Mary Beltran's Criteria For Lasting Diversity

Mary Beltran’s criteria for meaningful diversity, which by no means is all inclusive or overarching, is a very interesting and entertaining scholarly foray into media studies with a focus on equitable diversity and representation in media. Beltran’s criteria are as follows: “are the characters of color fully realized individuals, do the writers and producers appear knowledgeable about and interested in the worlds and perspectives of the non-white characters, does the diversity of the cast appear natural, and finally, do the series or film producers exploit the natural diversity of a story’s setting or subject matter?” I intend to apply each facet of Beltran’s criteria to Baz Luhrmann’s Netflix original “The Get Down,” to show that the show
is one of the truest and most significant depictions of meaningful diversity in recent televisual history. Luhrmann is of course known to be a very gaudy showman in his directing style, one that I am a fan of, and while much of that style finds its way into the story of the birth of Hip-Hop in 1970’s New York, we see a surprisingly honest and relatable portrayal of characters of color in the show that one does not often see.
The characters of color are in fact the protagonists in the show and with the exception of the homosexual love interest of Jaden Smith’s character the White people are actually the shallow and occasionally villainous antagonists to the artistic expression of the Black and Brown characters. To dive right in to the first category of Beltran’s “meaningful diversity criteria,” “are the characters of color fully realized individuals?” While the show is certainly a coming-of-age drama as well, the characters are unquestionably developed and complete, the main characters Ezekiel Figuero, Shaolin Fantastic, and Mylene Cruz are multidimensional and complicated characters. To use Ezekiel or “Zeke” as his paramour Mylene refers to him as an example, he is
a thoroughly intelligent half-Black, half-Puerto Rican young man with a seemingly tough choice to make. Zeke loves his poetry that comes to be manifested through music, Hip Hop, yet his teachers and aunt (his parents are both dead at this point due to the violent backdrop of the South Bronx) want him to focus on professional development and his internship with a powerful White real estate developer. While many judge Zeke for his affinity to his music and friends, labeling him as a drug-dealer or other stereotypes, he truly feels that he is expressing his artistic feelings through the outlet of Hip-Hop; whereas, the professional “White” world of success is certainly open to him and is symbolized by Yale and the White real-estate developer, it comes across as dishonest and crooked in juxtaposition to his artistically pure music. Zeke is conflicted for most of the series, he wants to make it out of the Bronx with his girlfriend Mylene as she is having musical success as well; however, he is not comfortable with the dishonesty of the corporate professional world and would rather take the route of his music, which he could very well have success with given his level of talent, to get out of the Bronx. He is faced with trials and tribulations and while he does not always make the correct or logical choice he stays true to his heart and is truly a role model with his moral compass, something that I would not imagine seeing on television several years ago. Moving on to Beltran’s second category, “do the writers and producers appear knowledgeable about and interested in the worlds and perspectives of the non-white characters?” This is perhaps the easiest to answer as Luhrmann and his team seem to genuinely care about the setting and the world of their characters, they want to show a more honest and gritty version of the Bronx while seemingly for the first time showing the beauty of it as well. The five young men who make up Zeke’s Hip-Hop group, The Get Down Brothers are truly loyal to one another and are just trying to navigate a difficult world while staying true to themselves and one another. The writers and producers name and often interact with specific areas of the Bronx, landmarks, people, and fictional historical representations to fill-in blanks for the audience that presents a very knowledgeable and seemingly well researched image of the birth of Hip-Hop. As mentioned earlier, the White characters are for the most part seen as dishonest and out for themselves rather than the communities they claim to care about; whereas, characters like Papa Fuerte, who is perhaps a corrupt strongman in his community, still truly cares about his community and wants to help them. In short, even some of the seemingly borderline villainous characters of color are given a very human representation that makes them relatable and not a dichotomous representation of good and bad that many previous shows fall into. For Beltran’s next category, “does the diversity of the cast appear natural,” we can view a fringe character, Thor, the love white homosexual interest of Dizzee (played by Jaden Smith). While Thor might seem out of place or unnatural to place squarely into the world of Hip-Hop in the South Bronx, how Dizzee and he interact is much more organic than one might think. The two are skilled graffiti artists living during the crackdown of mayor Ed Koch (a character the show does little favors). The two become close through their art and eventually come to slowly be romantically involved, this could easily feel forced or unnatural to some but the slow and significant artistic passion the pair share makes the viewer feel the budding relationship long before it turns physical in the slightest, which it never takes very far anyway. Their relationship and the character of Thor himself is a well-developed counterweight for the psychedelic ambiances of Dizzee that seems far more natural than artificially transposed. Lastly but extremely significantly, is Beltran’s final category of meaningful diversity, “do the series or film producers exploit the natural diversity of a story’s setting or subject matter?” Bronx, Hip-Hop, 70’s styling’s, need I say more, Luhrmann could not be more at home with the flamboyant outfits of the 1970’s but more surprisingly is how grounded within the setting of early Hip-Hop culture and Bronx subculture the show lives within.
Navigating between different sub-boroughs in the Bronx and using complex musically talented Black categories where they were historically and would logically be is a refreshing change of pace from the traditional displays we see in television. Even more surprising is how the writers place the White antagonists where they would realistically be given the setting, the mayor only comes into the Bronx to campaign and quickly leaves once he secures their vote, and the real-estate developer is situated well within Manhattan and Zeke has to seek him out in his environment (which he still navigates well given his background) rather than vice versa. A show about the birth of Hip-Hop in the Bronx in the 1970’s would logically be composed of majority Black characters, and the writers do not squander the same opportunity for realism that so many of their peers seem
to. Ultimately, “The Get Down” seems as if it was written to fulfill Beltran’s criteria and set the standard for what should be considered “meaningful diversity.” The show is written beautifully and honestly, two things that spell great television and the show is nothing short of that. After watching “The Get Down” and considering it within Beltran’s criteria one would wonder why more shows would not present similar stories and in similar ways, and then I realized that “The Get Down” was cancelled despite critical acclaim. I suppose the television industry and we as viewers still have a long way to go before we are willing to accept honest and meaningful diversity in media when it is presented to us.