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What has happened to make it possible for mainstream television producers to create programs in which the experience of persons of European descent is neither central nor dominant?
Initial Thoughts:
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Post-Research Thoughts:
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I would like to complete a combination of different forms of research. For one, I would like to talk to friends of different descent to see their own personal opinions. Several of my friends were thrilled at the announcement of ABC’s Fresh Off the Boat, which focuses on an Asian-American family, and they noted that they had never seen an American television show that focused on non-whites. I believe that speaking with individuals who are not of European descent would shed some initial light on possible reasons why television producers have begun created more diverse programming. However, I also would like to complete a survey of academic literature on television programming and how it has changed in the past several decades, comparing and contrasting new shows, like Black-ish, to earlier minority-centered family programs such as The Cosby Show.
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After reviewing the information, I found a mixture of opinions. Some believe that ABC's motive was purely profit, while others cite that the network was seeking to get ahead of potential backlash for not being diverse in its programming. Others still think that ABC was not reacting to anything network-specific but instead a general shift in consumer behavior to appeal to a broader audience: by incorporating more "diverse" shows, ABC could tap into a larger audience, though some critics argued that there should have been concern for losing its primarily white consumers. Within the minority communities, opinions were torn as to whether the shows were doing even to be significant, and again, several feared that ABC's motive was only profit and that the network was seeking to exploit even more individuals. Thus, I would like to focus my research on a historical comparison of the television industry to attempt to determine why this new programming is even possible, and what the motives might have been.
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Helpful Research:
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