Children may get a false impression of what the world is really like. If all the children see is violence on television, then, of course, the children will be a little apprehensive about the world. All of the violence could also make the kids angry at the world, certain types of people, and specific groups. Most prime time shows on television have a predominately white cast. It has been noted that "Of 26 pilots the networks announced for fall, none has a minority star" (Poniewozik 70). The only major networks that have minorities in leading roles are the UPN and the WB. Will minorities ever have leading roles in sitcoms? As one author puts it "Space aliens will have more network lead roles than Asians or Native Americans" Pena 3 (Poniewozik 70). Do television executives have a legitimate reason for the lack of minorities? First of all, there is a lack of minorities in executive positions and there is hardly any minority writers, but are those good enough reasons? The executives can make an easy solution by just hiring the minorities in their sitcoms. A leading role is not necessary at first because there has to be a starting point somewhere. Young minority kids will be deeply affected by this situation. When they watch these white shows, they might wonder why nobody that looks like them is in the sitcom. All children must understand that everybody is equal and judged the same. In a sense, the thinking is that the minority will never be given a fair chance against a white person for the same job. In a way, it is sad to see that race is still playing such a major role in our present society after all that this country has gone through. The next generation of kids should not even have to worry about the skin color as a factor in their lives. As if racism were not enough, kids are also influenced by trying to be the perfect person. TV shows view only girls with the perfect bodies. This a big problem with little girls.
