TV/Movie Rules For Interracial Dating
Film and TV producers might be unoriginal, but they are also desperate to please their shrinking viewership (the kids don't watch anymore, what with the Internets and the Nintendos and the hula hoops).
Their lack of backbone is evident in the formulaic casting of love interests. White people date white people, black people date black people, Asians date Asians. This is true on TV, in movies, and in commercials. Strangely, this interracial hooking-up rule even extends to same-sex couples.
There are some exceptions, which showbiz deems to be acceptable. Whites can date Latinos, and Latinos can date blacks. They are a sort of bridge minority. East Asian women can date white guys, but East Asian guys can't date non-Asian women of any color. Black guys can have East Asian girls dancing by the pool in rap videos but that's about it. Every other ethnic group I can think of - South Asians, Arabs, Persians, Native Americans - is issued a spouse of the same ethnicity. Correct that - Native Americans are never shown period.
Think of couples you see in commercials, or as extras in the background of a TV show. See any mixed couples there? For interracial dating to happen in TV, it has to be a "very special" episode. In movies, interracial dating only happens when the plot of the movie is about race relations: see Crash, Jungle Fever, and Zebrahead (the last two movies came out over 13 years ago!).
In a regular old movie movie, interracial dating is non-existent. For example, I Robot had Will Smith and Bridget Moynahan as the heroes, but there wasn't even a hint of sexual chemistry. The audience was denied the chance to see these good-looking people get it on, even in a PG sort of way. I felt ripped off.
The Matrix sequels, with a large multi-ethnic cast, still followed the rules. Well maybe during the interminable rave scene in Matrix Reloaded, an interracial couple is briefly shown, but I couldn't tell because I was in a boredom-induced coma by that point. If any movie series was going to have mixed-race romance, The Matrix series should have. That it didn't is just another of the many, many ways The Matrix sequels were disappointing.
When I was a teen, I imagined America would be a lot more integrated in 2005 than it really is. To build an inclusive multi-ethnic society, it would be helpful if film and television producers took some riskier casting decisions. In this regard, I do think entertainment can advance our society's attitudes. For example, I think Will & Grace probably helped mainstream homosexuality a little bit, to its producers' credit. Strangely enough, on-screen race relations have not progressed much since Different Strokes. We need Will Smith and Bridget Moynahan making out, pronto.
Their lack of backbone is evident in the formulaic casting of love interests. White people date white people, black people date black people, Asians date Asians. This is true on TV, in movies, and in commercials. Strangely, this interracial hooking-up rule even extends to same-sex couples.
There are some exceptions, which showbiz deems to be acceptable. Whites can date Latinos, and Latinos can date blacks. They are a sort of bridge minority. East Asian women can date white guys, but East Asian guys can't date non-Asian women of any color. Black guys can have East Asian girls dancing by the pool in rap videos but that's about it. Every other ethnic group I can think of - South Asians, Arabs, Persians, Native Americans - is issued a spouse of the same ethnicity. Correct that - Native Americans are never shown period.
Think of couples you see in commercials, or as extras in the background of a TV show. See any mixed couples there? For interracial dating to happen in TV, it has to be a "very special" episode. In movies, interracial dating only happens when the plot of the movie is about race relations: see Crash, Jungle Fever, and Zebrahead (the last two movies came out over 13 years ago!).
In a regular old movie movie, interracial dating is non-existent. For example, I Robot had Will Smith and Bridget Moynahan as the heroes, but there wasn't even a hint of sexual chemistry. The audience was denied the chance to see these good-looking people get it on, even in a PG sort of way. I felt ripped off.
The Matrix sequels, with a large multi-ethnic cast, still followed the rules. Well maybe during the interminable rave scene in Matrix Reloaded, an interracial couple is briefly shown, but I couldn't tell because I was in a boredom-induced coma by that point. If any movie series was going to have mixed-race romance, The Matrix series should have. That it didn't is just another of the many, many ways The Matrix sequels were disappointing.
When I was a teen, I imagined America would be a lot more integrated in 2005 than it really is. To build an inclusive multi-ethnic society, it would be helpful if film and television producers took some riskier casting decisions. In this regard, I do think entertainment can advance our society's attitudes. For example, I think Will & Grace probably helped mainstream homosexuality a little bit, to its producers' credit. Strangely enough, on-screen race relations have not progressed much since Different Strokes. We need Will Smith and Bridget Moynahan making out, pronto.
posted by David Bowden at 8/10/2005 03:12:00 PM
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