Comedy series created by
and starring minorities are more popular than ever. The 68th Emmys demonstrated a turn
toward diversity with 18 out of the 73
nominees being people of color. With actors of color nominated for
every leading acting category, the Emmys boasted a record number of diverse
nominees. Minority writing staff and directors are also making a splash on
primetime television. Unlike whitewashed award shows of the past, this year’s
Emmys proved that diverse representation is possible.
The 68th Emmy Awards
The Emmys, which aim to recognize outstanding efforts in television, were
held Sunday, September 18, 2016. Late night comedian Jimmy Kimmel, hosted an
evening with a political tone. Acceptance speeches and monologues touched on
the upcoming Presidential Election as well as various social issues. Racial
representation had a particularly strong voice throughout the night.
While Sunday was the most diverse Emmys in
history, the night was used to push television even further toward
proper representation. Kimmel used his opening monologue to joke about the
“bravery” of awarding diverse nominees.
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After accepting Best
Writing in a Comedy Series, Alan Yang of Master of None used his acceptance
speech to urge Asian-American representation. “There’s 17 million
Asian-Americans in this country and there’s 17 million Italian Americans. They
have The Godfather, Goodfellas, Rocky, The
Sopranos. We got Long Duk Dong,” Yang Said.
The Trend Toward Racial
Diversity
Racial diversity characterized
both nominees and winners. Comedy duo Key and Peele took home
the award for Variety Sketch Series while drag queen RuPaul Charles was awarded
Reality Host for RuPaul’s Drag
Race.. It is now more common then ever to see comedy series written
by and for a diverse audience. Inclusive show an effort to hear the voices of
the silenced.
Black-ish creator Kenya Barris, whose
series was nominated for Best Comedy, said diversity is about opening a
dialogue. “That’s what we try to do for the show in general–just start a
conversation,” he said.
By Rachyl Jackson
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