A 36-second clip from the Netflix dramedy went viral shortly after its premiere, showing the half-Black, half-white Ginny and her half-Asian, half-white love interest Hunter (Mason Temple) arguing over whether each is Black or Asian enough, with the uttering of the line “Oppression Olympics: Let’s go!” Creator Sarah Lampert has said the scene came from the actors' autobiographical experiences as mixed-race people. But as E. Alex Jung argues, "adults should know better. Grafting autobiographical experiences onto larger character arcs with little explanation is not only unearned but exploitative: a fig leaf of authenticity to cover up for bad writing. These actors were not co-writers of the episode, and up until this point, neither Ginny nor Hunter was developed enough as a character to say the things they say. The scene is as out of context on the show as it is on Twitter. Up until this point, Hunter hasn’t done much of anything other than tap-dance for Ginny in the school hallways (yes, this also happens, and it is also embarrassing). As Ginny’s other love interest, Marcus (Felix Mallard), a Skeet Ulrich type, wryly notes, Hunter 'has a ponytail instead of a personality.'"
TOPICS: Ginny & Georgia, Netflix, Antonia Gentry, Mason Temple, Sarah Lampert, Diversity