Racism has long been present in American children sitcoms. Sitcoms usually depict the racial minority characters in a stereotypical way as they occupy more subordinate roles, including Asian-Americans who are usually portrayed as the model minority. However, since the NAACP (National Association of the Advancement of Colored People) established a bureau that monitors the minorities’ representation on American media in 2002, there has been a development on the portrayal of minorities (NAACP, 2008). One of them includes employing different racial representation strategies, such as utilizing the perspective of racial colorblindness. One of the prominent cases appears on Disney Channel’s 2000s sitcom, the Suite Life of Zack and Cody (2005-2007). The only prominent Asian-American female character,
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Set up in a fictional hotel in Boston in early 2000s, the Suite Life of Zack and Cody presents the daily life of the fancy Tipton hotel. The story revolves around the hotel’s staffs, the guests, and the residents with different racial backgrounds. Although the sitcom tries to be more inclusive in its casts’ racial diversity to promote multiculturalism, the representation of the minorities is still problematic. This includes the utilization of racial colorblindness perspective in the representation of Asian-American female character, who is the hotel owner’s daughter, London Tipton (Brenda Song).
Never acknowledging her distinctive physical appearance in terms of race among the environment dominated by white people, the sitcom represents London Tipton through the perspective of racial colorblindness as she barely has any presumed Asian traits. Smith (2013) and Turner (2012) argue that some American multiracial films and Disney’s multiracial sitcoms utilize racial colorblindness,
Set up in a fictional hotel in Boston in early 2000s, the Suite Life of Zack and Cody presents the daily life of the fancy Tipton hotel. The story revolves around the hotel’s staffs, the guests, and the residents with different racial backgrounds. Although the sitcom tries to be more inclusive in its casts’ racial diversity to promote multiculturalism, the representation of the minorities is still problematic. This includes the utilization of racial colorblindness perspective in the representation of Asian-American female character, who is the hotel owner’s daughter, London Tipton (Brenda Song).
Never acknowledging her distinctive physical appearance in terms of race among the environment dominated by white people, the sitcom represents London Tipton through the perspective of racial colorblindness as she barely has any presumed Asian traits. Smith (2013) and Turner (2012) argue that some American multiracial films and Disney’s multiracial sitcoms utilize racial colorblindness,