Everyone has been talking about the new Netflix original show On My Block. It depicts a coming-of-age story with its seemingly all POC (people of color) main cast. The storyline follows the lives of Latinx, Black, and Afro-Latinx kids growing up in Los Angeles. They all undergo new experiences that change them as they struggle to face the realities of being teens in LA.
One of the main reasons this show has become such a hit is because of its all-POC main cast. It is rare that we find a show that is diverse and has all POC as lead characters. When I was first told about this show, my friends expressed their love for it because it was relatable. They saw some parts of themselves in the characters and their stories. This came crashing down when it was revealed that actress Ronni Hawk, who plays Olivia, is not Mexican as portrayed in the show but instead is white. Could they not find a Mexican actress to play the role of a Mexican girl? To make things worse, Olivia’s character in the show had her parents deported, but the actress is a Trump supporter. I hope I don’t have to explain why this is wrong…
White people playing the roles of ethnicities and races that they know nothing about and do not represent is not right. These roles are meant to be played by the people that represent others from similar backgrounds. Unfortunately, this same actress Ronni Hawk also plays the role of another Latinx girl in Disney Channel’s show Stuck In the Middle. She has actively gone out for Latinx parts knowing she is not Latinx. The blame does not fall solely on her, but also the casting directors for making these careless choices. This is just one of the most recent examples of whitewashing in Hollywood. Another example is Rooney Mara, a white actress who played a Native American character called Tiger Lily in the film Pan and Johnny Depp starring as a Native American in the movie, The Lone Ranger. This sheds light on a broader issue that there is a lack of representation of people of color in media.
To knowingly hire people that are not POC to play these roles is problematic on so many levels. This means that actual people of color are being put on the back burner and are not only losing job opportunities, but also recognition. Only seven black women have ever won Best Supporting Actress, and most of those roles were either slaves and servants. Halle Berry was the first black woman to win Best Actress in 2001, for her part in Monster’s Ball which is still a film about racism. Even though Halle Berry is a woman of color, she is also light skin, which can obviously be used as an advantage in this industry. I would love to to see Lupita Nyong’o in a corny romantic comedy or Chadwick Boseman save his child and partner in a big-budget action thriller.
I believe that the overrepresentation of white people in American culture contributes to the systematic oppression of people of color. It perpetuates discrimination, Eurocentric beauty standards, and provokes low self-esteem in these communities, and whitewashing, that erases POC’s humanity. So many people deserve representation: dark-skinned black women, a latina that is not exoticized, and a Native American without a feather headdress are what we have to see more of. There are Black people with disabilities who need representation, just as there are middle-aged Hispanic and Latinx women who deserve it as well, among a countless list of other diverse races, ethnicities, cultures, and identities. Until the media starts caring about who it represents and how all people are portrayed, an alarming status quo of stereotypes, erasure, and discrimination will remain.