The issue escalated last week when the online civil rights organization color of change.org addressed a letter to the show's creator and producer Lorne Michaels asking him to address the issue of the lack of black women in the cast.
Monday, November 04, 2013
SNL Addresses the Lack of African American Women Straight On
The issue escalated last week when the online civil rights organization color of change.org addressed a letter to the show's creator and producer Lorne Michaels asking him to address the issue of the lack of black women in the cast.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
I completely agree that this is a huge issue that SNL should be tackling. Theatre in general is still so behind when it comes to minority casting, and that has begun to change (albeit not quickly enough). The point I latched onto the most in this article was that because SNL is based on sketch comedy and usually parody, the "blandness" of the current cast is both making them appear racist and limiting what they can do as far as impersonations. Kerry Washington is a fantastic actress, but one has to admit she is an anomaly as a black woman cast in the lead of a hit drama created by another black woman. Maybe it's Lorne Michaels being old-fashioned, maybe the right person hasn't auditioned yet. But NBC in general and especially SNL have got to find a way to open their doors a little wider. The talent is out there, and there's no excuse not to be letting it in.
I find this article really interesting. I agree with Becca, the talent is out there and there's no excuse not to be letting it in. And this is definitely an important dilemma that it is necessary for SNL to confront. But these observations stir up a lot of questions that are worth asking. SNL definitely gets points for honesty. But Is it more important to be honest, or to make a shift in priorities? And what other minorities is SNL going to look to include? Can this sort of progress be put on a timeline? It's definitely a hot topic issue. But is it quantitatively measurable? How are other programs approaching the issue?
The important thing is that the conversation has begun, and they seem to be proactive about moving towards the correct change.
I completely disagree with the article and the two other two commenters. I do not think that when SNL is picking their comedians/ actors they should be saying "okay well we need a black woman." I want SNL to pick the best talent they can find. I do not have any personal knowledge of how SNL auditions work but I imagine they are intense and the people judging spend a lot of time thinking about it. I think it is silly to try and make race a part of something where it does not belong. It is not SNL's mission to represent every demographic, it is to be funny.
Saturday Night Live is one of America’s most popular and legendary shows. This household favorite highly influences society’s views, even helping to influence presidential elections. Since America is a predominantly white nation, it is safe to assume that Saturday Night Live will inherently be aiming to appeal to the majority of the population. Consequently, the people who audition just happen to BE the majority. As a result, Saturday Night Live does not have a black woman on the show; hence, black women are underrepresented. Now, the issue at hand is the fact that the closest representation of any black woman on Saturday Night Live is Kenan Thompson dressed in drag. Black woman are shown too frequently in the media in a negative light. Saturday Night Live further pushes that stereotype, influencing the American people. Therefore, I do believe that it is important to have at least one talented black woman on the show to not only portray the black female characters written in the skits but to portray characters BEYOND the stereotype of the black woman. If Saturday Night Live cannot find ONE black female actor to be on the show, then they should not be portraying black female characters at all.
Post a Comment