Skip to main content

Vulture.com Article: "Who Does Comedy Central Turn to Now? And Five Other Questions About Colbert’s Departure"

http://www.vulture.com/2014/04/stephen-colbert-letterman-analysis-questions-answered.html

This article concerns Colbert stepping into Letterman's shoes at CBS in the coming years and whom Comedy Central will be looking to choose to fill Colbert's vacant spot. However, the part of the article I want to focus on is this: Will a non-white, non-male ever get a network late-night gig?

I think the wrong questions were asked here. The responses all seem to point to them choosing the personality with the most experience and with a proven brand. Yet my own question is this: "Why haven't non-white, non-males been mentored and given opportunities to obtain the experience needed to establish a brand?"

The Comedy Central machine hasn't been diversified in developing talent in those roles that last, taking away the excuse that a white male was the most qualified for the job. Are they considering a non-white, non-male as the host of The Daily Show if Stewart eventually leaves? To be slotted in Colbert's time?

What about Saturday Night Live? Who is being groomed for pet projects there? Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and Casey Wilson has been about the only non-males I can think of that have been mentored to advance up in the world of entertainment, but Tina Fey would be the only viable choice for a late-night gig, even if by a long shot.

And the fact that it's a long shot is concerning. Why did Stephen Colbert beat everyone by such a wide margin? Other potentials may have been consulted, but compared to him, they didn't really have a chance. It should have been a closer race, and the other players should have been more diversified--not because anyone was consciously trying to make an affirmative action decision, but just because there is no system of only going with the 'default' choice in placing comedians in these hosting positions from the beginnings of their careers.

Why let non-whites and non-males fend for themselves in the entertainment business? I'm sure they would love these kinds of opportunities, too. It's not as if they don't exist. A hard push from people in high positions who are in their corners would go a long way.

I do happen to like Stephen Colbert. A lot. I like his show and the character he's created and grew over the years. Hope I get to see it again on the Late Show. However, the decision by CBS only brings to light a frozen mindset that probably won't be broken until a non-white, non-male pulls her-/himself by the bootstraps and breaks out. But why can't it be that someone has been developing their career from the start?

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Kevin Hart Train

For the moment it seems that Mr. Hart is very hot. He has proven that he can carry a movie. More importantly, he can sell a movie outside the 'urban' community (how does urban translate to blacks? Do rural blacks not count somehow?). Yes, Mr. Hart is on the rise. He's taken advantage of that momentum and positioned himself most favorably and profitably in upcoming high-profile comedies. He's even doing a movie next year with Josh Gad that sounds much like Hitch -- a Will Smith vehicle. Hart's strategy is clearly to be as broad and commercial as possible, which I think will work...if he paces himself. I'm just seeing a lot of him these days. On top of that, in every movie he's playing the same kind of character. That brash, screechy tomfoolery cowardly sort. When he plays a more subtle character, I notice that those movies don't do so well. That's a not so good thing in Hart's favor. Slowing down and choosing roles more carefully--ones that ...

Michael B. Jordan as The Human Torch in the Fantastic Four Movie

Sometimes I don't want to have topics to write about for this blog. I want it to be irrelevant. Anyways... Mr. Michael B. has been cast as The Human Torch in the upcoming reboot of The Fantastic Four movie. Do I think he will be good in the role? Well, if the script doesn't hamstring him, he should do fine. Of course, I wonder how they will handle his canonically biologically Caucasian sister. Yet the director seemed to always wanted Michael B. for the part...but they cast his sister, Sue Storm, as white. The interwebz, as usual, went crazy. It's no wonder: they had problems with Jessica Alba being too 'ethnic' and tan for the part of Sue Storm in the 2005 movie so I'm sure a black man for a part that has always been white in the comic books and previous movies has left people positively slathering about the mouth. 'Oh, this will ruin everything because...' Yes, the color of his skin will somehow ruin everything. Thanks for that. At least that...

Sacramento Comic Con Talk: The Battle for Multicultural Heroes

I went to another small talk today at Comic Con about diversity in pop culture. It was okay. The only problem was one of the speakers were late and then talked over. I should have left early. The questions they asked the audience were deliberately too specific (Okay...people of Caucasian descent, what do you think?--oh...because other ethnicities have spoken enough and Caucasians have never gotten their say--right...More whites from the audience spoke than blacks. Hmm). I do agree that the reason that more diversity doesn't exist in the comic book world is because its audience doesn't accept it. I find 'nerds' very intolerant and insular. They hate change and don't take very well to encroachment upon their worlds, nor are they very sympathetic to other people's worldviews. All that together is just a big ole pile of apathetic indifference to diversity. They like their medium the way it is. If it's not diverse, so what? They're not going to go out of th...