One of the readings for this week that I enjoyed reading was Politics of Representation in Network Television. I liked how it clearly broke down the numbers and demographics of the top television producers in Hollywood. These people are the gatekeepers to our media and what entertainment we consume on a daily basis. Basically, the article explains that a vast majority of the producers today are white males. Shocker, I know. What I didn't know was the true extent of this really was. In Gray's 1995 article, it is explained that minority female producers comprise only 2% of the total number of producers that work on shows with minority characters. I find this to be absolutely shocking. Roughly fifty percent of the nations population is women a solid chunk of which are minorities and they are only represented at the gate keeping level by 2 percent.
Gray explains that, "It is all the more remarkable, then, that a small number of visible and influential black executive producers, directors, and writers forced open creative spaces within the productive apparatus of television." When I read this an explain of one such producers sprang to mind, Shonda Rhimes. I have always really enjoyed her hit drama Grey's Anatomy and did not know right away that the producer of the show was a woman much less African American. After doing some research on her, I found that she is a highly respected in her field and Times Magazine even describes her as, "the most powerful African-American female show runner in television" in their article, Network TV is Broken. So how does Shonda Rhimes Keep Making Hits?
It is crazy to think that such an influential producer is a part of only 2% of the total producers that are gate keeping our media today. Do you think that producers like Rhimes will be able to open the door for more minority women producers in the future?
I think that the door has already been opened it’s just that television like the movie industry is something that is very difficult to get into more so if you are a minority or a women. I had a professor at DePaul who used to work at CBS and he said that the television and film industry is like a building with no doors and no windows. The only way to get in is if you know somebody and are willing to do whatever it takes to get that one shot. Rhimes has had a very successful career as a Producer and there are other black women who have done so such as Debra Martin Chase (owner of Martin Chase Productions), Lisa Cortes (Produced Precious), and Stephanie Allan Bray (VP of production at Columbia, and President of the Jim Henson Pictures). That’s a short list but there are many more that have already made their way up the Hollywood ranks. That isn’t to say that their shouldn’t be more of them getting into high ranking positions in fact I think their needs to be much more diversity amongst TV executives especially now.
ReplyDelete