Interracial Couples More Prevalent in Media
Multi-ethnic partners appear usually on TV as well as in other media genres — but do those Hollywood-based relationships mirror the real life challenges that interracial couples sometimes face? Todd Boyd, teacher of critical studies in the University of Southern Ca class of Cinema-Television, offers their take in the news’s representation of mixed-race partners.
This is NEWS & NOTES from NPR News. I Am Tony Cox. Ed Gordon is on a break. Then you’ve seen a minumum of one interracial relationship featured on your chosen tv series. The most popular ABC medical series « Grey’s Anatomy, » as an example, spotlights the relationship between an Asian girl, played by Sandra Oh, and a black guy, played by Isaiah Washington. The UPN sitcom « Girlfriends » explores the rocky wedding of a Baptist black colored girl and A jewish white man. After which you will find films that tackle blended relationships such as the future intimate comedy « Something New, » starring Sanaa Lathan. She stars as an expert African-American woman whom falls in deep love with a landscaper that is white. And, needless to say, there may be others.
Just how far has Hollywood appear in its portrayal of multicultural relationships? Todd Boyd features a few thoughts about that. He’s professor of critical studies during the University of Southern California’s class of Cinema-Television. He joins us now by phone from Los Angeles.
Dr. Boyd, good to possess you on.
Dr. TODD BOYD (University of Southern California’s class of Cinema-Television): Many thanks for having me personally.
COX: just what exactly can be your take on these mixed love affairs that we come across on television? And exactly how do they compare to, let’s imagine, about ten years ago?
Dr. BOYD: You understand, there is a history that is long needless to say, of Hollywood perhaps not representing, you understand, interracial relationships after all. Needless to say, you realize, interracial relationships for a long period in the usa were one of the taboos that is biggest, or even the greatest. You realize, it represented in a film or television show in the past, in a lot of cases, it was about the conflict–you know, I’m thinking about something awhile ago, like « Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, » which sort of sets the standard for this if you saw. It has been something which i believe folks have been uncomfortable with for a long time. It is just now, whilst still being quite slowly, I would personally state, just starting to alter notably, but if you were to think concerning the culture we are now living in, just how things are represented–hopefully individuals are becoming more modern and evolved–perhaps this is the reason we are seeing a big change in these representations in movie as well as on tv.
COX: Is it art imitating life or is it the–and I hate to seem so cynical about it–but is it an effort because of the producers of community tv as well as others to simply christian mingle dating site reviews push the marketing envelope?
Dr. BOYD: at this time over time, there could be individuals inside our culture who will be uncomfortable with interracial relationships, but seriously, you realize, there are more controversial conditions that are greater in the list now than, you understand, that specific problem. And so I’m not really yes if i believe from it as pressing the envelope. You realize, whenever we had been within the ’70s, before that, that’s another story if we were in the ’80s. However in 2005, and it’s going to be 2006, to share something similar to this as pressing the envelope, i do believe, is actually inconsistent with all the culture we are now living in. I do believe it is problem of men and women being more open-minded and maybe more progressive and happy to express things in manners diverse from they have carried out in the last.
COX: Well, to your point, Dr. Boyd, then it might seem that that could explain to some extent why a few of these tales involving these blended racial relationships don’t have a tendency to focus round the colour of the folks who’re into the relationships but other problems that have absolutely nothing related to competition.
Dr. BOYD: You understand, battle is the one component that, you know, frequently describes individuals identification, but it is only 1 element. There are various other facets at work–class and age, location, sexuality. I am talking about, you realize, i believe individuals are way more expansive and additionally they think more dynamically with regards to their overall identification now, and battle is an integral part of that in some instances, perhaps a large component, but it is perhaps maybe not the part that is only. And thus to that particular degree, to go from the interracial relationship as a moment of crisis to just another relationship and folks are represented as, you realize, residing in the planet and working with day-to-day issues is, i do believe, more in keeping with the way in which individuals occur in culture today.
COX: Todd Boyd, teacher of critical studies during the University of Southern California’s School of Cinema-Television.
Dr. Boyd, many thanks quite definitely. Extremely enlightening.
Dr. BOYD: Thank you.
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