A BLACK-less Hollywood

Its been a while, but here goes....

Oh - before I begin.. Happy 2010!!!!!!

Now, back to it...


I just caught wind of the issue from Vanity Fair which highlights the up and coming stars to look out for in Hollywood. Of those 0 are Black, 0 are Asian, 0 are Chinese, Japanese or any other cultural group, but ALL are white.

What message is Vanity fair trying to portray - might you ask...

Well, its simple.. They are letting the world know what to expect in Hollywood. This may come as a shock to some but the media has been dropping hints for years.

Let me break it down for you..

First, let me list the shows on TV now with a predominately Black cast... Here goes: Tyler Perry's House of Payne, Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns.... umm, umm, umm... Starting to draw a blank. Oh.. Not really sure if these can actually be included considering how they are reality shows, but seeing the low count of Black shows already -I'll include them.. Let's Talk About Pep and Fantasia For Real... Umm.. Umm.. This falls into that same reality category, but again I'll list it just to add to the number - HBO's Treme. I'll also include shows that are on the brisk of getting cancelled just for kicks.. The Brothers, Sherri, and the Wanda Sykes Show.

Well, final tally [after 20 minutes of searching online]... *drumroll please* ... 8... WOW!!

Now, just for comparison.. Let me list the shows on TV with a predominately White cast.. I present to you.. the TV Guide...

From the lists above, one can obviously tell that Blacks are very outnumbered in Hollywood. If you also compare salaries and the number of Blockbuster Hits, one can also conclude that Whites generate more big titles than Blacks...

So, yes, it is easy to fault Vanity Fair and throw racial accusations their way but, just speaking real, they were working with what they were presented. Sure, seeing how their issue talked about the upcoming stars and not necessarily the upcoming shows, more non-Whites could have been listed but .. Hey.. Can't expect the media to change??

Why are Blacks not represented on TV?? I honestly don't know.

A lot of Blacks watch TV but not enough are fighting for more Blacks to be on TV. Many predominately Blacks shows does not make it because on those shows Blacks are portrayed as their stereotype dictates. That being said, Blacks won't watch it cause they feel it is degrading and Whites won't watch it cause they feel it is belittling to them.

Likewise there are a lot of high profile Black actors, actresses, and directors, but most are more concerned with the numbers of 0s on their check instead of the number of black faces on TV.

Basically more Blacks just need to outwardly care. A lot care to themselves and to their friends but until the voice of the Blacks hits the masses, things will never change.

I don't fault Vanity Fair.. I just think its sad...