the diverse face of reality television

This Los Angeles Times article discusses a trend we've been noticing for a while... While scripted shows still largely reflect a white male society, and struggle to include any kind of diversity to their casts, the upsurge of reality television shows tend to reflect a more diverse America: The greater reality of minorities on TV.

It's too bad that most of reality TV is garbage. And I'm not just saying that in a dismissive, "oh, all TV is trash" type of way. I watch a lot of television, and I really mean that most reality TV is awful. Like, Idiocracy-esque, human civilization-deteriorating awful. (Have you seen I Love Money? A Shot of Love?)

But sometimes, some of the good stuff does rise to the top. You all know how much I loved Survivor: Cook Islands, despite a disconcerting start ("race war!") to that particular season. How can I begrudge the reality show that introduced us to winner Yul Kwon?

And did you watch the season premiere of the new Amazing Race? I'm not a regular follower of this show, but I'll keep watching to track the progress of Tammy and Victor, the sibling team competing to be the first pair to the finish line. Other teams in the worldwide trek include two African American sisters, a deaf guy and his mom, and a gay father-and-son duo. That's pretty cool.