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Assessing the amount of ethnic minority characters
This leads us to the core of this research, the representation of ethnic minorities on Flemish TV. As expected, this is the topic on which opinions start to diverge more clearly, based upon the different positions and experiences of each ethnic group. To start, the Flemish and Dutch generally think there are enough portrayals of ethnic minorities in Flemish TV fiction. They see an effort is being made to include ethnic minorities, which they think is positive but also comes across as somewhat ‘forced’, i.e. as less self-evident than in American fiction:
Elke: ‘I think they accentuate it much more in Flemish and Dutch series, while it doesn’t draw that much attention in American series because they are also more integrated in society. Here, that’s still ongoing, and therefore they accentuate it more.’
Ineke: ‘That’s what I also think, that they get more attention.’
Elke: ‘In Belgium they really take care to represent them well, so people get a positive image in contrast to all the negative messages in the papers.’
Ineke: ‘In American series they just act like all the rest, they don’t do anything special.’ (Flemish girls)
The African respondents agree that there are enough portrayals of ethnic minorities, but they think their own community is underrepresented: ‘If you see a foreigner on TV most of the time it’s a Turk or a Moroccan’ (Rose, African girl). They also complain about the homogenisation of the whole of Africa:
Jan: ‘On TV they always give the impression that the culture is the same in all of Africa and that isn’t the case, like the culture in Poland is different from that in Spain. On TV it’s as if Africa is one country and that every culture is identical and that’s ridiculous, really.’ (African boys)
In the three other groups there is more disagreement, some thinking there are not enough ethnic minorities and others thinking there are enough. The discussion among the Jewish boys is telling:
Q: ‘Do you think there are enough allochthonous people on TV here?’
Beau: ‘No, not enough, otherwise it wouldn’t draw our attention when there is one in it. Many programs try to remedy that but because we’re not used to it, it’s quite difficult to change that.’
Dino: ‘Well, I think they are on TV often enough. A bit like in real life, so it’s realistic.’
In contrast, the Turkish girls are very critical:
Q: ‘Do you think there are enough allochthonous people on TV?’
All: ‘No, certainly not.’
Q: ‘I mean, as a representation of reality.’
Hadise: ‘Reality? (laughs) In our street you can hardly find ten Belgians, it’s all Moroccans and Turks and such. But on TV, it’s just as if there’s only one.’
Like the Flemish and many other groups, the Turkish boys comment on the stronger ethnic minority presence on American TV, which they link to the stronger social integration. When asked if they think there are enough ethnic minorities on Flemish TV, it transpires that they do not really care all that much:
Murat: ‘To be honest, I never pay attention to that... That’s not on your mind when you just want to watch a show.’
A similar answer arises among the Moroccan girls:
Q: ‘Do you think it is important that allochthonous people participate in a series?’
Dina: ‘It doesn’t really matter to me.’
Bonnita: ‘To me neither.’
Nadia: ‘As long as it’s thrilling.’
The Moroccan boys would also like more ethnic minority characters, but they do not really care very much either. Overall, it seems that most groups have gotten used to the scarce presence of ethnic minorities. Entertainment, rather than representation, is on their mind when watching fiction.