Diversity on TV and on Netflix

I haven’t had the opportunity yet to watch too many Netfix Original Series. However, I’ve been able to watch a few of them, and have read positive things about the direction towards diversity Netflix seems to be taking.

One show I’ve watched in “Master of None” which follows an aspiring actor in New York. Aziz Ansari, an Indian American created and stars in the show. I remember there was a running joke on “Parks and Recreation” where Leslie Knope insisted Tom (Ansari) was from another country, when he was really born in South Carolina. I think it’s absolutely fantastic that an man of color created and is now starring in his hit show. The best part about this show is not just that a man of color is behind it, its that other people of color are included in the main cast. Unlike “Friends” and “How I Met Your Mother”, “Master of None” features a group of diverse friends.  “Master of None” features an inter-racial relationship as being 100% normal, and mocks a person in the show who takes issue with it.  “Master of None” features other men of Asian descent as Ansari’s best friends. The show also features a woman of color who is also a lesbian.

My favorite episode is when Ansari auditions for a small role in a TV show.  This role calls for “an Indian cab driver’.  Ansari auditions without a stereotypical Indian accent and is dismissed because of it.  Later in the episode, an executive likes Ansari and wants to cast him in a lead role in a TV show.  However, Ansari’s friend, who is also Indian, misses out on the part because “you can’t have two Indian guys on a show”.  This made me think of other shows that really only have 1 character of color, surrounded by white people. I am really grateful that Netflix is producing content that is honest about these issues in the entertainment industry.  The really refreshing element of this show, is that it's not a show based on an Indian man being Indian. It allows an Indian American to be an average-everyday person whose ethnicity is a part of him, but it doesn't define him, it doesn't limit him, and it doesn't stereotype him.

I also really appreciate how “Master of None” took on feminism and allowed the women in the show to tell their own stories. Ansari’s character listened to the female leads in the show. I loved that this episode also called out the advertising industry as well.  Ansari and several women are in a commercial for a store like “Home Depot”.  Ansari is originally featured at the BBQ, while a woman brings him a cold beverage.  This show mocked the stereotypical gender roles that advertising reinforces. 

I really hope that network television sees the success of these kinds of shows on Netflix and reconsiders their programming. The American public is clearly interested in more intelligent and diverse programming, so from a monetary perspective, it only feels like a smart investment.

http://www.salon.com/2016/03/18/asian_guys_get_to_be_sexy_too_finally_tv_gives_me_the_romantic_leads_ive_been_waiting_for/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/act-four/wp/2015/11/12/master-of-nones-refreshing-take-on-diverse-friend-groups/

http://www.salon.com/2015/11/20/you_dont_get_a_cookie_for_doing_the_right_thing_how_master_of_none_evades_the_very_special_episode_trap/