In recent years, there has been an increasing emphasis on diversity in cast members of T.V. shows and of people in the media. More specifically, there has been an emphasis on including cast members of certain groups that were previously not as widely seen such as people of non-White Caucasian race/ethnicity, people of more robust body shapes, and people with physical disabilities.

A idea that has been gaining popularity in recent years is that television show casts should propagate ideals of inclusion and equality by hiring diverse casts. This notion is taken one step further with the idea that casts of mostly White-Caucasian males are somehow inherently racist because of their lack of diversity.

These ideas are built on the assumed value that television show programmers are responsible for displaying politically correct ideals in their selection of characters and show content.

I disagree with this notion. Television programmers are not responsible for displaying diversity casts for two main reasons:

1. It trivializes the ideals behind diversity
2. It limits the creativity of producers, and thus the integrity of television

To me, casts should be selected based on suitability of an actor/actress for the role and his/her ability to execute the role well. No actor/actress should not be considered for a role solely based on physical traits.

Deliberately diversifying a cast often happens in today’s world for fiscal reasons: according to an article by USA Today, for many television executives the reason for cast diversification is commonly because diverse casts gain more viewers, and thus makes them more money. In a quote from the article, one producer says it this way:

“People have begun to recognize how much money they can make by targeting underserved audiences,” says Courtney A. Kemp, the creator and executive producer of Power, a popular Starz series about a black nightclub owner. “The color that’s relevant here is green.  It’s not about any kind of altruism, or a sea change in how people are feeling about diversity.”

Furthermore, deliberately diversified casts often reinforce pre-existing stereotypes and detracts from the merits of the actors/actresses cast for the sake of diversity, while also giving some undue credit for nothing but happenstance.

Television show producers are pressured to portray the characters played by diverse characters in a way that either a) deliberately is non-stereotypical as to send a message about how stereotypes are not true or b) displays that character in a positive light. Either way, the writer is manipulating the show for the sake of an outside factor which mitigates authenticity of the content and undermines the legitimacy of the production.

An article on MTV news praises diversification in television shows for “telling stories we haven’t or have only rarely seen before.” Choosing to focus on unheard stories is in itself a type of bias: who’s to say what kind of “uncommon” story is more worth telling? A television show producer’s job is to create a show, not to promulgate politically correct ideas–the latter is the job of activists. If creating a successful show means catering to politically correct ideas, that’s fine and dandy. But it was never their responsibility to influence viewers’ mindsets in any way besides what they themselves intended.

Prompts:

Should television show programmers value artistic freedom over economic success?

Can television shows with diversified casts truly establish less biased views of a certain group of people?