The dearth of diversity in television and movies is a constant topic of discussion, but one genre might not be getting the props it deserves for its casting practices. Perhaps prime-time network television should take its cues from youth programming on Nickelodeon and the Disney Channel, both of which have a history of casting kids of all hues and ethnicities. Take the red carpet for the premiere of the latest Cheetah Girls movie, for instance:
Adrienne Baillon, who plays Chanel in the trio of Cheetah Girls, drew on her Ecuadorean and Puerto Rican roots and chatted in Spanish with a television interviewer. Meanwhile Kiely Williams, an African-American actress who plays Aqua, and Sabrina Bryan, who plays Dorinda and whose real name is Reba Sabrina Hinojos, answered questions and waved to fans. Deepti Daryanani, an actress from Calcutta, and Rupak Ginn, an American actor whose parents emigrated from India, wore outfits inspired by their roles in the television movie… Other Disney stars in attendance included Brenda Song, the daughter of a Laotian Hmong immigrant father and a Thai-American mother, who starred in the Disney Channel movie “Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior”; Anna Maria Perez de Tagle, a daughter of Filipino and Spanish parents, and her “Camp Rock” co-star Roshon Fegan, who is part Filipino; and Shanica Knowles, an African-American actress who plays a high school rival of Miley Cyrus’s character on “Hannah Montana.”
The New York Times tells us to compare that red carpet of the Emmy's — there's a big difference, and it doesn't just have to do with age. Don't forget that the Disney Channel and Nick are also responsible for launching the careers of Kenan Thompson and Nick Cannon — to name two — and orchestrating the second-coming of Raven-Symone's. Also, Akeelah and the Bee star Keke Palmer just signed with Nickelodeon to star in a new show about a teenage fashion designer. It makes you feel all warm and fuzzy and hopeful for our children's television-viewing future.
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as a kid, I remember how excited I was to see the mid-90s Nick show "The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo" because she was an East Asian American (I'm South Asian) and she was the closest thing to South Asians, even though we didnt have any South Asians on American TV shows back then (that I can remember).
Nick and Disney Channel definitely get kudos for being realistic when it comes to the American public, unlike prime-time TV channels.
hmmm, the cheetah girls books were about 5 black girls. disney changed the ethnicities. plus the author of the series is not making any money off her books (bad contract attorneys)
Is this not a good thing, or am I missing something?
I think it's much easier for youth programming to be diverse because children are more accepting of the diversity of the racial landscape. And I should rephrase this, children in their developmental stages don't necessarily have as much racial perception and cognition as adults do. They aren't nearly as sensitive to the differences between being black in America, white, so on, so forth. So of course programming can be a moving United Benetton add.
It is a good thing. I think Little Bill ended but my little cousins watch the reruns. They also love Dora the Explorer. I managed to convince a 7 year old that the black girl (really a 28 year old woman) was the coolest one on HSM though I've never watched it. I'm not aware of the Wendy Wu show but kudos. I guess that's newish?
I don't like that the only black girl on Hannah Montan (and I believe the only black person) is a b—h. I watched an episode. I also think the other rival may have possibly been Hispanic. Not very cool. I don't necessarily mind that Cheetah Girls doesn't have 5 black girls. It's important for all kids to see people who look like them in the media. I'd really love it if there wasn't an obvious "lead" so it's not like Beyonce & them other 2 girls (vs. Destiny's Child) or Diana Ross & the Supremes (vs. the Supremes). If Disney wanted to hit the jackpot, they should add two girls, one of E Asian descent and another of SE Asian descent.
Its like the United Nations for kids and tweens.
@ Deaf Feminist Punk!!!!!- I used to watch the Mystery Files of Shelby Woo, that was a great show
…Does anyone remember Ghost Writer on PBS, they had alot diversity within their characters.
yes!!! i loved Ghost Writer as a kid. they were really diverse because it was set in NYC, which has more non-whiteys than wuite folks.
@jazzymelanin
It's not true that Disney changed the ethnicities. According to the NYT article cited here, Debra Martin Chase, the Black producer of Cheetah Girls said that she made the decision to change the ethnicities to appeal to more girls:
Ms. Chase, the producer, said that when she first pitched Disney the idea of turning the “Cheetah Girls” book series into a television project, she recommended changing the ethnic makeup of the singing group. The characters were originally all minority-group members, but Ms. Chase urged Disney to cast a white actress as one of them (though in the final lineup one girl is black and the others Hispanic).
“I wanted in that way to negate the race issue,” she said. “We wanted kids to look at the group and think everybody can be a Cheetah Girl. It makes it inclusive rather than exclusive.”
I loved Ghostwriter! some people think I made it up when I mention it… I actually had to watch it and report it weekly for a class assignment. I live in Bklyn and whenever I pass that park they played in I hear the theme song in my head lol
I think it's wonderful that kids are being exposed to diversity as a completely natural thing. It is a shame that such a thing is absent from adult-geared shows, but these kids' minds are more malleable than present adults'…we might see the results in 20-30 years?
i loved ghostwriter too!
Nice try, Cheetah Girls, but they basically showed that as long as you speak English, everything is okay. They could have incorporated a little Hindi in there. They used another country as a backdrop, as usual. They didn't even sing one lick of traditional Indian music in the movie. They had the Indian actors sing Western-style music in Western-style ranges. But at least they tried?
I don't know about anyone else, but I was a captain planet girl, myself.