Soap Stereotypes
Posted on 22 July 2008 by Halima Khatun
A few weeks back, I put forward the argument on why I thought the Masood’s from Eastenders were one of the few Asian TV families to get a realistic storyline and a fair amount of airtime. However, a report published at the end of last week seems to contradict my opinion altogether.
The study, conducted by Trevor Phillips, chairman of the Commission for Equalities and Human Rights, accused flagship soaps such as Eastenders and Coronation Street of stereotyping ethnic minorities.
Shows including the BBC’s The Vicar of Dibley, and ITV’s Who Wants to be a Millionaire? were also criticised for their ethnic representation (or lack of).
My view on the topic is somewhat in the middle. I don’t think it’s really fair to accuse TV game shows like Millionaire for under-representation. The producers cast their contestants from those who apply, and with the great majority of the UK population being Caucasian, it’s inevitable that there won’t be too many black or Asian faces on the show.
Similarly, with The Vicar of Dibley, which portrays a very rural English village, it would be something of a surprise if an Asian clergyman was to be popping up all over the show.
The danger of over-scrutinising and trying to fill ethnic quotas can only have a negative result, where frantic producers attempt to place in programmes token faces to avoid being accused of racism and prejudices. It will also result in shows like The Vicar of Dibley putting racial casting ahead of realism and quality.
The study however didn’t just criticise on the lack of ethnic minority faces, but also on the way in which they are portrayed. Based on the views of a panel of ethnic minority viewers, it accused all broadcasters of tokenism and stereotyping, screening exaggerated and extreme representations of minorities and failing to reflect modern ethnic minority culture. The viewers cited Asian corner shop owner Dev in Coronation Street and black single mother Denise, who had two children by two different fathers in Eastenders, as examples of stereotyping and tokenism in soaps.
While I do enjoy watching Shabnam’s character develop in Eastenders (she can’t decide whether to be a good, homely daughter, or go out clubbing with Dawn, so she decides to do both!), I think the story about the family shaming and the ‘fire back home’ has gone a little off-course. It has hinted allot, rather than developed, and hasn’t really engaged the viewer.
Perhaps an answer to this problem is to look to the US. Desperate Housewives’ Eva Longoria is clearly Latin, but the producers/writers don’t dwell on her race. Heroes, Lost and ER also competently show an ethnic mix without making race the focal point.
Brit TV just can’t seem to get it right. But political correctness aside, the facts are this: There ARE a fair few Asian shop owners/restaurateurs. Asian girls DO face a bit of a culture struggle. Arranged marriages DO happen. So is it no wonder soap scriptwriters struggle to represent the above without drawing on stereotype?
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Tags : soaps
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July 22nd, 2008 at 9:31 am
Yes it does happen, I’m sure many people will acknowledge that, but it’s no excuse to put forward the same storyline over and over again.
July 22nd, 2008 at 1:36 pm
Loved the article - but I have a pet hate. Arranged marriages do happen but not the way the Britis media portays this. Honour killings are non-existant and I do not know a single person who has had a forced marriage, that was born in the UK (and heck i know alot of people). I am so tierd about the continous arranged marriage horror (that the public are being fed), its almost equal to the all muslims are terrosits.
British Born South Asian’s have ‘assisted marriages’ not forced, naturally there is the odd exception here and there.
There are many Asian’s that do not fit the corner shop / doctor sterotypes! Just a glance around and you can see just how much we have seaped into all parts of the British community.
Really enjoyed this article.
July 22nd, 2008 at 2:46 pm
Honour-killings are not ‘non-existent’ at all. They are happening, and statistics are not the point. The fact is that they are happening at all- they damn well shouldn’t be. There have been a number of them in British society.
Forced marriages also; The Forced Marriage Unit in London was set-up by the British government, and it receives over 5,000 calls a year regarding the issue. One of my closest friends was forced to marry at the age of 17, on a trip he assumed was a ‘holiday’, as was another friend during her school years after her mother threatened to kill herself should she refuse the proposal.
Kadija you’re right that the media plays a huge role in blowing the matter up bigger than it perhaps is, and it’s not, by any means, reflective of all Muslims. There’s a rocking difference between forced and arranged/assisted marriage. The media irritatingly blurs the fine line between the two, which is why we get so pissed off. You say you don’t know anyone that has been through it; when it does happen to someone close, all hell breaks loose in their lives. Which is why issues like forced marriage and honour killings need to be addressed, although not necessarily through fictitious representation.
The bottom line is that it is not an Islamic problem. ‘Muslims’ use Islam merely as a shield to cushion the blows. It’s a hugely cultural issue, and honour killings are forced marriages are occurring in other religions and in the Non-Muslim Asian society. Not only this, but historically speaking, the concept of ‘honour’ has existed for centuries. ‘Ivan The Terrible’ as he was called, the Russian tsar ended up slaying his only heir in an attempt to kill his daughter-in-law for ‘dressing provocatively’. Again- an honour issue. Muslim? No. Asian? No. Recent? No.
I guess the war on terror has just brought it to the limelight. But its been around forever, most often underground, especially in countries where crime comes in a heirarchical order, and such incidents are buried to guard national statistics and repution. And to ’save time’.
On the article- i agree. It’s difficult to portray without drawing on stereotypes. Some issues, such as the culture divide one, is probably a part of every individual of dual-identity. Hmmm.
July 22nd, 2008 at 5:23 pm
Perhaps our social circles differ greatly. But I feel we need to address this issue yes, but lets move on. There is more to us brown folk then forced arranged marriages and honor killings. We cant have these stereotypes pass into the next few generations of British Asians (regardless of religion).
There is so much more the media could be focusing on. We need a new Desi stereotype. This whole conflict with families (Eastenders) is getting very old and repetitive. Everytime I meet an old English Lady she asks me when am I going to have an arranged marriage and will my parents chose - its rather embarrassing.
July 22nd, 2008 at 5:38 pm
Anyway the whole forced marriage horror is a handy tool that is being employed and then deployed by the West to show how much ‘liberation’ they are bringing to the land they destroy.
The system in certain countries is to study get to a certain age then marry. We can not enforce the rules we live by in the UK and assume that is what other people want to live by too - that is Western egotism at its worst.
I feel sorry for your friends however the option is always there on their return to claim back their life and if parents like that exist, they should remove them-self from them (imagine having people like that around when raising children). A good parent should always put the needs of their child before the desire of their own and if they fail to do so they are bad parents. Just because they are indeed blood it does not mean they can not be bad human beings.
It is accepting you are British then Asian and understanding that brings you certain rights (independence/gvt support) and strengths to act. Yes we conflict with Culture and identity, but once you decide who you are inside, it makes life easier to live.