Representational Politics in American Television: A Case Study on ‘Bridgerton’ and ‘Queen Charlotte’
‘Bridgerton’ is an American historical fiction series written originally as a book by Julia Quinn. It is set in 1813 in London and focuses on a family who navigates through the trials of marriage (Quinn, 2023). This essay will highlight and discuss the critics’ approach to representational politics of race in the series, focusing on the first two seasons of the show. It will be divided in two, the first half will focus on the representation of black people, while the second half will highlight the representation of South Asian people in the show. Representation and diversity in television and films are critical to creating opportunities, and it allows voices and stories to be heard (Kotchapaw, 2022). When it comes to the television show ‘Bridgerton,’ critics have been divided on whether it has a good or bad representation of the black and South Asian communities.
Queen Charlotte’s race has been up for debate for decades. This is based on the Queen’s family tree and her being a potential descendant of the black Portuguese royal family, as well as from examining her facial structure from the royal portraits (Brown, 2020). Queen Charlotte was also an advocate for human rights and fought for the freedom of slaves (Lovejoy). However, there still are historians that disagree with this theory and there is no way to prove it as she died over two centuries ago (Jeffries, 2009). Therefore it is not surprising that the character Queen Charlotte is played by Golda Rosheuvel (IMDb, 2023), a black woman. Bridgerton depicts an idealist racially integrated London, presuming the Queen’s race and relationship with King George helped abolish racism. We are introduced to the male lead of the season, the Duke of Hastings, Simon Basset (Quinn, Julia Quinn, 2023). Basset is played by Regé-Jean Page (IMDb, 2020), a black man. A duke was someone who ruled provinces and the highest ranking peer to the King. It was a rare title to receive with only 40 dukes ever have existed in this era (Hatch, 2015). While Page playing a duke could be down to colour-blind casting, some viewers suggest that it is a nod to the popular belief that Queen Charlotte was biracial.
As stated before, ‘Bridgerton’ suggests a society where people of colour are just as privileged as their white counterparts. This is hinted with Queen Charlotte, The Duke of Hastings, and Lady Danbury all being played by black actors. However, due to a brief conversation between Lady Danbury and the Duke, two black characters, it is made clear that racism once existed in this society but has been abolished since the royal multiracial marriage (Dusen, 2020). This conversation underlines that this society still acknowledges that racism still exists and that it is not the colour-blind society that they present itself to be. If the King and Queen’s marriage is what created this integrated society, it would be a new enough concept and there would defiantly be some conversations surrounding the topic of race at least among the black members of society.
The stereotype of hypersexuality in black people is compounded. This is most evident in the side character Marina, a side character, who isn’t part of the main storyline of the show. She is played by Ruby Barker (IMDb, 2022), a black woman. Marina is the cousin of the Fetheringtons, a high-ranking family of the ton, and she is their guest for the season. She is being forced into a hasty marriage to hide her scandalous out-of-wedlock pregnancy (Park, 2022). While society’s judgment on her pregnancy has nothing to do with her race and it is more an insight into the modern day stereotype about black people being promiscuous. Marina getting pregnant can be seen as a stereotype of her race. Marina is the only young black woman on the show, with the rest of the black women being mature, older ladies. While Marina is pregnant, the rest of the young ladies her age in the show have no idea what sex even is (Dusen, 2020). This is highlighted when Eloise asks her brothers “How does a lady come to be with child?” (IMDb, 2020). Her older sister Daphne, even as a married woman, doesn’t understand how to get pregnant and has to ask a servant (Hart, 2020). Both Eloise and Daphne are white women as well as being the same age as Marina and yet they are complete opposites in terms of sexual knowledge and awareness. Marina admits that she has been neglected throughout her life and has never had someone to guide her and take care of her but she is dismissed and accused of being hypersexual and promiscuous (Collins, 2021).
Furthermore, we see a very disturbing rape scene between the Duke of Hastings and Daphne. Upon discovering how to become pregnant, Daphne takes it upon herself to force the Duke to finish inside her despite his pleas against it. Daphne justifies her assault through his husband duties to provide her with children (Dusen, 2020). The series glosses over the trauma that would follow this and instead focuses on Daphne as she is upset that the Duke lied to her (Dusen, 2020). A rape scene in any show is hard to watch but the fact that the victim was a man and a person of colour makes it worse, due to the potential repercussions. Black men in particular are often victim-blamed for sexual assaults and this scene only reiterates this narrative (Romano, 2020). Even though Daphne was the only person at fault in this situation, the dynamic of the scene and the following scenes indicate that the Duke is responsible for what happened (Dusen, 2020).
When determining if Bridgerton had a good representation of the black community, it is important to take into consideration all the characters who are black and not just the main characters. A side character Will Mondrich, who is played by Martins Imhangbe, is a boxer who is good friends with the Duke of Hastings (Mowatt, 2021). Mondrich is a likable character who provides the Duke with great advice and puts his family above anything else (Dusen, 2020). Cheryl Dunye, one of the directors, wanted to steer Mondrich away from playing a stereotypical angry black man trope, even when the character is being talked down to. He instead uses his intelligence and kept calm. (Willen, 2022). Characters going against harmful stereotypes is exactly what is needed in television and movies today to have good representation. Another background character who provides great black representation is Genevieve Delacroix, played by Kathryn Drysdale (Baum, 2022). Delacroix is a well-sought dressmaker and shop owner, as well as an extremely smart and capable woman (Dusen, 2020). She does not rely on anyone and has no inheritance. She does what she can to thrive in society and doesn’t let anything hold her back (Baum, 2022). Queen Charlotte is another example of a character who promotes good representation (IMDb, 2023). She is a strong black female who is powerful, she is after all the Queen of England. On each occasion that we are introduced to King George III we are reminded how mentally ill he is (Dusen, 2020). Every time the King comes onto the screens it instantly becomes an emotional scene. The Queen who always appears strong and in command falls silent at the sight of her sick husband. There are stereotypes that black women are ignorant, ill-tempered, and illogical (Ashley, 2013), but Queen Charlotte goes against these stereotypes and appears as not only a powerful and confident queen, but also a loving and devoted wife. When King George becomes overwhelmed and confused, the Queen tries to contain her emotions and calm him down - putting his needs above her own (Dusen, 2020).
In season two of Bridgerton, we are introduced to a new family named the Sharma’s. The family includes Lady Mary, Edwina, and Kate, played by South Asian actors; Shelley Conn, Charithra Chandran, and Simone Ashley respectively (Blake, 2022). Lady Mary once lived in London before meeting her husband and running away to India. The mother and two daughters returned to London to find Edwina a husband, a few years after the death of Lady Mary’s husband and the girls’ father (Dusen, 2020).
Chris Van Dusen, the producer, and screenwriter of season two, said that he wanted to expand the show’s multicultural aspect by creating a South Asian background to the new characters (Blake, 2022). Van Dusen worked with several historians to ensure the representation was as authentic as possible, and this research into South Asian culture is evident (Valentini, 2022). Hints of the Sharma’s race and heritage are dabbled throughout the season from subtle unmentioned pieces of clothing and jewellery to a scene dedicated to wedding traditions. Shonda Rhimes, the executive producer, reports that the decision to include a South Asian family was simply to expand the world of ‘Bridgerton.’ She includes that they were determined to cast South Asian women with darker skin as it is not something that is represented in movies and television shows (Valentini, 2022). There were some South Asians in London during the Regency Era, but very little would have been part of the aristocratic life (Blake, 2022). However, Rhimes said that they wanted the characters to reflect their audience, which is global (Valentini, 2022).
In the second season of ‘Bridgerton’ it is evident that it was a deliberate decision to have Indian characters. It definitely isn’t the case of colour-blind casting as may be the case in the first season of the show. Some critics applaud ‘Bridgerton’ writers for even inviting dark-skinned South Asian women into the narrative, while others criticised the inaccuracies concerning their culture. This alone has critics divided. The surname Sharma is from north India, but Kate told Anthony that they are from Bombay. The two girls call their father ‘appa’, a Tamil name. The evening before Edwina’s marriage, a pre-wedding ceremony takes place which is Hindi. Kate calls Edwina ‘bon’ which is Bengali and Edwina calls Kate ‘didi’ which is Hindi (Rao, 2022). A viewer reports that they were disappointed in the inaccuracy of their culture and heritage. The question as to if it was an intentional mistake as they find it hard to believe that Netflix would make such a simple and obvious mistake, but there is no reason as to why this was done (Sunder, 2022).
The majority of the critics however find these mistakes forgivable as they are distracted by the subtle and unspoken details hinting at the Sharma’s South Asian culture. Kate makes remarks on English tea and is seen to prefer chai, as well as oiling her sister’s hair. The characters often switch between their English and Indian accents depending on who they are talking to (Sundaravelu, 2022). Some viewers suggest that instead of trying to force authenticity, the mix of subcultures within India permits a degree of artistic licence, as well as encourages relatability amongst any South Asian watching the show (Rao, 2022). It is also said that there is such a variety of languages and dialects in India that no one criticises them for mixing them up. Audience members who are South Asian agree that it is extremely difficult and the show can only be viewed through a superficial lens without taking it too seriously (Sunder, 2022). Another critic said that while it is not the most accurate representation of South Asians, it is a step in the right direction, a step that was long overdue (Sunder, 2022)
Many critics praised ‘Bridgerton’ on how they made Indian culture a part of the Sharma’s character but not the only part of their characters. They said that this was a refreshing change from the previous depictions of South Asians in television where it becomes their entire identity. It was also noted how the Sharma’s were proud of their heritage and traditions as it is stereotypical for South Asian characters to be ashamed and try to hide their background. Kate and Edwina hold their values and customs close to them without making it their entire personality. Anthony falls in love with Kate regardless of her race and loves her for her confidence, intelligence, and competitive personality. South Asians are typically characterised as unattractive, and studious, an example being the character Raj from ‘The Big Bang Theory’ (Dsouza, 2022). Kate and Edwina go against these stereotypes, and while they were well-educated they are also gorgeous and confident. Kate reports Edwina plays the sitar, murali, and piano as well as is fluent in French, Latin, Greek, Marathi, and Hindustani (Sundaravelu, 2022). The Sharma family are multidimensional characters who are not a walking and talking caricature of Indians. It is rare to see South Asian women play the role of a romantic and desired character.
Critics of American television tend to focus on representational politics. ‘Bridgerton’ has divided critics since its release in 2020 on its representation of race in the series. In season one, several black characters are introduced. While some critics argue that their presence is a good representation as some of the characters are breaking stereotypes such as Mondrich and Queen Charlotte. Other critics claim that the main characters who are black compounds stereotypes, this is highlighted when Marina gets pregnant meanwhile none of the white girls her age even know what sex is. When the second season was released, the critics were still divided, but less so. The main argument that suggested that the Sharma’s were not good representations of the South Asian community was the lack of research done by the writers of the show. There were errors and basic mistakes in language and traditions being from different subcultures within the South Asian culture. However, most of the critics applauded the show for breaking stereotypes and including Indian customs that were never seen before on Western television.
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