Thursday, January 22, 2015

Brooklyn Nine-Nine – Diversity at its Best

Brooklyn Nine-Nine provides a great example of diversity on mainstream television. Racial diversity is acknowledged and accepted, but not the focus of the show. The show follows the fictional 99th Precinct of the NYPD on their day to day crime investigations. Andre Braugher stars as the captain of the Precinct, Captain Holt, a gay black man who has fought for equal opportunities at every point in his life. He completely breaks stereotypes about men of color and of gay people, and is a wonderful captain of the precinct. Holt is an intelligent, brave, and stern leader, and provides a positive influence on his team.

The show also presents another positive image of a successful black man in Seargent Terry Jeffords, played by Terry Crews. He loves to exercise and is forceful, but his character completely dispels the stereotype of a violent black man. He is overly sensitive, married, and has twin daughters, is always worrying if he is being a good father. He creates a unique image, combing tough guy and loving father, and describes himself as the Ebony Falcon, "monogamous and too tired for sex so his only indulgence is fresh fruit yogurt parfaits." While these unique characters allow for hilarious jokes, they also provide positive images of black men, without focusing only on their race.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine also presents two Hispanic women, completely different, but both unique and compelling. The show does not address their race in the same way it does with Jeffords and Holt, but Amy Santiago played by Melissa Fumero, and Rosa Diaz, played by Stephanie Beatriz break out of traditional gender and race stereotypes. Santiago is Cuban-American, and the show presents her as an uptight rule following sycophant. Diaz, on the other hand, is curt and aggressive, and doesn't take nonsense from anyone. Although these portrayals of Hispanic women are extreme to provide comedy, they still present both women as successful and intelligent. The show acknowledges that jokes about race can still perpetrate stereotypes, and so there are rarely jokes about race.

Overall, Brooklyn Nine-Nine might appear to be overplaying it's minority card, as the main character, Jake Peralta, played by Andy Samberg, is half Jewish. All of the main characters expect for one are minority races, which is very rare for a prime time show. However, the characters are natural and relatable, and the show does not focus on the experience of a minority group, but rather a group of friends who work together.  Brooklyn Nine-Nine provides a positive step in racial diversity for television, as it is one of the first popular shows to incorporate race without focusing entirely on race.

 

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