It’s Not Always Black And White: Biracial Narratives In TV |
It’s Not Always Black And White: Biracial Narratives In TV
Odyssey
2017-05-16
Jasmine Ramón
Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts
Cover Image Credit: Vulture
It is refreshing to see more and more shows and movies are depicting biracial narratives.
We usually talk about race as if it’s merely black people and white people. Often the critique is, what about if you’re neither? A question asked much less often is: “Well, what if you’re both?” Up until recently, there was little to be said about being biracial or mixed race in TV and movies. But there is so much complexity there as well.
There is a subtle moment in “Dear White People” when biracial main character Sam White changes her music to hip hop as she strolls past a group of black girls on campus. There is an equally subtle moment when Jerrod Carmichael’s biracial girlfriend Amber asks him if the classic Biggy song he is listening to is a new song on “The Carmichael Show.” These moments might be missed entirely, or merely chuckled at, but they are slight nods to what it means to constantly be bargaining one’s identity.
Both shows are largely about blackness, and the experience of black people. But they also both seem to suggest the remnants of the ‘one-drop rule,’ where any bit of blackness largely means acceptance into the black community, and exclusion from the white community. Of course, there are layers to this. At one point, Sam’s friend Joelle makes a comment likening Sam to a “Tracie Ellis Ross” (left in image below) rather than a “Rashida Jones.” (right)…
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Tags: Jasmine A. Ramón, Jasmine Ana Ramón, Jasmine Ramón, Odyssey, Rashida Jones, Sarah Heikkinen, Tracie Ellis Ross