By Jonathan Nguyen.
I recently finished watching the HBO Max series (or is Max now…) Quiet On Set: The Dark Side of Kids Television the other day. Honestly speaking though, I didn’t even know that this series was released (or even series at all) if it wasn’t for the emergence of the series on my TikTok feed. I remember I was scrolling through my TikTok and there was a video of Drake Bell coming forward about being sexually assaulted while he was child acting on Nickelodeon. Naturally, the two minute segment on TikTok had me pulled into the series and before I knew it, I was finished with the four episode documentary.
While I was watching the docu-series, it occurred to me that there were so many issues relating to gender and race happening behind the scenes of many of my favorite television series growing up and even more that goes unheard of on many other sets. Watching this series reminded me of one of the class readings I had for my TV Studies Seminar: Felecia D. Henderson’s writing of “The Culture Behind Closed Doors: Issues of Gender and Race in the Writer’s Room”.
I knew that the issues of gender and race in many different fields is an ongoing issue, but being able to read personal experiences and short anecdotes made me realize the extent to these issues in the industry workplace. Having read this reading in conjunction with watching Quiet On Set and actually hearing and seeing a variety of different perspectives and personal recollections on this matter made me realize how awful these biases can be. Quiet On Set excels in shining light onto these prevalent and ongoing issues that aren’t talked about as much as they should be. Yet this is only one step towards tackling this issue and I hope that there continues to be dialogue and conversation relating to this.
Thus, I have a few questions that I am curious to hear your responses on. Is there a way to limit these unethical approaches and treatment in the television industry? Or at the very least, methods to ensure that the environment on set–both on-screen and off-screen–fosters a community that is collaborative and inclusive?
One reply on ““Quiet on Set” Finally Breaking Ice on Unethical Practices?”
Hey Jonathon,
In regards to your questions, I believe there are definitely ways to limit unethical treatment in the television industry however I don’t know how likely change will happen. Speaking from an outsider’s perspective, it seems that these unethical practices are the system working as intended rather than “bugs” in the program. Quiet On Set” and the #MeToo movement has exposed the insidious nature of Hollywood but expecting immediate change seems naive. I also watched the TikToks about Quiet On Set and remember many comments expressing that Dan Schneider, the creator and producer of many popular shows, abused child actors but still remains free and uncharged. It’s worth noting though that Hollywood has taken steps to improve ethnic and gender minority representation on screen, I hope that these movements continue to flourish.
-Markus