I remember in the beginning of 2015 year making a post about all the Black women that would be on TV shows that year. I also remember getting more excited at the beginning of this year's TV season with the new POC additions to that list. Unfortunately, at the end of this season my excitement had worn off and turned into anger and confusion. Anger and confusion because I had witnessed a favorite character of mine get killed of unnecessarily and, not too far after, reading about other women and POC characters (some leads) getting the ax from their shows. Doing more digging to find out about these characters getting sidelined and their screentime diminishing before their departure.
Ever since the premiere of Scandal in 2012(?) we've seen a rise in not only Black women but WOC and POC as leading roles on TV. It was such an exciting time because people were finally being represented in television. After years and years of not being represented or being represented properly, it was finally happening. It's a real shame that the theme this year was to get rid of those characters! After the events of this year, when it comes to diversity in TV I'll only be advocating for quality over quantity.
I am completely fed up with seeing and hearing about minority and women characters being treated horribly. It's frustrating when you watch a show with a Black woman as the lead character and then wake up the next morning to read an article that reduced her to a sidekick. It's frustrating to see these WOC characters having their storylines pushed aside so the white (and/or male) character can be elevated. It's frustrating to see a character's screentime shrink and shrink for no reason. And then they get killed off in a way that is so disrespectful to the character and the fans.
I am also saddened by this because a character is never just a character. When we see WOC/POC characters as leads or part of a show and they're not just stereotypes is a big deal! It matters when we see ourselves as what we actually are in society and not these horrible stereotypes that people reduce us to. So it literally hurts when we see these characters get neglected and killed off. It's like someone in your family or your closest friend dying, or constantly being told that they don't matter.
So, I want to say that these characters are not these replaceable, disposable people only there to promote the white and/or male characters. They aren't stereotypes or tokens!
Moving forward I will no longer celebrate the number of POC, women, etc characters. I will only celebrate when these characters are treated the they should be. If you're wondering how we can make this happen, don't worry. I will be coming out with a part 2 on that topic.
Please sound off in the comments section on who your favorite characters are and why they mean so much to you.
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