Hey guys! Long time no see! I know I said I would be writing more during summer, but unfortunately, I haven't gotten a chance to sit down and do just that, so today I'll be talking about something I've wanted to talk about for a while.
I'm sure you've all heard the news - after only one season at Fox, Pitch is no more. Fans had been waiting for months for potential news of a renewal, only to be let down by Fox, because they're Fox. The same goes with Netflix's The Get Down - set in the late 70s, the drama followed the rise of disco and R&B in the poor parts of the Bronx. (I've always wanted to review The Get Down on here as a separate entity, but alas, the show got cancelled before I could.) Both shows ended ambiguously, and both shows, despite having excellent writing and cast chemistry, were cancelled before their time. Something else they had in common? Both featured casts that contained mostly actors of color.
The worst part of advocating for representation is the constant worry that any show that accurately and positively portrays POC and LGBT people will get cancelled due to lack of interest. It's often the reason many producers want to play it safe with predominantly white/straight characters or even go as far as whitewashing. (BTW, whitewashing doesn't even work, if you look at the abysmal box office numbers of whitewashed movies. But that's another discussion.) But representation is important - it's an accurate portrayal of the world we live in today, and shows us that marginalized groups can succeed beyond stereotypes.
Hollywood is admittedly getting better at creating stories for people in marginalized groups, such as The Bold Type, my current new summer fave (you'll definitely be seeing a review soon). Movies such as Spider-man: Homecoming and Black Panther are and will be game changers, especially in the superhero genre, which has long been dominated by straight white men. But the fact that other pieces of media starring diverse casts such as Power Rangers, in terms of movies, and the two cancelled shows in terms of TV is a huge problem.
Pitch starred a black woman struggling to find herself in the male-dominated baseball industry. We had the blessing to see Ginny call out misogynoir from everyone, even occasionally members of her own team. We saw her struggle to forge her own path, leaning on her friends along the way. We saw strong ladies supporting each other, as well as platonic, healthy friendships between men and women. (Newsflash: Those do exist!) These friendships serve to remind us that women can be strong and badass without a man by their side, and that not everything is a competition. Ginny and Evelyn being black women made it ten times better, as friendships featuring women of color are still unfortunately a rarity. As a matter of fact, six out of the eight mains are people of color. SIX!!!
The gripping season finale saw Ginny injure her elbow despite Oscar and Al's insistence on her returning back to the bench. We also saw Will, Ginny's brother, fall apart with his history of owing and borrowing too much money. One of the saddest moments, however, is when Amelia leaves Ginny on her own, having dealt with too much as her manager. I'm incredibly bitter that Amelia and Ginny's dynamic is left unresolved, as well as what happens with Bawson and Ginny's injury. These were three plot points with a lot of potential, especially since Ginny was just starting to feel like she had a firm grasp on everything in her life. Mike was also in a bad place in the season finale, and I would've liked to see how he pulls himself out of it, especially when his teammates need him more than ever.
On the flip side, The Get Down followed the life of Ezekiel Figuero, an Afro-Latinx genius and writer who struggles with wanting a "real future" (aka going to Yale and getting a suit and tie job, breaking out from the poorer sections of the Bronx) and finding his own voice with the Get Down brothers. The rampant racism of the 70s doesn't help either, and Zeke resents being viewed as a token for white people to applaud themselves on not being racists. He decides to go to Yale after all, but at what cost?
Each member of the Get Down brothers faced their own individual problems, but none of them get the ending they deserve. Boo-boo, the youngest of the Kipling siblings, gets busted for dealing drugs, resulting a huge fall-out between Zeke and Shaolin Fantastic, the DJ. Shao has only ever known the drug scene, having been raised by one of the most prominent (and terrifying!) dealers, and he felt that DJing with the Get Down brothers was a refreshing and hopeful change. Now, Shaolin is as alone as he's ever been - and that really sucks, because he had really been trying to break out of his awful conditions. Dizzee struggles with being a bisexual black boy among the blatant homophobia of the time, but before he can, he....gets hit by a train? TOO BAD WE'LL NEVER KNOW, BECAUSE TGD IS GONE!!!! So with Boo-boo in jail, Dizzee possibly dead, and Yolanda off to stardom, Ra-ra is all alone now.
Meanwhile, Mylene has suffered tremendously in her climb to the top of the charts. Having always wanted to be a disco star, she is held back by her conservative and abusive father, Pastor Ramon Cruz. Her mother and uncle are more supportive, but Ramon loses his shit when he sees his baby girl complete a revealing and sexual performance, and ends up killing himself, believing he died to erase his family's sins. Grief-stricken and tired of being thrown around by producers, Mylene is determined to do things her way and leaves for LA to shoot a movie, leaving her and Zeke's relationship in a state of uncertainty. It's a dark ending for everyone, and it sucks that we'll never get to see what happened next. Though the adult Zeke has been narrating in the background throughout the season, we have no idea how he got to where he is now.
The Get Down wove a unique, never before told narrative about lovable black and brown kids struggling against discrimination to make a name for themselves. Unfortunately, the shooting costs were too much, and with lack of viewership and media buzz, the show had to go. While TGD was practically set up for failure, there is a huge problem in how social media decided to promote non-diverse and even harmful shows such as Stranger Things and 13 Reasons Why, but purposefully stayed mute on a fellow Netflix show. The transparency is, frankly, despicable. People straight up refused to give it a chance, letting thousands of fans of color down.
Will I forever be bitter about good shows getting cancelled before their time? Yes. However, we can prevent this from happening by wholeheartedly supporting more diverse media and spreading the word. See you next time!
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