Neighbours producer: Lack of diversity “still an issue”
Producer Susan Bower has spoken about cultural diversity on the TEN soap and the diminishing nuclear families in Ramsay Street.
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Neighbours producer Susan Bower has told fan website Perfect Blend the show still has some way to go in addressing cultural diversity.
This follows several recent articles in the UK and Australia on ethnic representation on the series.
Here some select questions and answers from the interview.
PB: Neighbours has continued to be criticised in 2008 for its lack of non-white characters, and you have spoken openly about your attempts to phase in more extras, guest characters and now a regular character of different ethnic origins. Do you feel that you’ve succeeded in making the show more diverse, and will we see more minority characters as 2009 continues?
SB: Cultural diversity is still an issue in Neighbours. We are getting there in “background characters” that is extras, but I would still like to mix it up with larger roles. What makes it difficult is that most of our families are white so if a relative comes to visit or to stay they will usually be from the same cultural background. You will soon see a delightful (and feisty) new character arrive when the Kennedy house accepts an exchange student from Korea.
PB: Neighbours has never been traditional in terms of families, however Libby is now the only ‘child’ to have both her biological parents around. Whilst ‘nuclear’ families are certainly not the norm these days do you think that perhaps Neighbours has gone too far in its bid to diversify and are there any plans to rectify this?
SB: I must say this question arises mainly from the UK. Of course there will be a time when a so called “nuclear” family re appears in Ramsay Street but everything takes time. There are also questions (and dismay) about the cast changes too. To get another family in usually means that another has to go. So they can be pretty hard decisions.
You can read the rest at perfectblend.net
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23 Responses
@ Andrew B….the issue might be ,just as clearly expressed in your comment…First there are no green or blue people,and your mention of it or might be percieved as ,actual racism(leave alone, in reverse)or Ignorance…second it is an Australian show right ? If only there were, then atleast some indigenous(?) Australians ,to then ,atleast fully compliment the Australianness of the show… @ A certain mr Paul,no they simply would’n’t need to throw in a person of colur in,as there are several talented “ethnic” actors and actresses around town….check out , the melbourne arts centre if your in doubt
Bazza> What’s that supposed to mean? You think Melbourne is full on white? Ha mate, I’ll give you a full on Ha, because I do indeed live here, and that is far from the truth. Walk around the city for a few seconds you’ll see probably 40% of the people being white.
@ Richard H: there was a sketch like that on the Kevin Bishop Show last night.
@VMan
Bigamous?
Have any of you complainers actually been to Melbourne?
Paull, your statement is complete s***.
“Who cares if there are only australians in an australian show? ”
That is completely racist, bigamous and not to mention false.
You think that the only people who are classified as Australians are whites?
Seriously…I thought all the people who thought that way were in the ground and long dead. Ugh.
@dodge: Obviously they aren’t all white, but if you can give me a better and more “politically” correct way to refer to majority of white Australians, then I will gladly use it.
As I said before, it should be based on acting skill and suitibility to the part, as opposed to hiring non-white australians just for the sake of it. There are heaps of actors that I like that aren’t white, I like them because they suit their role . I think the reason why the majority of actors/ actresses on shows such as neighbourss are white is because it reflects the majority of people applying for the part.
So far the new foreign exchange student character really hasn’t been that great.
I know it’s only been two days, but let’s hope I’m not thinking the same thing in a month’s time.
I think Spud got it right. This “problem” comes way down the list. The big issue
with Neighbours is that it still struggles for acceptable ratings. Once the jewel in
Ten’s crown, it’s frequently been dragging the channel down for a long time now.
I agree with Dodge. We’re not talking about putting foreigners into the show – we’re talking about seeing Aussies that aren’t white. Why shouldn’t TV be representative of everyday life? Does middle-class equate to only Anglo-Saxon families? Of course not. While I agree actors should be cast for acting ability rather than colour (of course you’re not going to cast someone of Indian background as Susan’s sister or whatever!), some actors have been cast due to their (good) looks rather than acting ability.
ramsey street not diverse! well send in gordon ramsey its his street right? hehehe:(
Paull, Aussies aren’t just white you know.
Hey does anyone know why Channel 10 has stopped running next episode teasers for Neighbours at the end of each episode?
with regards to that little girl that appeared in the general store, you can find out more about her on the Neighbours website.
It’s a show set in a (fictitious) upper middle-class Melbourne suburb. Exactly what do they expect to see apart from white middle-class families?
Someone has confused the concepts of ‘deliberate exclusion’ and ‘out of context inclusion’.
well i put my foot in my mouth, i notice directorial things like camera focus (usually it tips me off to who the killer is and stuff like that) and i thought it was due to this diversity issue, but obviously it was to give her a bigger acknowledgement for the make a wish foundation, whoops by me. all my fault for making assumptions about their motives, i had no idea they were doing something like that, terribly sorry.
I have many issues with Neighbours but lack of diversity is a long way down the list.
In reference to Bindis comment that little girl was from the make a wish fundation she has dreamed to be on Neighbours, so they gave more a small role.
Thanks for the extra info Jamie!
i though the same think andrewb when i first heard about this ‘issue’ a few months ago, just because a certain group isn’t represented doesn’t mean the shows is discriminating against that group.
They’re damned if they do and damned if they don’t. H&A is copping a heap of flak for its lesbian storyline at the moment, even though, as Debra Lawrance (Pippa) pointed out, Isla Fisher’s character Shannon, actually left Summer Bay to pursue a lesbian affair 14 or so years ago. I agree with Andrew B. It really is racism in reverse and I think someone involved with Neighbours has already pointed out that for them, it’s more about the quality of the actor rather than the colour of their skin (although they did acknowledge that for obvious reasons, if they’re casting an addition to an existing family, they need to choose someone of the same racial background). I don’t care where the characters come from, as long as they’re interesting and entertaining.
Man these people just have nothing better to do with their time.
Who cares if there are only australians in an australian show? I mean honestly, if it were all aussies in say an indian or chinese show, then maybe there would be some cause for concern. But the fact remains that the actors in neighbours all live in the country that they have their acting job in, Australia.
That being said, actors should be chosen based on skill and suitbility to the character. Simply throwing in a non-white/ person from different ethnic situation for the sake of it would be simply poor choice.
Why is this an issue? Its racism in reverse. Whether there are blacks, whites, yellows, blues, greens, gay, straight, midgets, etc in a TV show should not be an issue. Why can’t people take a show for what it is without worrying if every group is represented in it?
Its Neighbours! I have lived in a street with Asians, Lebanese, same sex couples, even a bikie gang yet at another time have lived in a street where they are all white, and stereotypical families – it really depends where you live. Why does it matter if on TV not everyone is represented?
they come into the show as nuclear families, they just don’t leave that way due to the need for writers to create drama.
but also there is an issue of them trying too hard with this and looking tacky. the other week i saw a little girl that was indian(?) all she did was purchase a drink in the general store, but the way the camera focused on her and they made sure they got a good shot made it seem cheap. if they treated her like any other extra and just let her operate in the background it would have seemed normal and not drawn any attention. but instead they wanted to make sure we saw her so they can prove to us that they are trying to be more diverse, when it is obvious you are trying it doesn’t work.