Core Post 1, Week 8 – Race and Class within Ethnicities

This is my first time posting on this blog and it was because I chose to wait to write about the topics that resonated with me deeply. This week’s readings were one of those times where every word and every concept noted struck a chord in me, as a television audience member and a potential researcher. Amongst the multitude of ideas introduced, rehashed and intensely discussed in the three readings, the one sentence that stuck was by Christine Acham. While elaborating on the merits and pitfalls of the Cosby Show, one of the conclusions she extracts is that ‘…although The Cosby Show seemingly broaches questions of race and class, the conclusions drawn in the episode indicate an unwillingness to challenge the conservative dialogue on race, suggesting that one's class status is solely a matter of individual choice rather than the result of a systemic problem’ (Acham, 2013, pp. 109).

As an audience member of both US and Indian television shows, this statement threw light on a stark similarity in the content of television programming between both industries. Even though Acham is talking specifically about the Cosby show, which aired in the late 70s and 80s, I have observed similar notions of class status in the shows I have seen today. Star Trek: Discovery features an African-American character in the lead, where even though they do not factor in her race in her character storyline, it throws subtle hints to it by changing it to being a human raised by Vulcans. She’s an anomaly, who has to work extra hard to achieve even some sense of recognition amongst those she considers her peer group, as well as her ‘family’. And on a similar front, the now defunct Indian soap drama Saat Phere (7 Rounds) focused on the trials and tribulations of a dark-skinned girl who only manages to climb the societal ladder, as well as make a mark for herself within her family spectrum, by marrying a rich, handsome, fair-skinned widower. Her happy ending kept aside, she is constantly told that her insignificance and her success is hindered because of her dark skin. It just goes to show that within local ethnic representation, the discourses of race and class are still prevalent, whether they are in hidden references or in blatant statements.

This brings me to the similarities I observed in the Esposito and Gray readings. Each of these essays has starkly different foundations for their analysis, but the number of similarities in their conclusions is astounding. Esposito’s discussion on color-blindness, postracial content, how ‘race’ matters and the stereotypes perpetuated for the Latino/a culture in television shows references to my above discussion. Additionally, the stereotypes mentioned reminded me of the Hulu show ‘East Los High’, where I remember watching all these ‘cliches’ in action. Finally, Gray’s analysis of the television market is reflective of the upheaval in today’s television industry, where the introduction of streaming platforms has caused a major change in how television networks have to keep up with a more aware audience, in terms of content, representation, and airing strategy.