Theme Of Diversity In The Kids Are All Right

At varying degrees both productions include at least some racial or familial diversity beyond sexual diversity; however, unlike The Fosters, diversity is simply a veneer in The Kids Are All Right. Although moments of queerness are represented they largely appear at the surface. This places a cloak over the lived experiences of many queer families and turns away from addressing social issues and systemic oppressions. The Kids Are All Right’s effort to portray them as equals through the mundanity of a lesbian family; problematically, this is paralleled by the production’s ambivalent inclusion of diversity in that both are evident and unexplored. In this way, mere representation can justify the disregard for the broader context. For example, The …show more content…
Considering that diversity can “function as a containment strategy,” discord occurs between diversity and equality (Ahmed 2012, 53). This discord is highlighted in comparing the way people of colour are cast in both productions. The Kids Are All Right only features people of colour in supporting roles to turn the viewer’s attention towards the white protagonists. Such futile inclusion of people of colour privileges the white character’s perspectives (Kohnen 2013). On the contrary, The Fosters offers “meaningful diversity” in the characters of colour for they are nuanced, multidimensional “fully realized individuals” who are autonomous of the white character’s development (Béltran 2010; Kohnen 2013, 89). Furthermore, The Fosters directly addresses these social issues and systemic oppression in explicitly depicting issues such as tension within interracial relationships, racism, cultural belonging, drug abuse. Consequently, The Fosters prioritizes diversity to offer an effective critique of social issues whereas The Kids Are All Right dubiously engages with diversity to decree the film’s political, queer