We are all familiar with “Saturday Night Live,” NBC’s
late-night, live, sketch show. The show’s skits “parody contemporary culture
and politics, [and] are performed by a large and varying cast of repertory and
newer cast members.” As funny as the show is and as fun as it to watch, though,
it has recently come under scrutiny for its lack of cast diversity and the
limitations that brings to the different skits.
In an interview cast member, Kenan Thompson, was asked how
the show planned to do skits with black female characters. He said, “I don’t
know. We just haven’t done them. That’s what I’m saying. Maybe Jay Pharaoh will
do it or something, but even he doesn’t really want to do it.” Later that
season, Kerry Washington was scheduled to host. The producers of SNL decided
that this episode would be the perfect opportunity to comment on their lack of
diversity. In the opening skit, before Washington’s monologue, she parodied
Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, and Beyonce all at once. Afterwards, a message
from the producers of the show flashed on the screen. It read:“The Producers at “Saturday Night
Live” would like to apologize to Kerry Washington for the number of black women
she will be asked to play tonight. We made these requests only because Ms.
Washington is an actress of considerable range and talent and also because
“SNL” does not currently have a black woman in the cast. As for the latter
reason, we agree that this is not an ideal situation, and look forward to
rectifying it in the near future… unless, of course, we fall in love with
another white guy first." Later that season, SNL addressed their lack of diversity
once more. They surprised audiences by adding Sasheer Zamata to the cast
midseason. Her debut was on February 23, 2014. Her addition to the cast makes
her one of three people of color amongst the 17 comedians.
While the producers of “Saturday Night Live” are making
strides in the right direction, they are very far from having a balanced cast.
They are also still limited in the types of sketches acceptable for them to
perform. Do you think the producers addressed their lack of diversity in the
best way, or was there a better way to approach the situation?
This post makes me wonder if the producers of SNL would be addressing this lack of diversity at all if it weren't for the fact that the lack of a black woman limits the range of characters and sketches they can show. They seem to be stuck in a mindset of who is funny that is not letting them hire people of color until the restrictions on the show created by this hiring bias become obvious.
ReplyDeleteI saw some of Kerry Washington's skits when she hosted, but I missed the message of the producers. It seemed like a below par attempt to address this issue, especially with the last sentence about falling in love with another white guy first. While that was probably a way to poke fun at itself, it is very true. While I have loved most of the white male comedians on the show, it's shocking they haven't diversified their cast more. When Fred Armisen and Maya Rudolph were still cast members, the show took advantage of the ambiguity of their features and skin tones. They were always used to play the token minority character whether that character was black, hispanic, etc. While it is a compliment to the range of those comedians, it also limits the show. I'm excited that they hired Sasheer Zamata, but by having one female black comedian on the show, it gives way to the idea that she is the token black girl. In turn, it sends the message that one black female is capable of portraying all black females which we know is not true. They have five white female comedians because they know not all of them can play the same characters. Vanessa Bayer is amazing at playing Miley Cyrus, but that the producers probably know that is a role Cecily Strong could not adequately take on. As the show hires new comedians, it needs to add diversity to the cast so as not to pigeonhole entire peoples.
ReplyDelete