By: Mia Shmariahu

Mia Shmariahu — Fri, 11 May 2018 23:40:28 +0000

Shonda shows are the best shows! Unfortunately, they are fairly unique. I recently did an analysis of the portrayal of Winston and Coach, the two main Black characters on New Girl. In one episode, they were given so many tropes and representations that stem back to minstrelsy and pre-civil rights era stereotypes. Watching Shonda shows, these tropes are confronted head on; while Annalise Keating is a representation of the “strong Black woman,” she exhibits weakness again and again on the show. Her character is much more complex and layered than most other representations of people of color on television now.

By: Lily Josephs

Lily Josephs — Sun, 06 May 2018 16:11:00 +0000

WOW, WELL DONE JULIA. Being a lover of all things Shonda Rhimes myself, I related to this blog post on so many levels. I think that these positive changes show Black women and power and strive to disavow the negative attributes and perceptions that they often receive in society. At the beginning of Grey’s Anatomy, the interns working directly under Dr. Bailey referred to her as “the Nazi”. This nickname was meant to define Dr. Bailey as rude, loud, aggressive, bossy, and even bitchy. As the episodes and series continued, the interns (and other surgeons) form a closer bond with Dr. Bailey and learn that she is none of those things, rather, she is qualified, hardworking, an effective leader and doctor, and responsible. I think that this shift that was executed on Grey’s could be the way that society itself changes. As we listen to one another and hear the perspectives of women of color that have been put on the back burner for far too long, the structures of power will change.

Comments on: “The only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity” – Viola Davis

By: Mia Shmariahu

By: Lily Josephs