White Washing of Media in The Modern Age (Part 2)

Critics lauded HBO’s new show ‘Girls’ for its humor and powerful message. They praised the show’s realistic depiction of its female leads, and its underlying feminist theme. However, it had a one major critique: it’s all-white cast. Lena Dunham’s “Girls’  lacked a person of color for its main cast and for a show that takes place in New York, supposedly one of the most diverse cities on earth, that truly was unforgivable. 

Social media platforms were in uproar at the lack of diversity, and news outlets picked up on the topic, criticizing the authenticity of the show’s feminist message. Catherine Scott of The Independent wrote, “What’s there to celebrate for feminism when black, Hispanic or Asian women are totally written out of a series that’s supposedly set in one of the most diverse cities on earth?” I for one agree with that personally. Are you truly celebrating and supporting women when you are still excluding a certain group?

Another important point raised during the race conflict was that by the Huffinton post. The comment read, “Why are we holding Lena Dunham’s feet to the fire, instead of the heads of networks and studios? … I’m absolutely astonished that, of all shows, this is the one that is being attacked for being too white. I could list the shows on television with all-white casts, but then we’d be here all day.”

This raises a good point because while ‘Girls’ is in the wrong for its lack of diversity, so is more than half of television. Instead of trying to fix the big picture, bloggers and other networks choose to single out one show as if that would truly make a big difference.