Diversity In Entertainment

It is certainly fine for some entertainment to predominantly feature men or women, blacks or whites, rich or poor people, and so on.  For example, a period piece needs to reflect what historical evidence actually suggests, and some parts of history are more overtly brimming with sexism (towards either gender) or racism than others.  Even though the historical context which calls for an emphasis on one gender or race over others reflects a deep stupidity on the part of that society, it is not an artistic or moral offense to portray it.  A storyteller is not sexist or racist for being historically honest about the asinine prejudices of a given culture or era.

This truth applies even when illicit prejudices are a major part of a story.  In fact, sometimes themes of unjust discrimination can be used to better emphasize the human qualities of a minority character or a character from a majority demographic that is stereotyped all the same.  A story that features only one male, female, black, or white character can capitalize on the fact that there is only one person of that category included, taking advantage of the opportunity to dispell myths about their humanity or portray a more complex characterization.  Diversity is not always needed to combat sexism or racism.

Indeed, diversity alone does not make a story thoughtful, sophisticated, deep, or effective.  Diversity in no way excludes these things, but it is not a guarantee of storytelling quality.  The mere presence of primary characters of both genders or multiple races in a book, video game, movie, or TV/streaming show may not mean anything more than that the characters are diverse.  Moreover, while a lack of diversity might even sometimes be the product of chance, diversity itself might be present in a given story by happenstance as well.  It does not follow from a story having a diverse cast that the diversity is utilized in an important way or for significant reasons.

Should diversity be an intentional goal of storytelling wherever it is applicable?  For the sake of realism and the deconstruction of stereotypes, yes.  Does diversity automatically signify quality or even ideological accuracy on the part of the storytellers?  Not at all.  Very few people seem to understand that all of these things are true at the same time, as one fact or the other is usually emphasized apart from the others.  Some may even try to use one of these facts to argue against the others!  Diversity remains an important but nuanced issue within entertainment, as reason reveals to whoever is willing to find out.