While Hollywood still gives us POCs plenty to be pissed off about, sometimes it’s nice to step back and appreciate just how far we’ve really come. Only a hundred years ago, American presidents were applauding racist crimes against creativity like D.W. Griffith’s Birth of a Nation, and up until recent memory Latinos, Native Americans, and Asians were portrayed as vile stereotypes of stupidity, criminality, and passivity.
So while we keep fighting for our piece of the representation pie, it’s never a bad exercise to honor those folks who broke down these seemingly insurmountable barriers generations ago. And that’s just what PBS set out to do with the Pioneers of Television episode “Breaking Barriers”, dedicated to those watershed performances that moved the needle on representation and continue resonating to this day.
Focusing primarily on the fight for African-American representation from the days of Amos and Andy through The Cosby Show, “Breaking Barriers” still takes the time to acknowledge Latino pioneers like Desi Arnaz, who brought American television the image of a smart, hardworking Latino immigrant while also revolutionizing the television format with his Desilu Productions.
But in the grand arc of US television history, “Breaking Barriers” gives a most privileged place to Edward James Olmos, who took control of his breakout role as Lieutenant Marty Castillo on Miami Vice, and imbued him with a dignity and authority rarely seen in Latino characters. Featuring a wealth of interviews from trailblazers like George Takei, Whoopi Goldberg, and Olmos himself, “Breaking Barriers” is a touching homage to those brave figures who challenged the norm and changed our image of ourselves forever.
Stream the first chapter of “Breaking Barriers” below, or watch the special in its entirety at PBS.