Desperate for equal racial representation?
BS (a returning MMW contributor!)
The popular ABC series Desperate Housewives already gets some credit with me for having a Hispanic couple in a seemingly typical white suburban neighborhood. The series kicks it up a notch this season when “magically” the new family that moves in happens to be black. Good job? Or is it?
The black family is that they are portrayed as suspect by the rest of the neighborhood for crimes they are covering up. Although there were white people that were the big murderers last season, is it coincidence or for balance that the new black family are the new criminals?
They get extra points by involving the black son with a daughter of one of the white families. However, when the white mother catches the two in the daughter’s room, fooling around, she says, “Danielle, is there a black man under your bed?” Why did she have to point out that he was black? Wouldn’t she have been just as upset if she found any man in her daughter’s room? Is it okay that she made that outburst since she’s supposed to be one of the more conservative characters? And is it better to point out race and therefore highlight the presence of an interracial relationship or to just let the interracial relationship blend in as “normal?”
Merq wrote:
Hmm… I don’t know. It’s one thing to avoid turning every interracial relationship into a “cautionary tale of doomed miscegenation,” and another entirely to ignore the elephant in the room. The fact is that many American suburbs today are likely to have similar characters to the mother you described. While the lovers themselves may have no racial issues (or none they are aware of), society still has a decidedly backward stance on interracial (especially black male, white female) couples.
I don’t watch the show, so I have no idea what the actual context was for this encounter. But I believe that while altogether ignoring the interracial qualities of a couple may make for “happier” viewing, such realities only exist in the world of Benetton commercials.
Posted 21 Feb 2006 at 7:35 pm ¶
Danni wrote:
In the shows’ defense, you have to take into consideration different characters when critisizing the “Danielle, is there a black man under your bed” line.
To begin with, when Bree said this line, I cracked up, simply because of the absurdity of it. And absurdity really is a good adjective to explain the entire show. Bree Van Dekamp(Marcia Cross) and Betty Applewhite (Alfre Woodard) seem to be becoming decent friends on the show, which goes to say something about “transcending racial lines” what’s more.
Additionally, it’s Bree and Betty’s dubious histories that they have in common. When I first saw the Applewhites entrance on the show, I was disturbed by the fact that they were criminals, but truth be told, if you look at the show, Mike is a convicted criminal, Susan burned down Eddie’s house, Gabrielle was having an affair with a 16 year old, Bree’s underage son drunkenly ran over the neighbor’s mother, the list goes on and on and on, seriously. That’s what the show is; absurdity, and the Applewhites are adding to that while adding to the diversity of the cast.
It could probably be worse.
Posted 21 Feb 2006 at 11:15 pm ¶
Kaonashi wrote:
I agree with Danni. NONE of these characters completely toe the moral line. The only difference is unlike Mike and the Applewhites son, they haven’t been busted yet.
Betty and Bree are two sides of the same coin. Both are mothers who have doen some not-so-nice things to protect their children; Bree covering up the fact that it was her son who hit Mama Solis and put her in that coma and Betty for getting her son out of whereever the hell he was at and hiding him away. aS for Bree saying “there’s a black man under your bed” well, that’s totally a Bree-like thing she would say. When Caleb broke into Gabrielle’s house and she fell down the stairs trying to get away from him she never mentioned his race.
Posted 22 Feb 2006 at 12:00 am ¶
Darla wrote:
I agree with Danni and Kaonashi too. Everybody on the show has some sort of crime behind their story, and the Applewhites hiding theirs, and becoming suspected, is only part of the suspense and drama. I also busted up when Bree asked if there was a “black man” under the bed. It was hilarious with perfect comedic timing, and only something Bree would say. While I think we need to be watchful of the media’s representations (I check out this site every day), if we really want to achieve equally appropriate media representation, we’ve got to be able to laugh at ourselves and recognize when something is just meant to be clever writing. Otherwise the blog world should be buzzing with the fact that Gabby, the hot little mamacita, is also a sex kitten. . . fetish? fantasy? typical oversexed Latin Lover stereotype? I really don’t think so. I can’t imagine any of the other actresses being able to play that character, so you get gorgeous Eva Longoria to play the promiscious character, who happens to be a Latina.
Now if Bree was wary of the Applewhites and their criminal involvement and said something like, “I think the Applewhites did it because the dead guy is white and they are black,” THEN we’d have something to talk about.
Posted 23 Feb 2006 at 10:50 am ¶