(White) Girls on TV

So there was a LOT in the media recently about Lena Dunham's HBO series Girls. Unlike a lot of people, I don't really see the big deal about Lena's lack of inclusion of Black faces in her creation. Having watched the series, my initial response was controversially similar to that of Caitlin Moran's "Nope. I literally couldn't give a sh*t about it."

WHAT?! How can you say that?! I hear you exclaim.

Well, I'll tell you.


Having spent some time living and working in New York, and seeing first hand how different areas belong to different groups of people (Soho for Gays, Upper East Side for J.A.Ps, Williamsburg for Hipsters...), I recognised that Girls was Lena showing us her New York, with characters she  knew recognised and therefore could truthfully represent. The first rule of writing, according to what I've read on the internet researched, is to write about what you know. How could Lena write about the life of a Black twenty something woman having never been one and arguably, given her sheltered young New York life, never experienced second hand? I guess she could have gone against the grain and just had one of the characters played by a Black actress but that wouldn't be true to the character or the world she was creating. Why should Caitlin Moran comment on it if this what was she understood from the show as I did?

I read an article by the Guardian's Hadley Freeman who grew up in New York and on moving to the UK in her teens, was shocked when watching Eastenders to see a married inter-racial couple (Carol and Alan Jackson fact fans) where their race wasn't made into an issue or a storyline. That was nearly a decade ago.

A couple of weeks after the Girls debate, a huge fuss was made over Kerry Washington taking the lead role in new drama Scandal, about a female criminal investigator. I wanted to congratulate the States for catching up with us, but then I was forced to take a look at the most popular TV shows over here. The Only Way Is Essex, Coronation Street, *sigh* Made In Chelsea... Where are the Black faces there? Having been to university in Manchester where I was asked probing questions such as “Can you tan?” and “Can you cook jerk anything else apart from chicken?” I can vouch that there is a distinct lack of ethnic folk in the North West so Corrie is quite representative of its area. However the others don't have particularly diverse casts. By the way, Hollyoaks, I see what you're doing and I don't care for it. Trying to trick us with mixed race actors and calling them Black. Nice try. It's not good enough.

Where can I see women like me on my screen? Turns out the answer is... on Youtube.

Through a series of coincidences (being bored at work) I discovered Issa Rae's Misadventures of an Awkward Black Girl. We get to see our heroine, J, go through incidences we can all relate to and cringe in memory of – bumping into people multiple times (are you meant to say hi every time?) office crushes causing you to high five yourself to disguise a mis-read waving situation, uncomfortable dates, wondering when and if he's ever going to kiss you... The greatest strength of this show is its relatability. It recognises race without making it the overriding feature. The actors aren't all talking 'ghetto', patting their weaves and eating chicken. J has natural hair but other characters sport weaves, relaxed hair, braids, waves. You root for her regardless of her race. You root for her as a person with awkward tendencies.

              

Then I found The Couple. A fly on the wall type show following a 20something couple as they go about their daily lives, highlighting incidences anyone who's ever been in a couple can understand. Backseat driving. How pathetic he is when he's ill. How annoying she can be when she won't let you order the same thing as her so you can share food. (I do this. Sorry guys.)

         



Most recently, I've come across The Unwritten Rules. Racey starts a new job and finds herself the only Black person in her 'work family'. She has to manage being new with her co-workers and her boss constantly asking about her food, her hair, making her dance at parties and set ups with Other Black Folk. This episode I can relate to - being considered a Whack Girl (a White Black Girl - this is a post ALL of its own) and not completely fitting in with her White or Black colleagues... Hmm.

            

Black Youtube channels like I Am Other (created by Pharrell Williams, my future ex), Inkspot Entertainment and Black&SexyTV which celebrate those who identify with more than one race or culture, and provide content that myself and so many of my fellow melting pot generation counterparts can relate to. People getting on and recognising culture while moving forward, without stereotypes and segregation being thrown up all around us. I can't wait to see some of these things in mainstream media (where is this generation's Moesha or Sister Sister?) but with social media, Youtube and the rise of other online channels, we don't need to worry so much about representation on one show on one network by one New York wunderkind. We are being represented elsewhere and it is only a matter of time before the mainstream follows.


Karla