discussion is not a good example of the problem female African-American actors encounter. Granted, I don't have all the particulars. I'm just going by what I've read on this thread and what I've watched on the show.
Have a blessed week everyone ;-)
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(See what I'm talking about below here: http://www.theroot.com/buzz/tv-guide-...)
TV Guide edit Taraji from them the cover they were going to have for the show. Okay, unless I miss something, a form of editing mean to remove something. So, I take it that Taraji was in the picture and they remove her.
TV Guide's editor-in-chief Debra Birnbaum stated that it was her decision all along to exclude Taraji from the cover. She claims that they were writing a story about the two male leads and their relationship and that they are fans of Taraji, but her storyline wasn't was never to be the focus of their cover story.
Debbie claims her decision was clear to everyone, including Taraji. She also claims that she doesn't make decision as to who is put on the cover.
Well, something doesn't sound right. Because, I could be wrong, but I don't think that Taraji would have been upset that she wasn't included on the cover of TV Guide. Already what Stacy posted and what I have read from the link that she posted. Taraji wasn't allow to promote the show. So to me that means, she couldn't talk about the show during interviews. That means that the procedures, etc. would have had to warn talk show host, etc. not to ask Taraji questions about the show and not show clips of Taraji on the show.
Taraji might get fired.
Trenice, still Taraji is the FEMALE lead and the only woman on the show. I doubt if she was white she'd been excluded from the promotions. It doesn't matter how much they've shown her on the show to me. It's the fact that she is a cast member and she is being disrespected and we know the reason and she knows the reason.Trust me, if she'd been a white lady or probably even a black MAN this would not be happening. I've seen TV Guide put cast members of shows on covers that had smaller roles than Taraji through the years. It is no excuse to cut her out like this undermine her value. She is a part of the show and the only female lead. That alone should give her the same respect as others.
I've watched shows with cast members that were hardly shown from week to week and they were at least shown in pictures, etc. Southland doesn't do this to Regina King and she's the only major female lead on the show and she's been actively promoted. Every time you see a Southland ad it's Regina and sometimes by herself.
But Taraji is being disrespected and I am glad she came out. How much she is shown or not from episode to episode isn't important to me because she is still on the show and she should be treated like she is.
Trenice, I respect your opinion as well but this is a discussion about how Taraji's been treated. How is this not a good discussion about black women and how they are treated on television when Taraji is a black woman who has come out about that treatment? She is being mistreated, is she not?Would it matter if she had her OWN show and they didn't promote it? Or is it about the amount of time she is shown? If she was shown more would that mean she had more of a right to be pissed? I don't believe that any of that matters. The point is she is on the show. She should be included in the promotions.
And I'm not trying to be mean to YOU or anything, just voicing my opinion. I respect yours as well but I am just confused as to how a discussion about a black woman being cut out of the publicity of a show she is on is not a decent discussion of how black women are treated in television in your opinion.
Am I missing something?
Debbie claims they wanted to do a show about the male leads? I think she's saying that as a reason to not even include Taraji because they didn't wanna include her. Point blank. This Debbie is full of BS.They didn't wanna turn the mainstream public off from the show because goodness knows no one wants to see shows with black women so by all means hide her. Goodness!
She might get fired but if I was Taraji, I'd leave. She doesn't need that show. She can get plenty of jobs. She is one of the hottest actresses out there in my opinion. I would definitely leave.
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Black Hollywood productions should create shows, beside all these comedy shows and hire people sucha as Taraji. Tyler had her in his movies. Why can't he create a drama show where she can play a lead. This show could play on a station that plays black shows. BET and TV One.
I don't think that Taraji should quit. Let them fire her. She could draw unemployement until she find another job.
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The FountainPenDiva, Old school geek chick and lover of teddy bears
(last edited Oct 03, 2011 01:56PM)
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The NBC remake of "Prime Suspect" will NEVER live up to the brilliance of the British original starring Dame Helen Mirren. Seriously, I don't know why American broadcasters think they can duplicate what the Brits have already broke ground on. Hell, Bello's character doesn't even have wrinkles or a drinking problem--two things that made Mirren's Jane Tennyson such a complex character. Bello's character is all pretty and airbrushed. Mirren's character LOOKED like a cop with personal and professional demons.Anyway, back to the topic:
I agree with Ms. Henderson 100%, but the question remains, what are black viewers going to DO about it? This goes back to what I was saying about how too many blacks support stereotyped foolishness like 'The Game' at the expense of more quality shows like 'Undercovers'. BET is nothing more that 24-hour cooning; it's an insult. And not every black person is a fan of Tyler Perry movies (TheVixenne raises her hand) though I respect him for what he's accomplished. Like I said in another topic, black women need our own movement. We need to support each other and the issues that are important to us. And we need to stop being scared to be called "angry". I notice that adjective gets used a lot whenever people want to shut black women's voices down. I know Ms. Henderson is being called an "Angry Black Woman", but for me, I'm proud of her!
That's a great point. Wonder why Tyler Perry hasn't started a drama? I think it might work. He has those comedies on so why not a drama?Lord knows there are many out-of-work black actors Tyler Perry could put to work with a drama! LOL! If I were him I would definitely consider creating one.
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The FountainPenDiva, Old school geek chick and lover of teddy bears
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But not just Tyler Perry. What about Spike Lee, John Singleton, Anton Fuqua, the Hughes Brothers and others? What about the woman who created 'Gray's Anatomy'? There's so much awesome directoral talent and it's just underutilzed. And again, I want to see more variety than Perry's typical fare.
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Second, I'm not an angry black woman. Period.
I want to touch a little on American remaking British Shows. America needs to leave British shows alone. British knows how to bring good shows and even respect blacks. I like the BBCA channel. Their shows may not last long, but they are entertaining when they do.
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The FountainPenDiva, Old school geek chick and lover of teddy bears
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There's nothing wrong with being angry, especially when we're talking about issues of social justice and equality, that's what I'm talking about here. No one's dismissing the collective anger of those thousands of people in front of Wall Street, right? They're out there and the media is finally paying attention to them. There's a stigma to anger in regards to women. An angry woman is thought of as "irrational". Black women in particular are subject to this stigma. I've noticed over the years that whenever someone wanted to ignore the concerns of black women, they tend to paint them with this brush. Anger meaning "unreasonable" and "loud". It's a way to maintain control.
I don't mind being an ABW because that way I get heard. As the saying goes "well behaved women seldom make history".
And Arch I totally agree with the American remakes of British t.v. shows. Just STOP it!
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The FountainPenDiva, Old school geek chick and lover of teddy bears
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I went to the link for the article and the byline is a perfect example of what I've been saying about black women speaking out:"Person Of Interest" Star Taraji P. Henson Pops Off About Being EXCLUDED From The Show's Publicity
Notice the phrase "pops off" as if Henderson is just being loud and obnoxious for the sake of being loud and obnoxious. It's another way to diminish what is an obvious slap in the face to not just her, but other black actresses. And because she spoke up, she's a threat. This kind of nonsense wouldn't have happened if this was a white actor expressing his views.
Hi Stacy. I'm not good at political (agendas or official) discussions. And I'm probably saying this wrong, too, so I'll leave it to the people who can get their points across more clearly. Sorry. I do enjoy reading the topics you come up with. ;-)
I have to agree that Taraji had some legitimate concerns. And i have to applaud her for speaking out when most people would probably tell her to keep her head down and keep a job.Yes the two men are the male leads, but she is the only other regular cast member and she gets second billing credit. She was glaringly absent from all pre-show publicity including posters, trailers and even a lengthy preview. This is atypical considering she is both an Oscar and recent Emmy nominee.
I think TV Guide is being incredibly disingenuous. They are notorious for doing Fall pre-view spreads that show any and all cast members of new shows and yet for the POI spread, Taraji was missing. Heck, the Bosley character from Charlie's Angels got more face time in pre-show publicity than Taraji did. The response from whomever that was sounded incredibly petty and mean-spirited.
It is a also shame that a black woman can't air legitimate concerns without being labeled as 'Angry'. However I find it very gratifying that she seems to have a lot of support across the blogosphere.
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Danielle The Book Huntress , Sees Love in All Colors
(last edited Oct 05, 2011 08:22AM)
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I think that CBS should be glad they have an actress Taraji's caliber on their show. There aren't that many actresses on CBS that I find mind-blowingly good, even though I watch CBS more than any other network channel.
I think she has every right to speak out against it, and if they end up cutting her off the show, I don't think she will lack for work for long. Some people realize her value.
And here's another Tyler Perry non-fan here. I wish he would bankroll some other writers and directors so that there can be more black cinema out there that has a different feel than his PSA-laden movies.
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You guys no I am Anti-Perry too. Like I always say, I respect what he accomplished but for various reasons I do not hail him up as the best black director/producer like some folks do.One person we left out that COULD help with this issue. Oprah. My dad and I always talk about how Oprah created that sorry network and she hasn't put not ONE, not ONE decent black show on there. The only black who has a show on there is Gayle, her girlfriend. LOL! But what the heck about Oprah? She has more power than Perry and all those black people because Oprah has white mainstream behind her. Unfortunately that is who she caters to.
I never understood Oprah. Even when she had her book club she never, ever hardly picked a black author. And when she did it was some friend of hers. I am not saying it's Oprah's responsibility to do anything, don't get me wrong. She can do what she wants but why does Oprah seem to cut out the black people when it comes to her programming? She does give to charities, etc. But Oprah could change television. Even Bill Cosby tried to but failed. Cosby used to come out all the time about we needed more black shows but I guess Cosby was too old school for folks to listen to. But Oprah is the most powerful woman (not just black woman) WOMAN in entertainment. Don't underestimate her power. She HAS power and I just don't see why she does not use it to influence better things for blacks on television. Even her magazine caters to white people.
Oprah could create ten networks if she wanted to. I cannot believe the stuff on her network and I see why the ratings are bad. She shows nothing but junk and reality shows. The reality shows are all full of white people or white celebrities. If someone could tell me ONE black show on OWN other than Gayle's I'd eat my big toes. LOL! I don't think there has ever been one.
So we speak of what Perry can do, what about Ms. Winfrey? Or have we all just accepted the fact that we are not even on her radar?
And I used to take up for Oprah when blacks said things about her not supporting blacks and I see it now. So what if she was campaigning for Obama, that's fine. But what has Oprah done for blacks as a whole on television? I mean if I was Oprah I'd try putting on many networks or at least producing some POSITIVE black shows. I'd have a black cop drama, family drama, soap opera, positive sitcom, etc.
I don't get it with Oprah.
What about Whoopi? She could create some shows too! See all these powerful blacks that could band together and get with these networks. But Oprah...come on.
Best Wishes!
When I think of whites like Norman Lear (or is he Jewish?) who created a slew of the most popular black shows in the 70's and 80's, it amazes me. This man did more for blacks in television than blacks have done. If it wasn't for Norman Lear there wouldn't have been NO black shows.That's why I love Robert Townsend. He is always doing something positive for blacks and he created some shows but they just didn't last.
Norman Lear:Sanford and Son
Good Times
The Jeffersons
Different Strokes
The Facts of Life (Well it had Tootie who became a super popular and POSITIVE role model back then)
227
He probably had more that I don't know of or forgot.
Another thing about Norman is even if the show he did wasn't a black show, he'd have a black character. Silver Spoons (Alfonso Rivera).
Man if we had somebody now who did this blacks for in television, it would be something.
I love Taraji, and there's definitely a point to her cause! Good on her for standing up and speaking out. I wish more minority actors and actresses would do the same, especially those who have the power to influence and or even bring about change in Hollywood.
Another thing about Oprah, she's gonna give Rosie a show on her network after all the crap Rosie said about her being gay, etc? You guys remember the beef they had and Oprah gives HER a show? Pitiful.
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The FountainPenDiva, Old school geek chick and lover of teddy bears
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The only film I can remember Oprah producing was Member of the Wedding with Halle Berry. Oh wait, she also worked with Denzel Washington on The Great Debaters.Norman Lear gets a lot of flack from some black people because his shows tended to feature "ghetto" characters, but in the case of Good Times there was at least an intact black family that reflected the love and togetherness that thrives in spite of the circumstances. And I'd much rather watch J.J. (Jimmie Walker) acting crazy than most of what's on BET.
And oh, do not get me started on Oprah's Book Club. I wrote her about featuring sci-fi author Octavia Butler's Kindred and even enclosed a copy for her to read. I never heard a thing and obviously it never happened. But there is kind of a cosmic justice when one of her featured books turned out to be a huge fraud.
I think Oprah also did Their Eyes were Watching God and also Beloved. But that's it. Oh, an The Color Purple On Broadway. But I agree, she is in a unique position to do a sort of Lifetime for (Black) Women in her network. I was disappointed that her network was more talk shows and reality and not trying to do more scripted for shows that could have been a great stepping stone for women of color.
I also think Shonda Rimes could do better in the black woman dept. I love Bailey on Grey's Anatomy, but out of all the revolving characters coming and going on that show not a single one was another black woman.
BTW, what happened to her new show with Kerry Washington as some political fixer? that looked really promising. it is a mid-season replacement?
@Tina, Oprah said from the outset that she's not doing scripted shows because they're too expensive. As for turning OWN into a Lifetime for black women, who exactly would watch that network. Black women are less than 10% of the population and all of them wouldn't necessarily watch it. Who in their right mind trades in the majority of the population for a minority within a minority. White people won't even read books with black characters, unless they're written by white folk. Who on earth would watch a Black Lifetime?
Oprah is a smart and savvy producer and she knows what the American public wants. The only black people they want to see are the ones like Tyler Perry creates. If black women are featured they have to be mammy like caricatures, which is why fat black women are everywhere on TV, yet you have to really strain to find a fat white woman. Presumably Oprah has no desire to do such. I think Shonda Rhimes figured out the same thing. Attractive black woman, uh no. They'll cancel you with a quickness.
In the last episode of Person of Interest Taraji's character and the lead interacted for the first time over the phone. To my ears it seemed like they were flirting. I hope they don't go in that direction because that will get the show canceled so fast it'll give you windburn.
I think a lot of black people and other minorities would watch a Black Lifetime. That's the problem, minorities are being shoved aside because we are not considered mainstream but does that mean we are not important? Does that mean we can just be ignored or we should sit down and accept being stepped over by the mainstream media? Oprah doesn't have to have an ENTIRE channel for black women. No one is saying that. She COULD have a channel that has a mixture of races and people though right? It's a difference. Oprah has NO minority shows on her network at all. No one is saying she has to have an all black channel but what we are saying is she could put on SOME black or minority shows on there. I mean who the hell would wanna see Tatum O'Neal and Ryan O'Neal? Who the hell would wanna see Shania Twain on a reality show or the Judds? Apparently not as many folks as Oprah thought because I've heard that all of those shows have been poor in the ratings.
It's obvious that Oprah doesn't wanna put on any black shows let's just call it like it is. She doesn't want to. Gayle wouldn't be on there if she wasn't Oprah's friend. I don't think her decisions have anything to do with her just being a smart lady, no. Why because OWN is not doing that well as it is so I don't see how her putting on one black show (dare we dream) is gonna kill her entire network.
I would watch a Black Lifetime. I would watch it ALL the time and it's not because I am black but because it would be different and interesting. I think many, many people would watch it. The fact is we don't know who would watch a Black Lifetime if we don't TRY it first right? I mean we can't always go on what the bigwigs want us to only believe. Sure, minority shows don't do that well on REGULAR television but they do okay on cable. As for black channels, I fully support the positive ones. I've been boycotting BET for years. That mess isn't even on my radar. But if no one wanted to watch black shows or channels, how come channels like GMC, TV ONE and Centre are doing so well? These are all black channels catering to the black audience and they are doing very well. GMC is getting picked up in more areas and scored another deal with some cable service recently so obviously there is demand. There is also a new black network but I forgot the name.
I believe if Oprah did a black network it would do very well on cable but that's not even the point with me. The point is how she just doesn't do ANY shows with blacks. There is a difference between having a black channel and having one or two black shows on your network. Maybe if she put on some different types of shows OWN would be doing better. LOL!
As for the Black Lifetime, there is a HUGE demand there. Women have been writing into Lifetime for YEARS because they want more black and minority movies and shows so obviously there is a demand. I've written in about ten times over the years myself because I like the Lifetime Movie Network and I'd like to see diversity. Lately they've been having more black movies done each year so maybe they are starting to listen.
I don't believe Oprah's decision to not have black shows is some marketing decision. If having a black network was the kiss-of-death like folks want us to believe then you wouldn't have any. I just named some channels that prove this.
I admit that mainstream folks (whites) might not wanna watch a black or minority network but so what? Is it all about the white people? If so why do we have anything? Why do we even have minority authors or minority books if it's all up to just whites? Does that mean we are to remain invisible because we aren't white? Is it better to just ignore minorities because there are not as many of us as whites? Not in my opinion.The point is that minorities have a right to see shows with people like them on it. If someone doesn't wanna put them on that's fine but I applaud the ones who do. But I will say again I do not believe Oprah's choice about her network is all about her business savvy. No. It's about her not wanting to put black folks on her network. I mean you got black celebrities that would want a reality show I am sure yet she's given reality shows to every white person on the planet.
I'm cool with Oprah. She can do what she wants but I don't believe that it's as simple as just some business decision. I believe she just doesn't wanna put on black OR minority shows just because she doesn't want to.
You guys need to read my article I did for the Multicultural newsletter. It kinda fits into this. I talk about the importance of minority children's books for minority kids. I will let you guys know when the newsletter comes out because what I say in that article explains the importance of why minorities have to stop relying on the mainstream when it comes to books and anything else. If we don't focus on ourselves, than who will? It shouldn't be all about just what the mainstream would want. We are still people and we still deserve a voice and still deserve stuff catered to us.
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A lot of us are writers on this group. I know that I will be writing books for my children to read.
"Is it all about the white people?"It's all about white people if you want advertisers to pay top dollar to be on your network. Other minorities are not going to watch a Black Lifetime, that's been shown time and again. Unless, of course, you do something like BET or Madea and who the hell wants more of that.
"Is it better to just ignore minorities because there are not as many of us as whites? Not in my opinion."
Unfortunately you're not running corporate America.
"The point is how she just doesn't do ANY shows with blacks."
Why would she? Her audience is middle class white women. Which, from an advertising standpoint is the sweet spot. They've got the most money and the most leisure time to spend it.
The only color television sees is green and making as much of it as possible.
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The FountainPenDiva, Old school geek chick and lover of teddy bears
(last edited Oct 08, 2011 03:03PM)
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I like Oprah and I totally respect her rags to fabulously wealthy life story, but I think with the right stories and the right actors, she could have a Lifetime-like network that actually looks like America, and I also think people--even her target market--would tune in. And I agree with Stacy-Deanne here, we've really got to get away from this notion that white people are the end-all, be-all. The demographics are shifting and savvy advertisers already know this. Look at how they're increasingly marketing towards the older baby boomer generation. Second, in spite of all the bad things we hear about black America, there's still quite a lot of income generated in our communities for goods and services. Give underserved communities a voice and a vision and they will come. And if I can trust anyone to not turn such a network into a BET-clone, it's definitely Oprah. As far as scripts are concerned, practically every IR and AA romance/suspense/paranormal is ripe and ready for the choosing. Think of seeing something like Rock Star or one of Beverly Jenkins' historicals as a television movie.
And lest we forget, Alex Haley's Roots was a huge hit with audiences of both races.
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I'm not into black movies or shows. I really don't read black books. And no, I don't have anything against black people. I'm black. Let me just say a lot of the black movies, shows, books aren't to my liking.
I really have to want to see a movie, in order to give it my time. I don't go to the movies. I wait until movies come on TV. A show has to be really good, to get my attention and that goes for books as well.
In every race, we have people that walk in the same shoes. I'm not putting one race above another, but no race is better than the next race.
I just hate how blacks are shown in a lot of movies, shows and books. These people may represent some black people, but they don't represent all black people.
I want shows where I just see people and not race.
Tv ratings are advertiser driven. Advertisers are not trying to get to just white people. They are trying to get to young people. The coveted demographic on any tv show is the 18-34 demographic. That is why shows like Vampire Diaries and Gossip Girl with their basement dweller ratings manage to stay on the air. Because although they are only pulling in 2 million viewers, they are mostly young. It has already been shown in many studies that young people are much more open and tolerant of difference than older folks.Black people aren't being put into shows not because they aren't bringing in advertising revenue. That has yet to be definitely proven. Nobody can point to a slew of failed black shows and show that they aren't bringing in audiences. They aren't being put into shows because by and large show-runners and networks do what they know. And all they've known is a certain template. That is why so many tv actors get recycled from show to show. That is why when the Emmy ballot comes out, the same names come up over and over again. TV is an incredibly stagnant industry. Especially network. It is why they are losing viewers to cable who do tend to be more daring.
Here's the thing, if networks were smart they would actually be trying to lure in black viewers. According to Nielsen's own statistics, AA viewers are 12.6% of the population yet they tune in to tv 40% more than All other households. And the 18-34 demographic tune in 49% more than ALL others.
When The Game moved to BET it got 7.7 million viewers. That is huge for basic cable! Grey's Anatomy got 8.7 million last week. When Girlfriends was on it was getting between 3-4 Million viewers. These are the same ratings that other cable shows like The Shield, Justified and Dexter are pulling.
There is an audience there and it is waiting to be tapped. Jumping the Broom outperformed Something Borrowed in movie theatres when they went head to head and opened the same weekend. And JTB opened on about 1,000 less screens. And the audiebce was overwhelmingly black and female.
And as much as we denigrate Tyler Perry, here is the thing. He is putting black faces on tv & movies. Yeah, Medea is stupid, but she's no more stupid than a plethora of Rob Schneider movies. The only difference is that there is balance in white-driven movies that aren't there black starred movies when the only thing you have being put out there is what TP is giving you.
The thing is Tyler can do what he does because he gets to side-step the laborious studio system. He doesn't have to get something green-lit and worry about distribution. He does it all. His movies aren't to my taste but you have to give the man his props. He is giving black actors work, which is more than you can say about Oprah. And outside of the Medea stuff is isn't all coonery, although it is written with a heavy, obvious hand.
Luckily it looks like BET is finally getting a clue. They have partnered with Mara Brock Akil and Selim Akil are will be concentrating more heavily on black scripted programs and less on being a MTV-also ran. According to my friends in the industry this is long overdue.
"And lest we forget, Alex Haley's Roots was a huge hit with audiences of both races. "Forty years ago. It wouldn't even get greenlighted today. The advertisers certainly know about the shift in demographics. That's why they're ending soap operas. The only women at home now are poor black women, hardly an advertising bonanza. Soaps cost too much to continue especially with the demographics they have.
"Think of seeing something like Rock Star or one of Beverly Jenkins' historicals as a television movie."
Oprah already tried a black historical. They don't fly. Who's their audience? My only historicals have sold abysmally. Black folks in general aren't interested. As for Rock Star, again, too small a demographic for the networks to be interested. Who's going to watch it? A very tiny percentage of black women who are IRing and a few others who have a voyeuristic interest, but that's about it.
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The FountainPenDiva, Old school geek chick and lover of teddy bears
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Sigh.We have to start somewhere, people. I'm no starry-eyed pollyanna, but geez. It only takes someone with vision and a belief to change the world. I really don't get all the self-defeating negativity surrounding this idea. I mean really, there's even a channel--Logos--that caters to the GLBTQ community (Noah's Ark was shown on it), so to say there's no audience or advertisers for a Multicultural channel is utter nonsense. I live in L.A. and name the ethnic group, there's a channel for them, AND there's a very strong advertising presence featuring actors from those communities. And hell, advertisers seem to flock to BET and TV-One. I'm sure when Robert Johnson came up with the idea for BET, he was greeted by naysayers too. Unfortunately he proved them wrong (I kind of wish they'd been right considering the mess that channel has been peddling for the longest).
Savvy advertisers realize, even if we don't, that communities of color are the new source of revenue and they're slowly doing all they can to make inroads into that revenue stream. All we need is someone who's willing to take that big step.
As far as Lifetime is concerned, it's never been one of my favorite channels to watch because the stories are all the same--cheating/murdering/child molesting/disappering spouse, etc. My thing is, why isn't there more diversity when it comes to the casting? I'm more than certain a non-white actor could do just as well as a white one. I just used Lifetime as an example since its viewership is primarily women.
I don't think I'm being a naysayer, I'm simply being a realist. If we want a channel we'll have to do it ourselves. Oprah's not going to do it because there's not enough money, plus she risks alienating her bread and butter well-to-do white women. Not to mention when she did make a movie for us it tanked at the box office. I personally wish she'd chosen a different book, but Oprah is big on pathology porn, that's her thing, so anything she creates is going to be full of rape and child abuse. Personally I'm not feeling that which is why I don't like her book club. If somebody wants to do a movie I've got ten books ready to go and dozens of other ideas besides. Keep in mind that GLBT is 10% of the population, that's 30 million people. Black women are not even half that. Also a lot of black people prefer the kind of crap BET and Tyler Perry churn out. I'd really hate to get a network or shows for black women and they're all that kind of ilk. Frankly I'd rather there not be any black women on tv because every time there are they're unattractive and/or obnoxious.
You know who is getting crazy buzz right now? The Misadventures of Awkward Black girl. If you haven't watched her web series, watch it, it is great. She put up a web series because she wasn't seeing anything on tv that represented her. She has just been featured on CNN, Huffington Post, Washington Post and NPR. She has basically been financing her show out of pocket for the first 6 webisodes. But when she couldn't afford it anymore she and her partners decided to ask for donations. They raised over $4,000 in less than 24 hrs. They've raised over $40,000 total to so far fund up to episode 9.
If you ever read her blog, the Youtube comments or her twitter you'll see the refrain over and over again is 'yes, that is me and I don't ever get to see me represented.' If nothing else this can prove that people who want something bad enough are prepared to pay for it.
There are 22 million AA women in the US. I continue to contend there is a hungry audience share in there somewhere. I remember how surprised the movie industry was when Waiting to Exhale killed at the box office. All the articles about serving an under-served population were trotted out. Same thing happened again when Soul Food once again drew great box office, surprising industry experts (again). How many times does this have to happen to make people understand there is an audience there waiting to be served?
It doesn't have to be Oprah who does it. I frankly don't care. I think we pulled her as an example as someone who already has a lot of clout who could have been the game changer or the spark. But frankly, I don't care who it is. If Issa Rae of Awkward Black Girl is the one that gets the ball rolling, then good for her.
Regards GLBT population: Truthfully no one knows how many truly GLBT people there are because the census doesn't ask the question. And a lot of people still self censor. officially, they can only determine how many same-sex partnership households there are (only about 1.2%). However other studies have only been able to get the number of self reported GLBT persons to up to 4% (9 million).
The 10% number is one that has been around since the 40s when Kinsey did his famous study and is widely debated. Even in his study only 4% were identified as exclusively homosexual.
Wow. I stopped watching Person of Interest because you never saw Tarji. It was boring to me.
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The FountainPenDiva, Old school geek chick and lover of teddy bears
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@Ros: "pathology porn". Love this! And very accurate. Even her book club picks were nothing more than how much more miserable can people get in fiction.And I am a HUGE fan of The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl. The first time I watched it, I was so like "why isn't this on televsion?" Then I realized it was because the series is positive and the main character isn't a caricature.
Tina, I'm on the Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl bandwagon. I found out about her months ago. Love it! When I saw she'd made it to CNN, I thought, "cool." I hope she blows up even more. It shows another side of not just black women, but people in general. I love that sort of dry, awkward humor. As she said, the "black Liz Lemmon." LOL.
Funny in light of the conversation on this thread that I should come across this today Lifetime tv to remake Steel Magnolias with all black cast.In the words of Michael K. from D-Listed "This is either going to be a Frigidaire full of YES or Lifetime is totally going to screw this shit up..
Fans of Interracial Romance
Books mentioned in this topic
Roots: The Saga of an American Family (other topics)Rock Star (other topics)
Kindred (other topics)
My girl Taraji P. Henson is very upset and rightfully so! She is the only female lead on the new CBS drama Person of Interest and she says she's been excluded from all promotions for the show. That explains her beef with CBS but why is she mad at TV Guide? Well they had the nerve to not have Taraji on the cover when they featured the cast of the show! Can you believe that mess? Unfortunately I can!
Taraji feels this is happening because she is a black woman and we know how networks treat black women especially. They are treated worse than black men. You can find tons of shows with black men on them but no black women. And the black men are actively promoted as parts of the cast. Anyway, I have provided a link to what she had to say. She is steaming and I don't blame her. Some nut had the nerve to call her an idiot for speaking out but I think she deserves a prize for doing so!
http://theybf.com/2011/09/21/point-of...
This is what I was talking about in the Charlie's Angels thread. Taraji has done exactly what I said more black actors should do when it comes to television. She is standing up for herself and I think she has a right to do it and I don't find it idiotic at all. I admire her. The problem is when people let folks walk all over them and not bring attention to what's really going on. Taraji has done what many black actors do not. Some of them are probably scared to lose their jobs or care more about their paychecks that they will tolerate anything. Well Taraji has proved she is NOT one of those people. She is not a pushover and I respect her even more now.
I had no idea she was on POI (like some people don't which proves how she's been excluded from the promos). My dad watches the show but I didn't want to see it. Had I known she was on there I would've tuned in. But now that I see how she is being treated I am boycotting the show. I have a feeling she won't be on there much longer whether she chooses to leave or the show axes her. We'll have to see.
And the girl is a TWO-time Academy Award nominee and THIS is how she is treated? Had she been a white woman she'd been on the TV guide cover, probably spotlighted by herself in articles and magazines and definitely seen in all the promotions! It's shameful but like I said the other day, nothing in television will change unless the people with power (minorities in the industry) stand up and fight. There's only so much the audience can do.
I am disappointed in CBS. I always thought they were better than this compared to NBC. I'd expect this from NBC! I guess when you get down to it all the network bigwigs think the same.
Best Wishes!