But it wasn't until I was sitting in class on Friday, that I realized that there are almost no black people in Friends. I'm not just saying that none of the six friends are black. That's obvious and I knew that. But look around the coffee shop and look at who they date. It's white. Very white with a few exceptions: Ross dates Julie, as Asian-American, Ross and Joey both date Kristen, played by Gabrielle Union, for one episode, and Joey and Ross both briefly date Charlie, a black women. I'm sure I'm forgetting a couple of characters, but you get my point. Friends is white. But why? The show is set in New York City. Are you telling me that there are no twenty-something, hip, urban black people, in NYC from 1994-2004? I don't think that's why.
But what would it be like if one of the friends was black? Would they make race part of the show? I don't think NBC wanted that burden. I don't think they wanted to have to explain how one black man or women ended up friends with five white people from Queens or Long Island. It is because black and white groups of friends don't exist? Is it because the creators, David Crane and Martha Kauffman, didn't think these groups existed? Is it because having a mixed group of black and white people wouldn't appeal to a black or white audience?
When we talked about this in class I immediately thought about Friends, the show I grew up on and now, I watch the box set on my laptop whenever I can. I thought about the lack of diversity in this show and I was completely heartbroken. I thought that this show that I loved was perfect in every way.... I guess not. This show aired from 1994 to 2004 and was produced by all white writers, editors, and producers. I don't think that it is an accident that show producing and writing was a privilege of only white people, nor do I think it is an accident that there were few non-white people on the show. The only ethnic diversity in the main set of characters is Joey who plays the part of an Italian-American as stereotypically as possible.
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