Opinion | ‘Bridgerton’ juggles racism, representation in period dramas
Despite being a period drama, the Netflix original show “Bridgerton” provides a progressive view on representation, though not without some raised eyebrows from spectators. Photo collage by DANIEL PEARSON, Photo Editor
With colorful Regency era clothing, grand ballrooms, orchestral covers of modern love songs and swoon-worthy declarations of love, it’s not difficult to see how the Netflix original series “Bridgerton” gained its popularity.
The binge-worthy, escapist fantasy sees eligible bachelors and bachelorettes vying for each other’s attention during the spring social season in fervent pursuit of marriage. Spearheaded by showrunner Chris Van Dusen and producer Shonda Rhimes, the aesthetic of the show is eclectic, elegant and charming.
Megan J. Miller, Opinions Editor
Perhaps most notably, this modern-day show is set against the backdrop of early 1800s London, England and presents a diverse cast not often found in period pieces. Season one featured a Black male lead while the second season introduced two dark-skinned leads of South Asian descent, sparking conversation among fans and critics alike about representation in popular media.
But apart from a throwaway line in season one, race has never been the focus of the show.
“Bridgerton” is set in a semi-alternate universe where Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel) became royalty through her marriage to King George III. As a result of the partnership, historically oppressed groups experienced an elevation of socioeconomic status — sometimes to the point of nobility — thereby eliminating racism altogether.
Racial equity was further encouraged in society after the King’s health declined, and the Queen, a Black woman, seized near-total control of the country.
This explanation is provided by Lady Danbury, played by Adjoa Andoh. She attempts to rationalize the progressiveness of the British kingdom in season one to Simon Basset (Regé-Jean Page), the Duke of Hastings, who did not wish to find a wife or fall in love.
Danbury points to the King and Queen’s interracial marriage as a testament to the power of love. However, as the Duke points out, if the King could so easily elevate historically oppressed groups with his marriage to the Queen, there is also nothing stopping him from reversing the decision.
Herein lies the problem with the “Bridgerton” universe’s explanation for equity. The hasty conversation sought to alleviate the viewer’s curiosity, but in doing so revealed a greater problem: our society feels great discomfort at seeing people of color in period dramas play anything but traumatic roles.
So much so that script writers may feel the need to explain away the discomfort with a few throwaway lines, but this hurts far more than it helps.
Why not instead allow viewers to sit with their discomfort? Doing so could then open up a conversation: why do we feel the need to explain the decision to have a diverse period drama cast? Can we not accept that the Duke of Hastings is Black and that his family’s nobility and wealth is a product of their own merit and not a hasty and questionable decision by the King?
Is it possible to create a world where racism doesn’t exist?
The choice to explain the rationale behind the diverse cast – within the show’s universe, no less – portrays a great injustice in the way diverse casts have been treated in period dramas up until this point.
Expecting that white actors and actresses will always play the roles of esteemed nobility and that BIPOC actors and actresses should only be able to play the roles of servitude and oppression is backwards thinking that hinders the type of representation Hollywood should be trying to achieve.
“Bridgerton” seems to want to eliminate racism in its universe, while also not taking any responsibility for how it chooses to do so.
For example, the show’s upper echelon, known simply as “The Ton,” represent members of London’s esteemed nobility. Some of these families have generational titles such as Lord, Viscount and Duke passed down through several generations, along with their wealth.
There are several families in “The Ton'' who are Black, Indigeneous or people of color (BIPOC) and prosperous in high society due to inherited affluence. But if these families had only been elevated to equal status in society in the decades preceding the events of the show, how did they gain such access to generational wealth and titles?
“Bridgerton” could have easily taken the approach of: “The Duke of Hastings is Black. Let’s move on.” If viewers have a problem with that, if they need some sort of explanation about what they’re seeing to alleviate discomfort at seeing diverse upper nobility – that’s a viewer problem, not a show problem.
But the show deciding to write off racism as something easily solvable by a high-profile marriage, is problematic in and of itself.
However, that is not to say that “Bridgerton” hasn’t featured some representation wins.
Season two in particular has garnered praise for its casting of the Sharma sisters, Kate (Simone Ashley) and Edwina (Carithra Chandran). The two young women traveled from India to participate in London’s social season, hoping to secure a marriage to an English nobleman for Edwina.
The Sharma sisters’ identities are never exocitized or trivialized; aspiring suitors speak highly of India, the sisters’ home country, and the show depicts a Haldi ceremony — an Indian pre-wedding tradition to bless the married couple to-be.
Following the season two success of “Bridgerton,” Chandran opened up about the colorism women often face in India. Some of the most common phrases she heard growing up, she told Teen Vogue, were “Shame about the color of her skin” or “She’s pretty for being dark-skinned.”
Conversations around colorism and skin-lightening in Bollywood have been circulating for years. Thus, the choice to feature two dark-skinned South Asian actresses in “Bridgerton,” without concern or question, was praised by viewers.
The trajectory and turmoil of our past can bleed into the stories we tell, and inversely, the stories we tell can illuminate and guide the way we approach our struggles in the real world.
If you’re watching “Bridgerton” for its historical accuracy, you’re watching it for the wrong reasons. People of color should be able to also see themselves represented in escapist fantasy — end of story.