Mixed Feelings about "mixed-ish"

The show black-ish, which aired its first season back in 2014, follows the Johnson family. The show both highlights issues that black Americans face every day and provides comic relief. The release of such a show was bold, as it didn’t shy away from real-world affairs. Since then, the creators have produced a spin-off, grown-ish, which follows the eldest Johnson child, Zoey, as she navigates the college world. Both shows have had their fair share of appreciation and backlash, and now the creators have come out with a second spin-off, mixed-ish, which will follow Rainbow, the matriarch of the Johnson family, and her struggle through childhood as a biracial child in the 80s.

The trailer features Rainbow opening up to her family about her youth. In 1985, the commune she and her family live in is broken up by the government due to it being a cult. Her life dramatically shifts as her family settles into the suburbs. In addition to being introduced to new technologies following this incident, they are thrust into the school world, where they are seen as outcasts by both black and white communities. Rainbow quotes that mixed children in the modern-day world have celebrities to look up to, noting the rapper Drake, ballerina Misty Copeland, former football quarterback Colin Kaepernick, President Obama, and Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, whereas being of mixed-heritage during her childhood was far more taboo.

So far, the show seems to be facing more criticism than excitement. Admittedly, coming from a mixed-race family myself, I was excited for the release of a show focusing on such a family’s perspective. However, after the first spin-off was continuously called out for its colorism and large majority of light-skinned actors, the new spin-off looks like a weak effort to diversify the franchise’s cast. Shani Deason of Shadow and Act pointed out that the trailer for the show itself seems to contain more dark-skinned actors than either of the preceding shows. To make matters worse, these characters are portrayed as antagonists, which has already discouraged potential audiences as the show seems to be upholding its notorious colorism, despite having dedicated an episode to it in Black-ish. While Deason notes that the show cannot be judged fully based on its trailer, they end on a hopeful note that the actual series will take the reality of colorism and its impact on darker-skinned individuals into account. Moreover, in an article titled “Mixed-ish is an Important Perspective, but it Wasn’t the Spinoff Audiences Wanted,” Melissa Kimble summarized these ideas: “Yes, every story deserves to be told, but where is the value in sharing stories that allow space for others to be erased?”

The timing of the show’s announcement doesn’t bode well with the recent release of Disney’s live-action Aladdin, which faces similar critiques. Naomi Scott, of English and Indian descent, was cast to play a Middle Eastern princess. Erum Salam wrote in The Guardian, “This iteration of Princess Jasmine ticks all the boxes of the Hollywood formula for casting a woman of color: a name that’s easy to pronounce and looks just white enough” (“The fairest of them all? Two cheers for Aladdin's browner Princess Jasmine”). Moreover, Zoe Zaldana’s casting in the 2016 film Nina faced considerable backlash as makeup was used to make her skin appear darker. While this was most likely not Zaldana’s fault and rather the casting and set directors, the criticism could have been avoided had an actor of a darker skin tone been casted. Unfortunately, Mixed-ish, Aladdin, and Nina demonstrate the movie industry’s tendency to avoid casting darker actors, opting to cast their lighter counterparts instead.

While the show is taking on a new perspective, it appears that the creators have made little effort to represent and include darker-skinned actors in a positive and realistic light, and the Internet is not happy with it. The show is set to release in the fall of 2019, when it will hopefully take these concerns into account and not garner further criticism by continuing the previous shows’ reputation of playing into colorism.

by INÈS DUPUPET