Please notice that there are exclusively white characters in this poster...
NBC’s COMMUNITY NEEDS A MEXICAN CHARACTER. I applaud NBC for their effort in bringing in a diverse cast of characters to a television show. The mediocre comedy entitled Community has several minorities represented… They have a muslim, two black characters, an Asian, several women, a gay dean, and a senior citizen. It would seem that they have all of there bases covered.
But there is one minority that they have completely and unconscionably ignored. That’s right. Our friends to the south… THE MEXICANS. How could they have ignored such a culturally rich and prominent culture? Mexicans are plentiful in community colleges, so why have the Latinos been excluded from the show? My studies show that Mexicans make up a whopping 19% of all community college attendees. And don’t forget all the janitors and maintenance men that are Mexican. America’s community colleges are basically brimming with Mexicans. So why are they being ignored?
I have a few theories as to why Mexicans have been so vociferously excluded:
- Dan Harmon (Community creator) is ignorant
- Dan Harmon is fearful of low ratings due to white people’s hate of Mexicans
- NBC does not allow too many minorities in it’s comedies
Maybe not all of these are true; but if even one of them is true, then it is a despicable situation. Why aren’t more people clamoring about this issue? Don’t people care about inclusiveness, tolerance, and love? Why is the main character a white man? WHAT CAN WE DO?
I’ll tell you what we can do. We can email Joel McHale and Chevy Chaese and Dan Harmon and inform them of this issue. We can start a petition and send it to NBC. We can talk to our neighbors and co-workers about this issue. We need to create a meaningful dialogue about this issue. Our Mexican brothers and sisters are entitled to have the same equality as the other minorities represented in Community.
I didn’t notice any eskimos in the show either. Perhaps Community is intolerant against eskimos too? hmmm. somehting to think about
No way!
And why is Michael Jackson one of the tags for this post? So many questions.
Not sure if serious…
Simple, Clinton. Michael Jackson also needed a Mexican character on his tv show. You know, for diversity.
The show is set in Colorado.
“Mediocre” comedy? Oh, now you just went too far.
Where are the Australian Aboriginal characters?!! The cast should be expanded to include one person of every race in the entire world just so they don’t leave anyone out.
The cast should actually be expanded……….. to include every single person in the entire world. Trying to leave some people out, Brian… Pssh.
Who cares for the equality speech it’s a comedy show enjoy it or don’t watch…
Okay, you know what? I’m fucking Mexican and I take more offence at the fact that you called Community “mediocre.” Yes, a Mexican on the show would be nice. But are you even Mexican? I’m not saying you can’t care if you’re not Mexican but I honestly don’t think you do. I think you’re just trying to stir up trouble. If you don’t watch the fucking show–if you think it’s “mediocre”–I don’t think you’re entitled to give a fuck. Yes, it would be nice to have a Mexican on the show. And they should. But not if it would fuck up the show. Because it is good, dammit. And why is ‘Michael Jackson’ tagged? Seriously.
Hello J,
I am the author of this post, and, no, I am not a MEXICAN. I am a loving human being that embraces and celebrates diversity. I am sorry that I offended you, and I agree with you that it would be nice to have a MEXICAN on the show.
That’s gotta take some effort. A blog entirely devoted to trolling? Shouldn’t this just be a mere comment on 4chan?
Community needs more seagulls too, I’ve noticed a severe lack of seagulls in popular media, WHAT, you think because Finding Nemo had seagulls the Seagull Community (no pun intended) is being well represented?, let me remind you that in that movie, Seagulls were portrayed as KILLERS.
Dan Harmon needs to put more SEAGULLS IN HIS MEDIOCRE COMEDY!
Just think, a seagull helps Chevy Chase find his inner SEAGULL, HILARITY ENSUES!
Best thing ever!
Racism is everywhere, when you’re retarded.
What exactly makes you think Joel McHale or Chevy Chase have anything to do with the writing or casting of the show?
Troll, troll, troll your boat, gently down the stream…
First Off, Community is not mediocre. It is an excellent show, probably the best comedy on air, that I know of right now. 2. Does the group you hang out have one of each race/ subculture? I doubt it. Three, Dan Harmon is amazing at what he does and is in no way ignorant. Letter D, I am a “white person” and I don’t hate Mexicans, don’t project your assumptions of hatred on to one race to try and make a point, that’s racist, which is what you seem to be fighting? I’m sure if a Mexican auditions for a role and is good, they’ll get on the show. I highly doubt they’ll cast a Mexican, just because you think they are lacking. The casting on this show isn’t one of everything, it’s whoever has the most talent that showed up for the auditions. To quote the show itself, not being racist is the new racist. You have succeeded in that. Finally, I’d like you to name some shows that are more inclusive than this one.
If you consider Community (which is currently one of the best comedy series on television) to be “mediocre comedy”, why would you even want to associate more minorities with that show? Wouldn’t that just make it worse for the image of Mexicans?
You do know you’re brown right?
Dumb Fucking monkey.
The presence of the poll and tags with popular searches (that have no relevance) tells you that this guy is just desperate for page views. The most insulting part of this article is the statement that Community is mediocre, it is the best comedy on network television. The author would be better suited targeting shows that have NO minorities in their cast rather than attacking one of the most diverse shows on TV. Why is this ridiculous standard not being applied to 2 and Half Men or Cougar Town or any other all white comedy?
Wow, I’m surprised by the responses here. It makes everyone seem racist. Yeah, the show has some diversity, that’s what makes it great! In fact, the show is set in Colorado, where there are big ratio of Hispanic and Mexican Americans living in the state. I would love to see a great Hispanic actor at least guest star in the show.
Okay, I read the full article and it’s downright offensive. WTF? I still love to see Hispanic in the show but that’s my opinion but seriously!? Mediocre?!
The term is “Hispanic,” not “Mexican.” Your message for political correctness and inclusion is a good one, but undermined by your use of terminology.
The cast met in a spanish study group. It probably seemed illogical to put a Mexican (or any dominantly spanish-speaking race) in there. Not saying that all Mexican’s know spanish but just because one race isn’t represented in a show that has about 10 recurring characters that doe not mean it’s racist.
@Jude: how can you take this article seriously? How can ANYONE take this article seriously? The article is a joke. It is a trolling post.
READ MY REPLY. I only saw the title and the fact that Dan Harmon tweeted it. Okay?
Dude, don’t get all uptight. I didn’t see you respond before I posted. We posted our comments at the same time. No harm.
Okay, didn’t see that either. Yeah. I began reading when everyone kept on saying how it insulted the show and I was like “What?” and then “TROLL” popped in my head afterward. Michael Jackson as a tag made it obvious. lol.
That explains why “Latinos” is replied to Mexicans. Lol
And I don’t see Gliding Coyote and his Native American homies. Besides the fact that main character (Jeff Winger) is white is because it is based off a person who happens to be white. The question is who’s more racist. You or Dan?
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So…yeah. I think we all agree: joke article meant to elicit outrage? Yep. Joke article meant to elicit outrage.
No seguro si grave…
There are no mexicans on Community becouse the show started with some people that were taking Spanish 101 and decided to start a spanish study group.
Mexicans already know spanish, so they don’t need to take spanish classes, neither join a spanish study group. So, there wouldn’t be many mexicans around the main caracters anyway.
I don’t think Community needs a mexican character, Señor Chang is enough. And Community is not mediocre.
80% of people don’t want a Mexican character. The internet has spoken.
Why would it “need” a Mexican character? Specifically “need” not “could use” or “would be nice”. Who exactly is this character? If all they are is Mexican then that’s not really a character that’s just a “token ethnicity”. I guarantee Ken Jeong and Donald Glover were hired because they were known to be funny people, not because they were filling out some checklist. Oh, as so was Joel McHale. To answer your question, the main character is white because they hired Joel McHale and he is white. It’s not his fault, he was just born that way.
You can tell how well written a character is by how many adjective you can use to describe their personality. That is how you write a character. Picking a colour is how you paint a room.
Here are the five reasons you are not helping:
You are not creating a meaningful dialogue by calling people ignorant, or racist. You are just creating a “they” to have people rally against.
It is condescending to imply that Mexicans can only identify with a character if they are Mexican. I have Asperger’s and I have no trouble identifying with Abed because he is a Muslim.
No one is actually “entitled” to be represented in any specific show. Everyone got there because they were good, and you insult anyone who is a minority and is on the show by implying that that was how they got their job.
You need to pick your battles better. I don’t know if you’ve been following the news as it pertains to Mexicans, but not having a character on Community is the least of their worries. The governor of Arizona and her supporters are about ready to chase them out with pitchforks and torches. That might actually affect peoples lives in a serious way.
For what you believe to be true, everyone from those you are against to those you claim to support would have to be thinking at the lowest level. Only thinking about what race people are. There is no meaningful dialogue that can take place if everyone is on that level. “Meaningful dialogue” is just a catch phrase you’re using without considering it’s meaning. For someone who is against racism, you sure spend a lot of time thinking about what race everyone is.
You are not helping.
ARE WE ALL FORGETTING THE ONGOING LEGACY THAT IS LUIS GUZMAN??? WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT?!
Thank you for this comment, I was ready to do an all-caps Guzman comment and you took care of it. Well done.
There’s a damn statue of Guzman in the quad, for Christ’s sake.
First off, Community is a brilliantly written and hilarious show. Second, if you think attacking the show is going to make them change, then you must be socially retarded. But don’t worry, socially retarded people are portrayed quite affluently in film and television, so you’re covered.
You know what show needs some Mexicans? Outsourced.
This made me realize: there are no Jewish characters in The Office (US). Or is there? Correct me if I’m wrong.
Uh, ‘mediocre comedy’? Screw you.
Also, this site is called “Diversity Awareness”, not “Mexican People Awareness” and therefore you should be proud that Community has one of the most diverse cast on TV. In fact, why would Dan Harmon be afraid of low ratings due to white people’s hate of Mexicans? THERE IS A MUSLIM CHARACTER ON THE SHOW. If he’s afraid of putting Mexicans in the show, I don’t think he’d put a Muslim in there.
Oh, and I’m Muslim, but that has nothing to do with my love of this show.
Well, at least the Michael Jackson tag was removed.
Go Human Beings!
It’s hard to take this seriously when the writing is so horrible, because it belies the lack of intelligence, or at least, education, of the person writing it. The next time you want to take a serious swing at something as intelligent as Dan Harmon’s Community, here are some tips: (1) learn the difference between “their” and “there” (Sounding Intelligent 101), (2) learn the meaning of the words you use, such as “vociferous,” and (3) don’t use phrases like “culturally rich…culture.” (Seriously?) Based on the author’s complete inability to write, I’m not surprised that the topic is as ridiculous as it is.
Feel free to criticize Community if you want, but do it with some smarts, for crying out loud. The show deserves at least that.
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How about their use of obviously Indian actors to depict Arabs? All darkies look the same to Harmon?
exactly
So? Hugh Laurie is a British who plays an American.
Pretty much
Someone needs to start a blog to rip these dumb Caucasoid tv writers to shreds.
I read, probably on Dan’s twitter, that Annie was going to be a Latina or Asian character, but the showmakers weren’t crazy about any of the Latin and Asian actresses who auditioned, so they rewrote the role.
The single most ridiculous thing is this: Community made a joke about this in the first season. When Pierce and the dean were trying to develop a mascot for the school (they’re the Greendale Human Beings) that would be inoffensive to all races, so they tried to stay away from anything that would be too ethnic. Jeff comes in and says, “I guess not being racist is the new racism.” I might be a white guy, but I think that shoehorning races in just so there’s “one of each” or whatever is even more racist than excluding some because you can’t feasibly have a show with 1000 characters on it to make sure you’re “sufficiently diverse.”
The author argues that despite Community having a diverse ensemble cast, the show is fundamentally racist because it lacks a Mexican character. He criticizes the show for portraying an under representative proportion of Mexicans who he claims make up 19% of all community college attendees and gives three possible theories for why this is the case: “1) Dan Harmon (Community creator) is ignorant 2) Dan Harmon is fearful of low ratings due to white people’s hate of Mexicans, 3) NBC does not allow too many minorities in it’s comedies.” Lets leave behind briefly the hyperbole of the latter statements and address the author’s statistic. His claim that 19% of community college attendees in the US are Mexican is likely unreliable or simply fabricated. According to the Lumina Institute, while Latinos (meaning not only Mexicans but also those of Cuban, Puerto Rican or any South or Central American decent) do constitute a growing part of community college demographics, it also finds that, “Minority students constitute 30 percent of community college enrollments nationally.” Thus, it doubtful that almost 2/3 of minorities enrolled in community college are of Mexican descent. Now to address the second point: while it is true that the show’s creative staff had never planned on a specifically Mexican character, it is true that the character Annie, portrayed by Allison Brie, was originally written to be Latina. However, because the show could not find a suitable actor and because Brie had already proven herself on AMC’s Mad Men, the character was altered to be Jewish and she was cast. Combined with a seeming unwillingness to conduct any sort of research, the author of this article not only spewed a stream of baseless nonsense, but also displayed the kind of ignorance and reactionary instinct so characteristic of racists.