Should racial representation on TV be proportional to percentage of national population?

Discussion in 'Opinion POLLS' started by Pollycy, Sep 9, 2021.

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Should racial representation on TV be proportional to percentage of national population?

Poll closed Nov 8, 2021.
  1. Yes, each race should have fair 'exposure' and representation on network TV.

    20.0%
  2. No, some races should be shown in greater or lesser proportion to their national percentage.

    8.0%
  3. Racial percentages should be determined only by the company paying for air-time, or, the network.

    28.0%
  4. Other....

    48.0%
Multiple votes are allowed.
  1. Pollycy

    Pollycy Well-Known Member

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    Should racial representation on TV be proportional to percentage of national population?

    According to the U. S. Census Bureau -- https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/RHI825219#RHI825219

    Whites make up ~60% of the population of the United States.
    Blacks make up ~14% of the population of the United States.
    Hispanics (Latinos) make up ~19% of the population of the United States.
    Asians (East Asians, "Orientals") make up ~6% of the population of the United States.

    Now... turn on your TV to any nationwide 'network' channel and what do you see? When was the last time you saw a TV commercial, promo, or program in which the persons who actually appear are shown in PROPORTION to their racial percentage presence in the population?

    Because we as a nation have become so utterly OBSESSED with 'race' for the past fifteen years, should representation of the races on network TV be in proportion to each race's percentage in the national population?! Shouldn't such representation be "fair-and-BALANCED"...?!

    You may make up to two choices, but may not changes your vote(s).
     
  2. MJ Davies

    MJ Davies Well-Known Member

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    We aren't obsessed with race. It may appear that way to you because you obviously represent the demographic that hasn't been disenfranchised. That's not obsession. That's acknowledging that others exist and contribute to this country as well. Relegating them to footnotes is not "separate but equal".
     
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  3. pol meister

    pol meister Well-Known Member

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    I've noticed recently that there appears to be a black quota requirement in TV ads as of late, one that's hugely disproportionate to the actual racial component of blacks in the US, which is only about 14% as noted in the OP. My guess is that Asians are the most under-represented, and whites somewhat under-represented based upon the 60% representation they actually have.
     
    Last edited: Sep 9, 2021
  4. modernpaladin

    modernpaladin Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Who sits around counting up how many blacks vs whites vs latinos etc there are in sitcoms and cereal commercials anyway?

    ...well, aside from racists, of course.
     
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  5. Collateral Damage

    Collateral Damage Well-Known Member

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    I really don't care what the race is of someone on a TV show or ad.

    What I have noticed is that corporations, in their attempts to be 'inclusive', have made sure that they have a good mix between Black and White, yet leave other nationalities completely out. So, once again, a 'fail' IMO.
     
  6. independentthinker

    independentthinker Banned

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    But it is the left who constantly argue that blacks make up 14% of the country's population, hence every stat out there should be 14% for this, 14% for that, 14% for everything. Otherwise it is social injustice and racism. It is the left who are ALWAYS playing the racist card.
     
  7. Lil Mike

    Lil Mike Well-Known Member

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    I don't think we should be trying to regulate the percentage of differing racial and ethnic groups appear on television. I'm content to let the market handle it. It makes sense though that as whites as a percentage of the population both shrinks and ages out of prime marketing demographic ages, the market will cater less to them and more to young people who will spend money and can be swayed by ad campaigns. Older people already have brand preferences and are unlikely to change them due to ad campaigns. Long term, the only future for targeted advertising for whites lies in catheters and life alert.
     
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  8. Pollycy

    Pollycy Well-Known Member

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    Which race has been "disenfranchised"?

    When I turn on TV to any network channel -- including everything from far-left to far-right, I very, very rarely ever see a program, commercial, or promo that doesn't have at least one Black in it, even though Blacks make up only 14% of the American population.

    I cannot document it as a concrete fact (yet), but I honestly estimate that Blacks make up no less 40% of the 'cast' of every commercial, and promo on all networks, and no less than 20% - 25% of the cast of programs. "Disenfranchised"...?! What do you mean? :confusion:

    What's just as interesting is that when you do see White people on TV -- especially White MEN, they're always the butt of every joke, they're always the ones that look and act like clueless, half-witted slobs -- usually dressed for dumpster-diving, complete with the oh-so-fashionable (?) two week-old scraggle-beard and shipwrecked-looking hair. Who is "disenfranchised"...? :cynic:
     
  9. Pycckia

    Pycckia Well-Known Member

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    Jeopardy! only very rarely has black people on it.
     
  10. Pycckia

    Pycckia Well-Known Member

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    Perhaps you are obsessed with acknowledging that others exist and contribute to this country as well.
     
  11. Moi621

    Moi621 Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    YES !
    Racial representation SHOULD be proportional . .


    Black people on TV far outnumber their 13% ! & !
    Witness News programs. More like 25 - 50+%


    Moi
    :oldman:



    STOP :flagcanada:
     
  12. Pollycy

    Pollycy Well-Known Member

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    And, another exceptionally popular TV program, "Wheel of Fortune" almost ALWAYS has a Black contestant (makes 33% of total).

    Your move! How about sports-betting commercials? Don't touch that... you'll lose!

    Watch TV commercials sometimes -- you'd swear half the entire nation is Black. Now -- why is this BEING DONE?!
     
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  13. Pycckia

    Pycckia Well-Known Member

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    Maybe the same people who noticed "Oscars so White".
     
  14. perotista

    perotista Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    If you're going to do this racial thing for TV, you're going to have to do it in sports, NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL etc. Then apply this to other walks of life.
     
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  15. Aleksander Ulyanov

    Aleksander Ulyanov Well-Known Member

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    Y'know, unitl my wife got the tickets last year I had just never realized that all the Founding Fathers were black

    And I still wonder how they will get gender equality in pro football without LOTS of injuries, Should be interesting
     
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  16. MJ Davies

    MJ Davies Well-Known Member

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    I understand that you don't like this.

    The issue I have with your position and those of you that think this way is that everything is calibrated for white heterosexual males (subset A). That's the baseline and everyone else (subset B) is a spin-off of that. Yet, when anyone from Set B has spoken out about the stereotypes and double-standards, they are accused of lying, being overly sensitive, don't "know their place" and other forms of outright denial. In essence, they are marginalized and then gaslighted.

    I am not saying this means you do not have the right to your opinion or what sounds like anger. I am saying that subset B ALSO has those rights and they are largely ignored. It's "somebody can't take a joke" when it happens to Subset B. It's an affront to all that is good and right when it happens to Subset A (and I don't *know) it's happening because I don't watch television. However, if I did, it wouldn't bother me because as an American, I am very well aware this country wasn't built by white men alone and it is not for white men alone.

    There was an outrage when a candy company put out an ad that ends with two men biting into a piece of chocolate.

    https://www.metroweekly.com/2021/01/cadbury-ad-shows-gay-couple-enjoying-a-creamy-surprise/

    I have a neighbor who has a gay brother. They speak but my neighbor gets upset every single time he talks to his brother because his brother talks about his relationship with his husband. My neighbor argues that "I don't care if he's gay, BUT he doesn't have to shove it in my face!" I asked him if he would feel that way if his brother was heterosexual and having marital problems with his wife and he honestly said "no.". When a gay or lesbian couple has public displays of affection, some people go ballistic. Yet, when most people see a heterosexual couple holding hands or kissing or hugging, it's usually ignored or met with applause. So, you see, it's NOT that anybody is shoving anything in anybody's faces just by existing. It's that more people are speaking up and speaking out about being forced to remain hidden in a free country and no longer accepting being at "the back of the bus".

    And, the issue with that is none of you care about that. Do you see why that's a double-standard? Why do you feel that your position is valid and real and SHOULD matter to everyone else but those same valid and real positions of people in Subset B are irrelevant?
     
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  17. Flynn from Az

    Flynn from Az Well-Known Member

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    If you want fair exposure of race in television, start a all black network, oh wait. Well if you want more more television based on one’s sex start a network that caters too a certain sex, oh wait.
    Well, if you want TV based on language, as well as culture, oh wait they’ve done that as well.
    Apparently, some people like the poster above is under the impression that the free market hasn’t already did this. It’s like they want to mandate solutions too problems that don’t exist.
     
  18. HonestJoe

    HonestJoe Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    The short answer is no, but only because it is much more complex than that question gives credit.

    Just a couple of points that immediately come to mind;

    First, why are you only considering US demographics when a lot of TV will have either international or regional elements? Clearly the nature of a show is going to legitimately influence the kind of people appearing on it; A historical drama about medieval England is going to be mostly white, a documentary about Somalia is going to be mostly black etc.

    For advertising there will be all sorts of legitimate artistic and marketing elements involved in their casting decisions so I don't think it would be legitimate to impose quotas on them. They should be (and are) subject to discrimination laws and regulations like any other employers but I don't see the need to go beyond that. Regardless, they're going to be driven by whatever they believe will most appal to their target audience and that is going to naturally lead to various apparent imbalances, legitimately or not. After all, lets not pretend this is about a racial issues in television when it is really just reflecting the racial issues in the US as a whole.

    For presenters, news anchors etc., there is a stronger argument for expecting a generally representative cross-section but again, I don't think hard quotas would be beneficial. It'd would be much better to use softer influences at the lower levels to get fairer opportunities and representation in the industry as a whole and that should (with a bit of pushing) filter up to the on-screen talent. It should be noted that in this area there is a relatively small number of roles so it only takes one or two potentially random changes to significantly shift perceptions.

    I'd suggest the US has been obsessed by race for much longer than that, albeit in differing ways, and that is the issue you really need to address. Trying to influence representation on TV alone is a bit like redecorating a house that is on fire. :cool:
     
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  19. Pollycy

    Pollycy Well-Known Member

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    I'm glad you brought this aspect of media depiction up!

    Part of this peculiar infusion of "race, race, race", prominently pushing Black faces onto media screens is shown more recently in preposterous ways, like the creation of Alexander Hamilton as a Black, the creation of the Queen of FRANCE as a Black ("The Hollow Crown"), and Denzel Washington becomes Capt. Bennett Marco in the remake of "The Manchurian Candidate". And there are many other examples of this odd mania that those who create our 'entertainment' have about somehow creating a mass impression that Black presence in this country must be perceived as larger than life! Why...?

    Does anyone remember how the public howled with laughter at the movie, "The Conqueror", which had JOHN WAYNE playing the part of Genghis Khan...?! Maybe next they should do a bio-pic, with Arnold Schwarzenegger playing the part of an aging MUHAMMAD ALI...?! :roll:

    [​IMG] . :roflol:
     
  20. Turin

    Turin Well-Known Member

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    Well, if the right werent constantly displaying thier racist roots, we could stop pointing them out to you and movew on to other converstations.


    Want us to stop talking about race? Then stop being racist.
     
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  21. HonestJoe

    HonestJoe Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    I don't think it is anything like as simple as you're making out. The casting in Hamilton and Hollow Crown were in part making a specific point about representation in their industries, but that was a point against the fact that in general, it is still extremely white-dominated (especially theatre) and essentially doesn't need to be.

    In general, creation and casting of roles that don't have a specific race associated with them (based on history, depiction of a real person or key plot points) would default to a white character/actor, and to some extent still do. The fact you baulk at the idea of a black actor being cast in a remake of The Manchurian Candidate when there is absolutely no reason for that character not to be black (especially given the in was shifted to modern day) proves the point. Why should all the characters in that film be white just because they all were in the novel?

    A little before my time but you don't have to go all that far back for white actors to be playing almost all major roles, regardless of the racial background of the character without any comment and the effects of that environment still exist in the modern day. Some individual examples of the push back against that clearly go further than equal balance but they are in the minority and are with the expectation for the balance to ultimately spring back to some true middle point.
     
  22. gorfias

    gorfias Well-Known Member

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    I'm for 1st Amendment freedom of association. People should hire, educate, lend $ to anyone they want regardless of any "box" they might fit into. Do what you want to do.
     
  23. Reasonablerob

    Reasonablerob Well-Known Member

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    I say no because I actually think minorities are overrepresented on TV by an extremely liberal media establishment. If you look up TV tropes it has a lot to say about it.
     
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  24. independentthinker

    independentthinker Banned

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    The left make everything about racism. They constantly play the race card, no matter what the situation.
     
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  25. FreshAir

    FreshAir Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    maybe during the pandemic, less white people wanted to work?
     

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