The Issue with Blue Bloods

 

Sometimes the power of the people wins.

Evidence of this is how the entertainment industry changed the way they did business and started to cast more people of color as well as those with different lifestyles. These people didn’t just get cast in roles, many of them were cast as the main character.

It doesn’t matter if it was through non-cable (CBS, NBC, FOX, ABC) channels, cable stations (HBO, Showtime, Starz, Epix, Cinemax) or streaming services (Netflix, Hulu, Amazon). The changes have been huge although some of these results have been mixed as some viewers have struggled with the changes in the way shows or movies have been made either through casting or the topics of these shows.

There are those who believe casting certain people doesn’t add to the story; that they are just cast in order for the studio executives to get more viewers and make more money.

It is important to note that, this is the same reason why studio executives will put certain shows in the best time slots or renew the show for seasons at a time. Viewers and money are the two thing they understand.

Whether Hollywood will keep this trend going or lessen it as time goes on, due to their long history of ignoring minorities and women remains to be seen and although the change is good, they still have a lot of work to do. They are still not giving roles to female actresses over 40, they also are not paying females the same amount the males get, continue to marginalize and sexualize women, and still grossly underrepresenting other minorities such as Asians and Native Americans.

Not all shows have jumped on the bandwagon and the studios don’t seem to mind it which indicates the change may not be as permanent as people may be hoping for.

Such is the case with the TV show Blue Bloods.

Now in its 13 season, it has become more conservative most likely due to the fact that Tom Selleck (a staunch Republican) became an executive producer.

Recently, Selleck stated that the NYPD loves the show and feels it’s a good representation of the department, but it isn’t. It’s a representation of a white NYPD. An NYPD that hasn’t existed for a long time. Today, the NYPD police force is comprised of 53% people of color and 47% Caucasian.

On Blue Bloods, it’s more like 8% of their officers are people of color. They probably want to get credit that Officer Janko had two partners who were women of color, but these partners didn’t stay around for too long.

They do have episodes where a person of color is featured in the storyline, but they usually either get killed on the show or decide to leave the NYPD.

People of color can’t even catch a break by being cast as the criminal since most of the legal ne’er-do-wells are usually white.

In season 12 (episode 16, Guilt), the show runners demonstrated just how offensive they can be towards people of color. Decorated Detective Angela Reddick (Ilfenesh Hadera) decided she wanted to be a part of Commissioner Reagan’s team. The Commissioner tried his best to get her to consider another assignment, but she stood her ground. Frank finally gave in and gave her a spot on his all-white team (Baker, Moore, and Gormley). She was strong and opiniated which is what you may expect from a seasoned police officer with a higher rank. Basically, she refused to bow and know-tow, to take her assigned place at the end of the line which infuriated the team. They went to Frank who agreed to have her reassigned. Once she was reassigned, she ended getting shot which made everyone feel guilty.

For a show that boasts how they tackle difficult subjects and storylines, they missed a teachable moment. Not one of them ever admitted that it was racist and sexist the way that they treated her. The guilt wasn’t necessarily about her getting shot, but their own attitudes towards a woman of color. Not any of them, including the so-called beacon of honesty, Frank Reagan.

The show is also a pro-Catholic TV show. In only 3 episodes over 13 years have viewers seen Commissioner Reagan consulting with commanders of different religions such as Jewish, Buddhist, or Muslim.

The show runners of Blue Bloods would also want credit for casting people of color as members of the cast.

A member of the cast. Apparently, they have a quota of only having one although they are not opposed to have a person of color as a recurring cast member just as long as it doesn’t recur for more than 5 episodes.

One person of color as a member of the main cast isn’t diversity. It’s tokenism.

The current token is actress Marissa Ramirez who plays Danny Reagan’s partner Detective Maria Baez.

Despite the fact that she is equal in rank to Danny Reagan and with the same amount of time on the job, she’s more like an assistant than a detective. The character should really be honored that on occasion she is able to play the part of Reagan’s conscious or babysitter.

Marissa Ramirez is a seasoned actress with six film credits and 29 television credits which total 17 years of experience. She’s obviously proved that she’s cable of handling a larger responsibility when it comes to characters and their roles.

Honestly, Blue Bloods has a lot going for it.

Most of the stories are actually very good. Donnie Wahlberg as Danny Reagan, Robert Clohessy as Sid Gormley, Gregory Jbara as Garrett Moore, and Steven Schirripa as Anthony Abetemarco are exceptional actors who always bring their A-game to every scene they’re in.

It’s just a shame that this show is more about entitlement than it is about equality.

Recently Kevin Wade, the show runner for Blue Bloods stated in an interview with TVLine.com, “So we don’t tell serialized stories, we don’t have cliffhangers, we don’t replace cast members…. Many of the tools that long-running shows have, very much to our credit or to whatever, we don’t have at our disposal, so we try to work with what we have.”

Apparently, they don’t believe in the importance of having any diversity in the casting of characters or equality when it comes to the female characters versus the male characters either.

They also have a family where none of them have any real friends outside their work or family. With a very few exceptions, they never have guests over for the family dinners. This is disturbing in itself. The exclusiveness is unsettling and if this was a family in real life, it would probably bring some unwanted attention to itself as this type of behavior is considered to be unnatural and suspicious.

Blue Bloods is a popular show and is a money-maker for CBS. The studio executives won’t see anything wrong with it until they start to lose viewership and money. Then they’ll use the caliber of the show as a reason why they’ve decided to cancel it without admitting any of it was their own fault.

Let’s just see it for what it is. This a TV show about a white family, living in a nonexistent white city, and working for a white department that’s supposed to be a replicant of a real city department.

Unlike other police procedures such as FBI, Law & Order: SVU, FBI: Most Wanted, and East New York (which depicts New York and its police force exactly the way it is), Blue Bloods is fighting against the very thing that most people want, TV shows that show the world as it is: diverse and equal.

It continues to maintain an invisible sign that says people of color need not apply.