At the movie theater and on television there are new faces this year. The next Star Wars film, directed by J.J. Abrams, arrives with a black man – British actor John Boyega – as the lead character. The ABC sitcom “Fresh off the Boat” features Chinese immigrants adjusting to America – and to their more-assimilated children. On the small screen as well as the large one, this diversity is adding to the quality of programming, not just its quantity. A good example is Gina Rodriquez, the Latina lead of the adapted-from-a-Venezuelan telenovela “Jane the Virgin,” who won a Golden Globe for best actress earlier this year.
(Photo by Christopher Jue/Getty Images for Walt Disney Studios)
In advertising, the shift has been even more dramatic. Campbell’s Soup is featuring a same sex couple in its advertising for their very important Star Wars tie-in soups:
