Is BB3 RACIST?
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TV ClubHouse: Archives: Is BB3 RACIST?
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Archive through August 14, 2002 25   08/14 02:45pm
Archive through August 14, 2002 25   08/14 03:28pm
Archive through August 14, 2002 25   08/14 09:04pm

Eden

Wednesday, August 14, 2002 - 09:28 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Can two black people out of twelve be called "token"? When are we going to overcome that denegrating quote unquote? Personally, if I were Marcellas or Danielle, I'd be angered that people would see me as chosen for any reason other than worthiness. As to the applicants perhaps not being ethnically mixed... haven't most of the HGs said they weren't chosen from applications but grabbed in a mall or off the street or approached by Big Brother staff? This might have some bearing as to the lack of diversity. I'm all for mixing it. Let's see all kinds of faces and ages and body types. It can only make the show more interesting!

Seems to me from what the HGs have said, this show is cast, like any other show! Big Brother is strictly entertainment wrapped in the tongue in cheek guise of a social experiment. As interesting as it is on so many levels, this is a GAME with a PRIZE not some grant driven study to be published in a professional journal.

Mssilhouette

Thursday, August 15, 2002 - 08:37 am EditMoveDeleteIP
People tend to get really jumpy when anyone mentions race. It is nice to see that folks can discuss it reasonably, well for the most part anyway.

I don't think it's really that much to ask to see more people of color on television. Whether it's "entertainment" or not, I would still like to see myself represented.

In most of these reality shows which are supposed to get their cast directly from the regular folks in America. There is always someone of african american descent, but barely any other races/cultures.

What's sad, is that people believe that it's okay to have this representation and hide behind ratings and the guise of entertainment.

Again I do not think it's too much to ask to see an reflection of diversity on television.

Squaredsc

Thursday, August 15, 2002 - 09:49 am EditMoveDeleteIP
when i saw this topic i was, at first, just going to read the posts and not comment. mainly because this same issue was talked about to death during the last survivor. but i find that i do have a few comments.

first off, for those of you who don't know, i am an african-american female.

i have gone to some of the afro-centric discussion groups and they have discussed the reality shows and the consenus is this, that most reality shows only have the "2 token blacks". yes i am repeating the term token blacks and yes in this day and age where racisim is still very much prevalent(sp). most of the people on those sights say they wouldn't apply because since the producers are only going to pick 2, why bother?

2nd there was an article on sirlinksalot regarding the "hidden racism" in reality shows. so its out there. there are others that notice that most races or handicap people, etc. are being represented. and if they are its in a negative way.

so do i think bb3 is racist? i really won't say, but then again it is entertainment, and there aren't that many of "us" on the regular shows either.

Sanfranjoshfan

Thursday, August 15, 2002 - 10:42 am EditMoveDeleteIP
I have a comment about the "token" labels. I thought that a minority "token" meant that a member of that group had been tossed into the mix for a simple but not necessarily representational presence...just for "appearance sake".

My comment is that as far as Dani and Marce being called "token" blacks and Marce being the "token" gay person doesn't really make sense to me because 2 African-Americans out of a group of 12 people is pretty close to the percentage of the black/white precentage of the US, isn't it? And isn't Marce being one gay guy out of a group of 12 people pretty close to the percentage of the gay/straight population of the US?

I agree that a household of 12 people cannot possibly reflect all the diversity of this country, but for the gayfolk and blackfolk in the house, it's pretty close (percentage wise), so I wouldn't necessarily think of them as "tokens".

Now if the population of black/white in the US was 50/50 and they put two black folks in with 10 white folks...that would be tokenism.

Cyn

Thursday, August 15, 2002 - 11:29 am EditMoveDeleteIP
i'm posting here only because i have called out a few HGs on their stories and actions that i found made my heart sad.

i don't find BB racist. i find society to be racist. i find BB a good representation of society with all of its flaws and idiosyncrasies.

most of the time society doesn't even mean to be racist. it's just people are born into the society they are linked to ethically and religiously (most of the time.) we try to grow.

however, since psychology says we learn most "basic stuff" before 3 or 4, it's in us, no matter how much we re-write our basic programming. and, when in a microcosm such as BB where everything is recorded and heightened, i feel, of course, it can be called as racist.

it DOES bother me that we don't see the whole of the USA. but, then i'm from NYC and don't get out much unless it's out of the states all together. so, my view is always gonna be a bit skewed. sometimes i think NYC is a country all to its self.

Ginger1218

Thursday, August 15, 2002 - 12:28 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Ya know Woodpeck - you are right on target.

Cameltoes

Thursday, August 15, 2002 - 12:41 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I do consider it tokenism because of what I see as a trend with reality show casting. I do think that Danielle and Marcellas are compelling and think that they were ultimately chosen because of their personality traits. However, the tokenism for me lies in the fact that they go out of their way to always fill what seems to be a minority quota. If they strictly cast based on entertainment value, the quotient would vary more year to year. MTV for instance has gone out of their way to seemingly get away from the "token" mentality by casting multiple minorities and/or multiple gay castmembers in recent years. Why would survivor always end up with one black male and one black female every season if not for a concerted effort? I don't care about equal representation so much as applicants being chosen based on whatever qualifications they have as a potential contestant. That could mean seasons with 12 minorites in the cast. Until the trend moves away from an effort by producers to make sure there is a specific representation as opposed to going strictly by entertainment value then I consider it tokenism.

Sanfranjoshfan

Thursday, August 15, 2002 - 01:02 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Cameltoes - I see your point.

Eden

Thursday, August 15, 2002 - 01:55 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
It's fine to say that you think the "best" applicants should be represented but the fact is everyone would be up in arms if there were no minorities represented in the cast or majorities for that matter. No pleasing everyone I guess.

The way you've stated it Camel, unless the cast is all one way or the other any minority is a "token" and I don't buy that. I see nothing wrong with a concerted effort to diversify the cast. I agree with most they could even do more! A show like this should try to reflect the population at large to some degree. Is that a bad thing? To my mind, what would be bad is to be blind to the need at all.

I agree with all San Fran said.

Sanfranjoshfan

Thursday, August 15, 2002 - 03:51 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I guess if Dani and Marce were picked on a quota basis just because they are black and one is also gay (whether or not they were the most qualified) then that would be considered tokenism. If they were picked simply because they were the most entertaining and had the "It Factor", then that would be another story. At this time, we don't really know if they used any kind of guide or quota system, though....do we?

It's funny....but I had the tv on while I typing this and Ricki Lake is on with a show about people whose loved ones are against their choice of boyfriend/girlfriend because of their race. The loved ones were blindfolded and then tricked into thinking they were meeting someone else....but it was really the gf or bf that they were opposed to (without having ever met them previously). When they had their blindfolds removed and were told that the person they got to know (without knowing their race or looks), many were quite surprised.

I would think that BB might be a completely different show if the interviewers were all blindfolded!

Woodpecke®

Thursday, August 15, 2002 - 03:58 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Thank you, Ginger.

Danimom

Thursday, August 15, 2002 - 04:00 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
"I would think that BB might be a completely different show if the interviewers were all blindfolded! "


HALLELUAH.. that is so the truth. Everything in this world would be different if people were blindfolded. I brought up this same point on another board about a different show and no one wanted to admit that race plays a factor in so many things. Its woven into people's subconscious.

Geez look at Josh, he's played the race card with him being Jewish since he stepped in the house. Do I think that these reality shows, not just this one, all of them, go out of their way to have a demographic mix.. heck yeah! If they didn't TRY to have a mix, there wouldn't be one.