Tragedy of Addiction

Minorities who complain of underrepresentation might want to consider this still rather arcane problem. Television doesn’t just represent you; it usurps you. In this respect, to be underrepresented might be seen as a kind of privilege. It means that those bright and literate tv people haven’t really discovered you yet and set you going like a windup doll on the screen. You – as an individual, a family, a community – remain outside the soul-consuming vise of video.

I find the demand for ?positive role models? on tv funny too. Of course plenty of these already exist, and other writers on this subject have pointed out that it‘sa sign of maturity to tolerate some negative racial and ethnic representations. But this is beside the point. The

point is that the bright and literate tv people will be only too happy to accommodate you here, and soon enough all significant American subgroups will find not only compelling but also flattering versions of themselves all over the screen. —Margaret Soltan —Tragedy of Addiction (University Diaries)