This week was a journey from beginning to end, and to start out, I wanted to talk about something different, something more calming: pop culture. I watched the show Bridgerton during the last week of Winter Break and it has lived in my head rent free since then. There are things I love about the show and general critiques as well. Nevertheless, it is a fun little show to watch and enjoy without a thought in your mind.
But there are very obvious issues which Bridgerton, that make it difficult to watch and reflect on without getting angry and upset. The obvious race issues, the colorism, the Black stereotypes, all of which lead to an upset viewer.
To be brief, Bridgerton is a Regency Era show which, in theory, is supposed to tackle issues of race, gender, and sexuality. With “colorblind casting”, we see Black individuals in positions of power and as English royalty. For the first half of this show, it seems as if race does not matter in the show at all, as if the English individuals do not notice it.
Showrunner Chris Van Dunsen said “With Bridgerton I wanted to escape to this lush, beautiful, cinematic world, but I also wanted to explore real topics like gender and class and race and sexuality — topics that are relevant and important.”
However, race is mentioned once in the entire show for less than two minutes, and we see no further issues or tensions that living in this post-racial universe provide. There is no exploration of “real topics” like race.
I recently watched a YouTube video touching on all of these, which caused me to reflect on other media I have consumed recently.
It is ridiculously difficult to find shows and movies with dark-skinned women of color leads. Think deeply, especially about Black women actresses in popular media. They are all light-skin or mixed women. As Hollywood deems women of color who are lighter in skin tone more acceptable to appease the white gaze, the most casted Black women are often mixed race. We often see darker Black women as stereotypes or caricatures.
Black women who are dark are caricatured as loud and unlikeable when they are young. As they get older, black women are often wise, unmarried women who provide constant advice to the protagonist.
Of course there are some outliers, some films and television shows that do not adhere to these stereotypes, but so often these shows are made and produced by Black women. Media not made by Black women tends to portray these stereotypes.
Personally, I would rather not have representation until it can happen the correct way. Negative stereotypes are so harmful and can set Black Women back that no representation can provide better results.