Seva Hester
Editor-in-Chief
Last year, I wrote an article about the Hallmark Channel’s failure to produce accurate romantic shows. Or just having good shows at all. This is the follow up to that beautiful call-out I wrote. Now, here we are, one year later, and Hallmark has still failed to produce quality television shows. The main issue? Diversity.
It seems as if though Hallmark prides themselves on producing movies exclusively with white heterosexual couples. On almost every single Christmas show poster this year, they are all white males and females wearing red and green. On any shows they have since produced, there are barely any people of color in them. If they are, then they are just side characters. However, this year, they did produce a movie called “Christmas Everlasting” featuring Tatyana Ali as the main character with Patti La Belle and Dennis Haysbert as her supporting characters. Although this is good, that’s only one movie so far where they have an African-American lead. One. Movie.
Why does Hallmark insist on letting this happen? There needs to be more if they’re going to say that they’re including more diversity in their movies.
Love is not restricted to only one race or to the opposite gender. Hallmark should be showing inclusion, not following the bandwagon of other discriminating TV/movie channels.They need to show people of color as main characters, not off to the side.
Doing that shows inclusion and representation, both of which are needed in movies and TV show segments.
I mean, Hallmark is trash (to put it bluntly), but what makes them even trashier is how they just don’t include people of color.The acting is terrible too, it’s like they have made zero improvements, and on top of that, the plots continue to be fluff that don’t involve any character development. Unless you include finding fake love, like somehow meeting a “handsome hunk” of a guy on the corner of the street because her “clumsy” arse just couldn’t walk straight kind of thing.
At this point, there is no reason why anyone should be watching the channel. It’s too unrealistic, racist, and fake, with a capital ‘f.’ And for those who say I don’t know what love is, well, how can you know if you watch Hallmark? They don’t depict what real love is anyway. So maybe you’re the one who doesn’t understand love.
This year, and for upcoming years, we need to boycott Hallmark. They are not contributing to society at all. #boycotthallmark2018.