Revenge: This is a Story about White Privilege

“	You kiss a billionaire once you make 200 grand. I've been kissing Victoria's ass all summer and I'm lucky she lets me call her by her first name.	”
	— Ashley Davenport

   

              Ever since television's foundation, minorities have been portrayed as poor maids, servants, or simply just a supporting character for the majority, whites. These negative perceptions started to appear in African American sitcoms such as, Amos 'n Andy and Beulah then continued in the late 1970’s with Good Times. Despite social changes over the past few decades, there are still representations of white privilege on television.

            A modern version of white privilege is shown on ABC’s, Revenge. The show makes minorities seem less significant to our society and more of just an accessory to white privileged characters on television. Revenge also highlights how only white characters are successful and rich while minorities still need to work hard for little pay. This drama takes place in the Hamptons, where you can only see mansions, expensive cars, and money. The show’s ensemble consists of wealthy successful characters. The main character, Emily Thorne, is known to be beautiful, smart, lathered in expensive clothing, and you guessed it….. she is white. The two most privileged characters on the show are Conrad and Victoria Grayson (net worth 4.7 billion dollars). With endless amounts of money, this power couple rules the Hamptons and you guessed it again….they are both white.  Conrad is a CEO of a massive global company and Victoria Grayson “Queen of the Hamptons”, is glamorous and powerful. She will stop at nothing to protect her high social status and most importantly her money.

            While the show consists of predominately white characters, one of the supporting characters, Ashley Davenport, identifies as the only African American. Ashley works as Victoria Grayson’s assistant but many may argue her job can compare to being a slave since she works hard and is not appreciated by her “master”. She pretty much does everything for Victoria, whether it be planning parties or running errands. Ashley hopes to gain entry into Victoria Grayson’s world by increasing a higher status in society and desperately wants to be part of the Hampton’s elite. Being the only minority, she was not allowed to attend parties as a guest but only as a worker (servant) to Victoria Grayson. In season three, Ashley confronts Victoria on how she gets treated unfairly. Victoria snarls, “what you’ve done is try to sleep your way to the top, after failing at jobs that we gave you out of pity”. Ashley attempts to fight back and says, “well at least I tried to work for it as opposed to having everything handed to me” (Fear, September 29th, 2013). White privilege is seen immediately after since Victoria tells Ashley she must leave the country. Instead of saying no, Ashley listens to Victoria thus demonstrating that black characters are weak. Another example of white privilege is shown between the characters Ashley and Emily. Ashley also serves as the role of Emily Thorne’s best friend. Typically minorities only serve as support for the white characters. Essentially, their problem is the white’s problem. Whether it is man advice or plotting against people, it was always what Emily wanted to do and Ashley went along with it. As viewers, we never really see Ashley’s life develop. In the same scene where Victoria demands Ashley leave the country; Emily is by Victoria’s side. Ganging up on Ashley, Emily also demands, “Get on that plane”. (Fear, September 29th, 2013). By the two white privileged characters teaming up to kick Ashley out of town, this demonstrates that black characters could be isolated and left defenseless in television. Although, Ashley is the only minority in the plot, the housekeepers for the Grayson manor serve as props. The maids are women of color, they lack any dialogue and disappear from camera when their tasks are completed.

            Televisions shows like, The Cosby Show, have attempted to create “equal privilege” but unfortunately the pattern of white dominance is still continuing in a variety of media texts. Modern shows like Gossip Girl, 90210, and The Hills all display the idea that white individuals live a luxurious life while minorities serve as the support. As I was researching this topic, I found myself asking why this idea is still trending in our society? It’s simple, the ratings. Blogger, bigWOWO, believes that white people will only watch white shows. Since the majority of America is white, white-privileged television is the most comforting.

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