Degrassi: The Good and Bad of Race Representation
Вставка
- Опубліковано 21 вер 2024
- I've always wanted to discuss race representation in degrassi and the nuance behind how the show depict race and culture. I hope you're interested as well. Join me as we explore racial issues and inequities within Degrassi.
Sources Used for Video
www.lipstickal...
missandrealewi...
www.rogerebert...
/ latoya_webb_keisha_mad...
Thank you Shoguntempest for the fantastic art in the thumbnail, please check out their art on twitter it's really good! x.com/shogunte...
Hi guys. I did realize that I did say Americans a lot when speaking about Canadian experiences specifically, and I admit I should have specified that more clearly. I'm sorry to those who felt alienated by that. I also realize there were a few things you all said that would have added to the discussion. That's why i like reading your comments for feedback, and I like hearing what others have to say because you all bring a unique point of view to the conversation. Thanks again!
That executive should be ashamed of that response. They literally said Darcy was given more for saying ONE LINE. Many people wanted more Hazel. We didn’t get to see any growth in TWO YEARS of dating Jimmy. Not one date night, parents meeting, NOTHING. It’s crazy how rude and disrespectful that executive is.
The biggest gripe about Libertys' pregnancy is that the focus wasn't on her at all.
Her pregnancy was more focused on JT and how it affects him. And to feel sympathy for him and not the girl that's pregnant.
The fact her giving birth was in a b plot to Craig's music career and it was in a montage.
Compared to Jenna's pregnancy it's obvious the writers don't know how to write black people in general.
100 percent. She was glossed over. It was horrible. Although it was helpful to see that she was able to get over it.
Agreed. It wasn’t about her during or after. As a character that was there since the beginning the way Liberty’s character was treated was egregious. She’s clearly supposed to be sort of the Lucy of their generation.
Edit: I think Jimmy is more like the Lucy character from the OG series.
And Craig is the worst! Zero redeeming qualities
Right?! Y'all noticed how mean they made Liberty too when she was pregnant?? Like, yeah, hormones and stuff, but they didn't do this with Jenna or villainize her like how they did with Liberty.
Cause they was trying to push in the single mama nina
One thing I've noticed outside of your discussion points is how characters on the show who have confirmed nationalities and ethnicities like Zig, Paige, and Zoe tend to be coded as Caucasian American. Even Grace, whose actor is Aboriginal is coded that way. Her character could have been a commentary on barriers to health care based off race, since her defining characteristic is her CF
That's true, very good point about the characters that were white passing, but coded as Caucasian
An honorable mention!
One of the poc characters that was done so dirty is Kendra, Spinners adoptive Chinese sister. The last story arc I can remember about her is when she was in a relationship with Toby, and the last episode I think she was in is when Spinner was trying to play sick and she told him to get ready for school. She never appeared anymore after that. She went into the degrassi black hole.
There’s been speculations as to why she left the show (focusing on school, her parents didn’t like her next storyline), but they should’ve tied her in more. Spinner got expelled, had cancer, got shot, his job was blown up and then got married, and she was nowhere to be found. It was sooo weird. The least they could do is say how she’s doing off screen
That executive is an idiot and crazy disrespectful. And comparing her career to Drake is just the nail in the coffin. Where are ANY of the actors from the show now??? None of them get work except for Sav and like one person from next class. That was a hit piece and clearly he felt hit because he was the executive she was talking about from that time.
It's crazy how the executive wants to say the actress for Hazel was being a 'diva'. Something black women are called CONSTANTLY when they're calling out bs. If she was being such a diva and untalented..why would keep her for mutiple seasons? Being a diva is 'okay' when you're white is what they meant to say. They just showed their passive aggressive racist and stereotype-filled mind and that her experience is valid.
These arent lighter skinned black actors they are mixed actors playing black characters thats very evident
Even Manny is half white liberty is Jimmy Connor and Dallas and also Lucy and Susie from degrassi Jr high
@pickneykids9107 manny the character is a monoracial character however the actress who plays her Cassie Steele is half white and that was very evident despite the fact that the actors playing her parents are both monoracial
Yup.. just said this
It always bothered me that Hazel’s best friend (Terri) was put in coma and her boyfriend was shot and paralyzed in a school shooting, and we didn’t get to see any of that from point of view or Jimmy’s. The only time we saw Jimmy in the hospital was when somebody visited him
I’m half Hispanic and I always noticed there wasn’t really any Hispanic characters? Not a single one that actually was stated as Hispanic, some had last names like Torres or Nunez. It was bizzare
Yeah, Alex was supposed to be Latina, but her actress is Italian. I also think the actress who played her mom is First Nations. Then, if my memory serves, Drew was the only Torres who was even brown in the slightest.
Lola was Hispanic but we didnt really get to see much of her culture really besides her working in her Cantina
@@erycnelson329there was Zig who was partially latino.
@@frankieseward8667I thought he was Russian?
@@frankieseward8667 was Zig the character Latino at all, though? I feel like he was presented as Slavic in some way. I could be wrong, though. It's been a while since I've watched any Degrassi.
The thing thats awkward about the Dallas/Conner bit being profiled and harassed as black men is blurry considering they're both clearly biracial and depicted as monoracially Black, altho I get what they're trying to say. A lot of the "black" characters are mixed on here but played as monoracial.
This
Are you implying that mixed Black men are not racially profiled? Colorism on this show is absolutely an issue but that’s not true.
@@arianna5270no one “implied” that
@@ShawnHallProductions People always wanna start invisble wars in their heads when they cherry pick comprehension.
@@eddierascalhaskell4954 It is so annoying
13:20 Rasha is an LGBT character of color but similar to what u were saying about Zane she doesn’t have any solo storylines either.
You're totally right lol
Baz was a piece of shit to Sa’ad, he essentially did what Hazel did but no one called his ass out.
Kinda ironic seeing as he supposed to be muslim himself lol
@@jamalmgambo8065 he is on that DJ Khaled/sellout in the military pack.
Im not surprised of how they dealt with liberty's pregnancy considering her personality and environment she didnt have time for that
I love that you shows how kind Liberty was with the MIA thing. I always felt like their relationship could have been fostered better.
Also, the actor who played Dave passed away, that’s why they just wrote him off, I think they should have given him a send off to memorialize him.
He wasn’t on the show anymore before he passed
@@jessinthecomments I stand corrected, I didn’t realize that they started writing him off before, that is even more sad! He was pretty talented.
@@aleleeramos exactly. A lot of the characters of that class, including Dave, were prematurely written out of the show until it basically revolved around Claire with a dash of Alli.
@@jessinthecomments OMFG the Claire and Eli of it all. Lolol that Claire got pregnant and cancer storyline, it was so miserable to watch, I tried to rewatch it as an adult and I cried of embarrassment lol
He died way after the show
I think tiny always has liked science in like 13/14 he does an animal show voiceovers for Maya and zigs relationship. And after Vince went back to jail, he embraced the science part of him more since.
I think Degrassi could’ve benefited from having black writers (in general) for next class, when they were discussing white privilege and blm in the second season. As diverse as degrassi is it’s still a pwi (prominently white institution) and they could’ve done so many stories with Shay and Tiny. The writers addressed white privilege and blm horribly
I can't watch those episodes. It makes me cringe each time I do so I skip over them entirely
Well done. I remember I used to chat with Andrea "Hazel" Lewis about this exact same thing when she had her blog years ago.
hell yeah an almost hour long video!!
Indian is not a race and all the actors portraying the bendari family are south asian 🙄
You know what she mean.. so people from india cant say they are indian
@khasualentertainment6734 nope you gotta be specific and detailed when reviewing things
@@siddaye why theyre indian.. regardless. And i will call them that..
Peter was a horrible character idk anyone who likes him but yet they kept giving him stories so that whole fan favorite story line thing the producer was trying to say is 🧢
Why PETER over Hazel?!?! 😭😭😭
@@PGOuma exactly
the thing about the creators they wanted the cast to be there as for Aubrey(Drake) he distanced himself from the show to focus on his music career and the creators asked him to make a choice either acting or music as they didn't the young cast to be overwhelmed because they had other plans for the Jimmy character but Aubrey wanted to do music
Also DARCY WAS NOT A STAR OFF THAT ONE LINE. I don’t remember anyone caring about Darcy until they gave her extensions and a main role.
How could you even manage to “star off” that line, even the most amazing actor in the world can’t make a big impression off of one line 😭
That executives response to Andrea Lewis is literally disgusting and immature. Then they throw out a bunch of stereotypes about black women. Someone needs to name names.
that executive saying andrea’s performance was “””flat””” as if they didnt have riley as a main lead for years when he respectfully could not act for shit
RIGHT?? quite literally the definition of white privilege - the countless POC actors who had no story yet we had to suffer through riley's boring, insufferable storyline and terrible acting for god knows how many episodes. i continue to be baffled that they even let him be on the show for that long
@@riplimewire5825it was interesting for maybe an episode or 2, but after that it’s like get on with it bro. Either let him come out and live happily ever after or make him stay in the closet make up ur mind! It was so frustrating to watch cuz I was rooting so hard for them they were cute when Riley wasn’t being so indecisive
And we saw her amazing acting like when Jimmy got 🔫 and the teacher told her and she broke down crying
@@PGOuma the way she kept repeating no in disbelief while slowly breaking into tears was so painful to watch. she is seriously so talented
That executive is unprofessional and cringe. Referring to children as “awesome” and “lame” is diabolical. Those statements were made during Season 13. Most of the acting in those first seasons was rough, so to single her out is wild and reeks of misogynoir. None of the actors they named were strong except for a select few. And abandoning the four alleged Season 1 MC’s was an issue with the writing, not the acting, because again the acting wasn’t that strong across the whole cast. It’s easier to view that response in hindsight for the defensive load of crap it is, but at the time most fans agreed with the executive, because the show was still on the air and Andrea’s performance wasn’t viewed as “good.” There was more evidence in favor of “she sucks” than “DeGrassi is racist.” But the other actors were given more grace with their poor performances, so…
This is just agret depiction of how we are treated in media by the world.
and I’m starting to give up and think that we just need to make our own stuff . Not BET but real stuff like Issa Rae did with insecure.
That Drake comment is hilarious, given now. They were right, he was a good actor.
The way you actually discussed Saad. Is just beautiful!! Thank you!! I try to explain this to people and they Dont get it. They Dont see their privelage.
He’s a better actor than rapper imo
Thank you for touching on the Asian characters. I rewatched the show recently and just realized how they were all troublemakers or liars or manipulators, which is horrible.
On the Connor angle, yes he was diagnosed with Asperger’s but I don’t see that diagnosis as a negative. He was introduced as a gifted student with Alli, Clare & KC. I feel it would be more of a stereotype if they placed him in remedial classes
I don't either. I actually appreciated Connors character for it, but I hated the lack of focus on him toward the end, especially with that sex issue between him and Jenna that could have been explored alot more
@@briannawilliams97I really hate how they never focused on his journey to learning how to understand social cues, if he even had that journey. As an autistic person, we don’t completely lack the ability to understand social cues or sarcasm, it just doesn’t come naturally to us. A lot of us don’t even have a problem with this, or at least we understand them to a high degree. It’s a learned skill for us, and I wish more autistic characters were used to explore this because I honestly feel weird having to tell people that I don’t really struggle with sarcasm or social cues because media never told them thats even possibel
i think it's absolutely insane that throughout the entire series run, as a canadian show, there wasn't a single explicitly indigenous character. i use the term explicitly because grace's actress is indigenous, but they didn't use this aspect in her character (from what i remember, correct me if i'm wrong). at the same time, it doesn't surprise me considering that we've established that the writers were very white-focused and prejudiced, but also because of the systematic oppression of indigenous people in this country that is still going on to this day. it's honestly just another blatant example of how canada treats indigenous people
grace’s last name is cardinal, one of the most common fn last names, so she is an indigenous character. i liked that grace’s personality wasn’t centred around being native, and that she was allowed to be goth. i do wish they talked about colonization in canada, or the racism that indigenous canadians experience.
@@igottaberpyeah and just like every other main white character, her race doesn’t have to be her entire personality, but she could’ve been shown to face issues because of it. She has CF ffs they could’ve easily used that to highlight indigenous peoples lack of healthcare access
I also think they should've been writers but also hairstylist, costume fitters, camera crew should've been diverse also it clear when they do certain stroylines they are mainly white writers which should not be and I hate how they treat black and brown characters not just on the show but the fandom and as a white European woman I can acknowledge that and know yes there's a problem even if Degrassi pride themselves as being the show that deals with real everyday subjects they still so much they could've done better and better treatment I'll always be heartbroken how Andrea did talk to the writers she deserves better
Edit: I hope I'm saying this correctly I always worry I may not explain things properly
I actually forgot to bring up hair as well, great point. If you've heard from other black women and their experiences like Monique Coleman from High school musical and how Disney didn't hire hair stylists for black people so most of the time their hair is usually straight or wavy, but there are never any stylists for kinkier hair types
@@briannawilliams97 Yes! Agreed behind the scenes as just important on sceen I remember that but yes they should hire hairstylist for black women
They completely retconned Tiny’s character in next class. In seasons 13 & 14 he was in a gang and the last time we saw him he was going to jail.
In next class he was a completely different character. There was no mention of him being arrested or the time where he was going to stab Zig.
Don’t get me wrong I liked the retconned and actually preferred the next class version of the character, but it felt like the writers saw the push they got because of the stereotypes they wrote for Tiny, so instead of giving an apology to their black fans; they just rewrote his character like nothing ever happened
Apparently with Kiesha's character she was supposed to either be a childhood friend to Zoe or Frankie but I forgot who she said specifically (I think Frankie) but... look where THAT headed... They just forgot about her, which says a lot.
What are your thoughts about Grace? She’s the only Indigenous Canadian character in the series. As a Native, it always bothered me they waited so long into the series to introduce a Native character.
And they did NOTHING with her regarding it. Her last name is a very common fn last name so I claim her character as indigenous even if the show never said she was. She has a chronic illness they could’ve easily used that to highlight how hard it is to get quality healthcare as an indigenous person. It’s more prominent on the rez, but even when she’s living in Toronto she’s gonna face racism in healthcare
I didn't know that the actress for Grace was indigenous but clearly coded on the show as white. Now that I've found that out, I'm kicking myself more, because I've learned alot of about how fucked over indigenous people were by white people enough to be know as the "invisible people" and now I feel I might have contributed to that to not shine a light on Grace. Someone made a great point about her being indigenous and how that could have affected her receiving treatment for her CF. Intersectionality is a huge thing that is ignored from Degrassi and I'm so sorry. I should have included the white coded characters that actually were of different races and ethnicities because they did that soooooo much
Sav reminds me of Nev from Catfish.
Omg lol
I do think what happened with Dallas and Connor was a well written episode. The fact that Connor as Asperger’s gave them the ability to deliver the message they wanted to say without beating around the bush. Especially with Mr. Bandari sharing his own experiences with Dallas. Personally, I’m mixed, but I fully identify as black as my experiences in life haven’t been altered just because one of my parents is white. I’ve still fully been discriminated against, called the hard r, and been criminally profiled by the police for literally no reason. So “mixed” just describes my DNA, not my experiences. Anyways I think the inclusion of Connor kinda not realizing what was going on was smart, because internalized racism is a real thing. I think it was important to include a second black character in that plot, who didn’t have that same rage as Dallas. It’s nuanced, and I liked that. It was their best attempt at covering racism, in my opinion
Thank you for sharing your story. As a mixed person as well I felt the plot was handled very well, because biracial people or lighter skinned black people still get profiled. It's happened to me and my siblings before. My brother was told one time when he entered a store to leave his bag at the front of the store. Absolutely wild that shit is happening. I feel your experience very personally
@@briannawilliams97 my heart goes out to your brother, as I’m a private chef. I was literally just stopped (in uniform!) for bringing my own shopping bags into the store. The store knows my company intimately, yet I was hassled for not checking my bags at the door as they were trying to prevent theft. As if I would have chosen to commit a crime while wearing the mandatory uniform. I don’t feel mixed when I’m discriminated against. Like, bc I’m half black, I’m supposed to be half offended?! No.
This is just agret depiction of how we are treated in media by the world.
Danny and Hazel had racism storylines.
The same thing they said about Andrea is the same thing they said about Nicole from Zoey 101 and look how that turned out.
OK but this is different because they were being microaggressive to her. They were being racist and perpetuating misogynoir. They decided to talk all of this shit because she talked about her very real experience. Drake also had bad experiences on the show.
Guess kendrick was right lol
Great video. Great voice.
There was only one aboriginal chatacter on the show and how was she pertrayed it was as a goth girl crazy dyed hair tattoos and piercings
who?
I kind of liked that they didn’t centre her personality as Native and let her be herself, but at the same time I wish they touched on the racism that Indigenous Canadians experience. Like maybe just a one-off episode
@igottaberp they could have done that but they didn't but what they did do was focus on her personal health issues like cystic fibrosis
@@siddaye they could’ve even included her health problems and made an episode about medical racism that aboriginals experience. so many missed opportunities.
@igottaberp they did include it in I believe a few episodes but it wasn't spoken about in detail nor have an episode focusing on it
This vídeo is perfect
I do appreciate your videos. And I mean this with the most respect. 🤝🏼
However just like Bianca.
Lola isn't Hispanic/Latina
she's Italian
I'm full Hispanic ( Not Mexican. grew up in Texas )
Lola isn't a representation of us Hispanics. That's just my perspective. 💚
No, you're absolutely right. I was not aware that she was Italian and that contributes to the problem. Look at how many people thought Ariana Grande was Latina. If anything, it makes it worse that Degrassi had no hispanic/Latina representation at all. I'm learning so many new things. Thanks so much for letting me know!
You say there are no People of Color other than Zane who are LGTBQ but what about Marco?
You're right about that too, lol. At least Marco got a decent amount of focus
Marco is white
@@khasualentertainment6734I believe he's italian
*Canadians
Looking at liberty lol umm they shouldve used someone else. Like chantay
Why do you keep talking about the American experience and American points of view? The show is Canadian.
Its so fn annoying!!!
Because racism in America is pretty similar to that in Canada.
Do you think racism doesn’t exist in Canada?
The way that y'all are pretending that racism doesn't exist in Canada is actually wild.
I know yall love to believe you’re above Americans in social justice, but you’re very far from it
Marco
I stumbled upon your video (big Degrassi TNG fan) and it is just so good. Thank you for highlighting these very real, very nuanced issues regarding race and characters of color throughout the series. I appreciated your take on all of these characters. Justice for Hazel and Andrea Lewis. Always. 🤎 The way I see it is, we’re all gathered here because we love this show. But it’s entirely ok for us to critique and discuss the parts of this show that simply could have been handled better, or differently. So, well done. And thank you.