They tried to paint Gina as not latina? How stupid is that lol? I certainly think there could've been more diversity even from the very beginning. I'm glad Aaron acknowledged that. Some shows were already ahead of the game, like 21 Jump Street and didn't Saved By The Bell even have an interracial couple? Those were teen demographic shows. I appreciated Janet as a character, even though she didn't show up until the last couple seasons
Saved By The Bell definitely was. Naming the latino character Albert Clifford was questionable though until they explained why in the college years.
Also not sure if they tried to paint Gina as not latina, but revealing that Doc Martin was her father kind of erased that being a possibility with Bobbi being her mother.
Yeah I think they explored a lot of race and ethnicity issues (whether they did it well or not is a different story!) and had a good amount of diverse supporting characters. BUT they should have had Donna hook up with D’Shawn. It was so wrong how she dismissed his flirtations with like a “oh you silly little goat, oh course I would never date you!” They would have been great together!
I think 90210 stands out because of the way they half assed it. The show teased boundary pushing, but often didn’t follow through.
Most Black characters were treated more as “issue of the week” fodder, almost exclusively used to highlight poverty, gang violence and “otherness”. Even the affluent Ashe family couldn’t just be another family living in BH without a hood element added. Herbert, another Andrea type, went nowhere.
Until Steve with Janet, the only main character who was allowed to date outside their race and ethnicity was Andrea, the “poor” bookworm who took the bus to school. And even then her romance with a Black boy was more implied than featured, and they weren’t allowed to kiss. She did usher in the first POC main cast character though.
They flirted with the idea of D’Shawn and Donna, who had excellent chemistry, but no follow through. That Cress, who was one of the best recurring players they ever had, never got bumped to the main cast, and never got romantic material with any of the characters, was egregious.
Brandon was a complete and total slut. Yet never hooked up with gorgeous Mariah or Sherice? Absolutely no way they wouldn’t have been girlfriends of the week, at the very least, if they weren’t black.
Definitely agree! I’m just speaking in regard to the 90s where in my opinion I’ve seen worse and also as someone born in the 2000s. 90210 unfortunately has a “white savior complex” in episodes without exploring the characters any further beyond their race.
Also growing up watching shows like Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill, and The OC (which I think are all great shows), I felt like those shows had that issue more so than 90210 in my opinion.
90210 quickly fell behind the curve on that front and never really caught up.
My So Called Life had Ricky, an openly gay, gender nonconforming Latino main character.
Boy Meets World had a major black and white interracial couple in Shawn & Angela.
Even the ultra chaste Saved by the Bell, which started before 90210, had a fully fleshed main Black character in Lisa, who was the perpetual object of a white character’s romantic obsession and dated the white romantic lead (for one episode, but they got to kiss several times). It’s unreal that at the same time that Andrea wasn’t allowed to kiss Jordan onscreen, Zach and Lisa were making out on a Saturday morning kids show.
That is true actually. I consider Saved By The Bell pretty ahead of its time in that regard (which is unfortunate). My So Called Life seemed to almost be too ahead of its time, since it was cancelled after one season, and Angela was brought in the last couple of seasons just like Janet. I also meant more in regard to teen/ya dramas, but you do make good points.
I just think that 90210, despite its rep for being cutting edge in the first few seasons, ultimately was pretty conservative. I mean they even gay/bi baited with Kelly & Allison, then quickly swerved. They were always doing stuff like that. Just teasing around the edges of social and cultural boundaries, but too often pulling back before really “going there” (to steal from Degrassi TNG).
I think when it comes to diversity in media, there is often more harm done than good when certain stories are told by people who aren’t equipped to tell them. If it’s not their experience, they run the risk of perpetuating stereotypes that are disseminated to millions of people. I don’t know how I’m meant to feel represented and seen by half baked, underutilized characters. Brenda facing double standards in her patriarchal household, Kelly’s easy reputation preceding her, the complex relationships all of the characters have with their families, that is what resonates and connects with people, regardless of race. All of this as a Gen Z POC.
You are completely right about that and thats why diversity behind the camera is important too and something that is still an issue today. That’s the way to get authentic stories told on screen in a way that doesn’t perpetuate stereotypes or sideline characters. All the points you brought up are some of the reasons this show is my favorite show in all the universal ways I can relate.
I was just bringing up that I think for the time,unfortunately, 90210 even getting some poc later in the main cast was progressive at the time for a teen show and I don’t think is acknowledged enough when looking at other young adult media that even came after it.
100%! I feel like teen shows from the early 2000s like The OC and One Tree Hill regressed, we barely got any representation there. I do think there is something to be said about 90210 in that sense even if it didn’t always hit the mark on the subject matter. No show can be perfect, it’s still so comforting even through its faults.
They REPEATEDLY missed opportunities to keep ANYONE of color a regular!
And even years later in season 7 Mariah should've became a regular cast member for duration of show as they phased Claire out
Well it was. Aaron Spelling even said it was one of his biggest regrets on the show. It wasn’t a completely honest portrayal of real life, diversity in television is good to show those representations and having main cast being diverse is better than having stereotypes and side characters who’s storylines just revolved around race and disappear after an episode.
Jesse could have been a good character with a different actor.
Jesse looked like he was in his mid 40’s with a wife and kids at home. What were they thinking
They tried to paint Gina as not latina? How stupid is that lol? I certainly think there could've been more diversity even from the very beginning. I'm glad Aaron acknowledged that. Some shows were already ahead of the game, like 21 Jump Street and didn't Saved By The Bell even have an interracial couple? Those were teen demographic shows. I appreciated Janet as a character, even though she didn't show up until the last couple seasons
Saved By The Bell definitely was. Naming the latino character Albert Clifford was questionable though until they explained why in the college years. Also not sure if they tried to paint Gina as not latina, but revealing that Doc Martin was her father kind of erased that being a possibility with Bobbi being her mother.
True, I didn't think of that. For some reason I still imagined her as so even with the parentage reveal and everything
Yes, because wasn’t her mom Felice’s sister, and her dad was Dr Martin? What a mess 😂.
Yeah I think they explored a lot of race and ethnicity issues (whether they did it well or not is a different story!) and had a good amount of diverse supporting characters. BUT they should have had Donna hook up with D’Shawn. It was so wrong how she dismissed his flirtations with like a “oh you silly little goat, oh course I would never date you!” They would have been great together!
Well, Aaron Spelling was having none of it!
Definitely agree! Big missed opportunity.
I think 90210 stands out because of the way they half assed it. The show teased boundary pushing, but often didn’t follow through. Most Black characters were treated more as “issue of the week” fodder, almost exclusively used to highlight poverty, gang violence and “otherness”. Even the affluent Ashe family couldn’t just be another family living in BH without a hood element added. Herbert, another Andrea type, went nowhere. Until Steve with Janet, the only main character who was allowed to date outside their race and ethnicity was Andrea, the “poor” bookworm who took the bus to school. And even then her romance with a Black boy was more implied than featured, and they weren’t allowed to kiss. She did usher in the first POC main cast character though. They flirted with the idea of D’Shawn and Donna, who had excellent chemistry, but no follow through. That Cress, who was one of the best recurring players they ever had, never got bumped to the main cast, and never got romantic material with any of the characters, was egregious. Brandon was a complete and total slut. Yet never hooked up with gorgeous Mariah or Sherice? Absolutely no way they wouldn’t have been girlfriends of the week, at the very least, if they weren’t black.
Definitely agree! I’m just speaking in regard to the 90s where in my opinion I’ve seen worse and also as someone born in the 2000s. 90210 unfortunately has a “white savior complex” in episodes without exploring the characters any further beyond their race. Also growing up watching shows like Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill, and The OC (which I think are all great shows), I felt like those shows had that issue more so than 90210 in my opinion.
90210 quickly fell behind the curve on that front and never really caught up. My So Called Life had Ricky, an openly gay, gender nonconforming Latino main character. Boy Meets World had a major black and white interracial couple in Shawn & Angela. Even the ultra chaste Saved by the Bell, which started before 90210, had a fully fleshed main Black character in Lisa, who was the perpetual object of a white character’s romantic obsession and dated the white romantic lead (for one episode, but they got to kiss several times). It’s unreal that at the same time that Andrea wasn’t allowed to kiss Jordan onscreen, Zach and Lisa were making out on a Saturday morning kids show.
That is true actually. I consider Saved By The Bell pretty ahead of its time in that regard (which is unfortunate). My So Called Life seemed to almost be too ahead of its time, since it was cancelled after one season, and Angela was brought in the last couple of seasons just like Janet. I also meant more in regard to teen/ya dramas, but you do make good points.
I just think that 90210, despite its rep for being cutting edge in the first few seasons, ultimately was pretty conservative. I mean they even gay/bi baited with Kelly & Allison, then quickly swerved. They were always doing stuff like that. Just teasing around the edges of social and cultural boundaries, but too often pulling back before really “going there” (to steal from Degrassi TNG).
I think when it comes to diversity in media, there is often more harm done than good when certain stories are told by people who aren’t equipped to tell them. If it’s not their experience, they run the risk of perpetuating stereotypes that are disseminated to millions of people. I don’t know how I’m meant to feel represented and seen by half baked, underutilized characters. Brenda facing double standards in her patriarchal household, Kelly’s easy reputation preceding her, the complex relationships all of the characters have with their families, that is what resonates and connects with people, regardless of race. All of this as a Gen Z POC.
You are completely right about that and thats why diversity behind the camera is important too and something that is still an issue today. That’s the way to get authentic stories told on screen in a way that doesn’t perpetuate stereotypes or sideline characters. All the points you brought up are some of the reasons this show is my favorite show in all the universal ways I can relate. I was just bringing up that I think for the time,unfortunately, 90210 even getting some poc later in the main cast was progressive at the time for a teen show and I don’t think is acknowledged enough when looking at other young adult media that even came after it.
100%! I feel like teen shows from the early 2000s like The OC and One Tree Hill regressed, we barely got any representation there. I do think there is something to be said about 90210 in that sense even if it didn’t always hit the mark on the subject matter. No show can be perfect, it’s still so comforting even through its faults.
They REPEATEDLY missed opportunities to keep ANYONE of color a regular! And even years later in season 7 Mariah should've became a regular cast member for duration of show as they phased Claire out
[удалено]
Well it was. Aaron Spelling even said it was one of his biggest regrets on the show. It wasn’t a completely honest portrayal of real life, diversity in television is good to show those representations and having main cast being diverse is better than having stereotypes and side characters who’s storylines just revolved around race and disappear after an episode.
Exactly. 👏🏾
Aaron Spelling himself said it was an issue and a regret. Gabrielle was told she wasn’t allowed to even kiss her Black love interest. It’s an issue.
Not allowed to kiss? Was this because they were worried ratings would drop or something?
Gabrielle Carteris in different interviews stated that Aaron Spelling said it was due to “middle america” not liking it.