History Main / MinorityShowGhetto

* {{Jazz}} suffered this too at the hands of music critics when it first arose, and mostly due to racism. However, over the decades it's broken out of the ghetto, and is even taught in schools alongside classical.

** UPN in general faced this problem for its entire existence. While its Black-led sitcoms were always popular with black audiences, none of them ever managed to break out of the ghetto. When UPN was merged with Creator/TheWB in 2006 to form Creator/TheCW, most of UPN's black-led shows wound up getting left behind and the new network aimed for The WB's white middle-class audience. Despite this, [[Series/{{Moesha}} many]] [[Series/TheParkers shows]] [[Series/OneOnOne on]] [[Series/{{Girlfriends}} UPN]] [[Series/EverybodyHatesChris still]] have their fans to this day, and even after ditching these shows, [[LaserGuidedKarma the "middle-class" CW would still struggle in the ratings]].

* A big part of why {{disco}} became CondemnedByHistory is that it was never able to fully escape this despite the explosion of its mainstream popularity. It had its roots in the Black, Latino, Italian, and [[WhereEverybodyKnowsYourFlame gay]] nightclubs of UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity and UsefulNotes/{{Philadelphia}}, roots that it never shook even as people from those scenes accused the genre's biggest artists of [[{{Sellout}} selling out]], and so for many (especially in [[FlyoverCountry Middle America]]) who didn't come from that background, disco came to be indelibly associated with [[TheHedonist hedonistic]] [[CampGay effetes]] and [[TheCityVsTheCountry city slickers]] bringing their lifestyles into the heartland. Music historians often see [[DiscoSucks the backlash against disco]] as intertwined with the broader conservative backlash of the late '70s and early '80s that eventually produced UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan and UsefulNotes/MargaretThatcher.

[[folder:Film - Animation]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'' was denied a wide theatrical release ostensibly because of Covid. However, many fans suspect that it was due to this given that the protagonist and the vast majority of the characters are minorities.

[[folder:Film - Live Action]]

--> '''Rachel Renée Russell''': If you have a character of a different race, your book tends to get put in a category that isn’t mainstream, and we wanted something to appeal to everyone.

--> '''Dennis''': Black bars don't win awards. I don't know why, but they don't.

* One of the theories as to why ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'' wasn't as successful as it was expected would have been because of the protagonist's ethnicity. However, other factors from lack of advertising, to being released at the same time as ''Film/{{Avatar}}'', to [[AnimationAgeGhetto the use of traditional animation]] have also been blamed. Mind you, the movie was still successful as far as animated movies go. Still, it would take seven years for the Walt Creator/{{Disney}} Animation Studios to release another musical about a royal of color -- the predominantly-CGI ''WesternAnimation/{{Moana}}''[[note]]which was pitched to the studio two years after ''[=TPatF=]''[[/note]], which fortunately turned a larger gross.

* [[http://www.lethalwow.com/2015/09/13/bobby-between-the-ropes-the-wwe-divas-and-the-uncomfortable-subject-of-race/ Pointed out]] that Wrestling/{{WWE}} has rarely had a woman of color pushed as a top {{Face}} - management favouring Caucasian blondes and light-skinned Latinas. Black women tend to get pushed as heels and there has rarely been more than one Asian female in the company at a time. Further exacerbating matters after the article was published was Wrestling/SashaBanks getting such short Women's Championship reigns - despite her clear popularity. All the women she lost her titles to were blonde and white by the way.

[[folder:Western: Animation]]

[[AC: {{Anime}} And {{Manga}}]]

[[AC: ComicBooks]]

[[AC:{{Film}}]]

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]

[[AC:{{Music}}]]

* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockism Rockism]] refers to the belief by critics that rock music is more "authentic" than other genres. Among other things, it is criticized for being the reason why critics often dismiss genres such as disco, R&B and HipHop, genres that are mostly dominated by African-Americans. While rock was largely ''invented'' by African-Americans, by TheSeventies the genre was more or less dominated by white artists.

[[AC:Other]]

[[AC:ProfessionalWrestling]]

[[AC: WebOriginal]]

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]

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[[folder:Examples]]

[[/folder]]


[[folder:Breaking Out of the Ghetto]]

[[AC:ComicBooks]]
* Al Simmons was Black, but ''ComicBook/{{Spawn}}'' was still the most popular comic book series of the 1990s. Note, however, that due to his full-body costume (not to mention being disfigured), Spawn's ethnicity wasn't immediately evident.
* Somewhat subverted with Creator/DCComics' ''ComicBook/{{Steel}}'', who was the most popular of the replacement Franchise/{{Superman}} characters during ''ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman'' storyline. His own series didn't last long, but that may have been more due to UsefulNotes/TheGreatComicsCrashOf1996 than anything.
* ''{{ComicBook/Chew}}'' has been a very strong seller for Creator/ImageComics and a bit of a mainstream comic hit, with an Asian American protagonist.
* ''ComicBook/{{Static}}'' from the Milestone comic line. He was easily the company's most successful character before being integrated into DC. Though he is largely unused by Creator/DCComics, he still has a large fan following due to his humor, charisma, and relatability. His animated series, ''WesternAnimation/StaticShock'', was also a large hit at the time.
* ComicBook/MilesMorales, the second ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'', has proven popular with fans and critics despite the initial backlash the character faced over being a "Black Spider-Man."
* The 2014 ''[[{{Comicbook/MsMarvel2014}} Ms. Marvel]]'' stars Kamala Khan, a Muslim, Pakistani-American female and has been highly successful, thus breaking out of this and the GirlShowGhetto.
* ''ComicBook/{{WITCH}}'' has a majority minority cast (two biracial girls, one Chinese-American girl, one light-skinned ambiguously Latina girl, and one white girl) but that's never hurt its popularity. It's one of the more popular female-aimed comics (and [[WesternAnimation/{{Witch}} cartoons]]) of the 2000s.
* ''ComicBook/AgentsOfAtlas'' revived [[Creator/MarvelComics Marvel]]'s oldest Chinese-American crimefighter, Jimmy Woo, in a story boasting a Wakandan AudienceSurrogate, Derek Khanata, and earned a positive enough reception for Woo and his fellow Agents to re-appear in several more comics. The New Agents of Atlas, consisting ''entirely'' of crimefighters with Asian heritage, defied the Ghetto with the first issue of their ''ComicBook/WarOfTheRealms'' tie-in; even after Marvel doubled retailers' orders for the comic, it sold out after a few days, requiring Marvel to print it a second time. This success also prompted Marvel to commission more stories for both sets of Agents.

[[AC:{{Film}}]]
* While viewed as a B-movie in its time, ''Film/DaughterOfShanghai'' was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry precisely because it was a film from the 1930s that had Asian-Americans as the leads - and non-stereotypical ones at that.
* ''Film/TheWorldOfSuzieWong'' was a movie from 1961 that - while it did have a WhiteMaleLead and a couple of white supporting characters - was clearly set in Hong Kong, featured an Asian woman as the lead (as opposed to a white actress in {{Yellowface}}, which was still happening in Hollywood at the time) and addressed racism of white Hong Kong expats towards poor Chinese locals. Nancy Kwan became the leading Asian actress in Hollywood thanks to this film. It extended to the original book - which was a bestseller that allowed its author to retire comfortably - and the play it adapted - which had such high ticket sales it kept running [[CriticProof despite dreadful reviews]].
* Creator/WillSmith, Creator/DenzelWashington, Creator/MartinLawrence, and Creator/EddieMurphy tend to avoid this ghetto. At the height of his popularity, Smith once bragged that he ''bombed'' over $100 million.
* Creator/SamuelLJackson is notably a modern pop cultural icon, although this may have less to do with race and more to do with sheer muthafuckin' charisma and the massive number of films he's in.
* Creator/DonaldGlover might be the best modern example of a complete aversion to this trope. He has a following of all ethnicities around the world and has done practically everything in a short time as a successful writer, director, comedian, and [[Music/ChildishGambino music artist]]. Any character he plays, even if minor, inevitably becomes an EnsembleDarkhorse. The only time he really ran into this trope was when he unsuccessfully campaigned to play a {{Race Lift}}ed Franchise/SpiderMan in Creator/{{Sony|Pictures}}'s ill-fated ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderManSeries'', but even ''that'' ended up getting subverted when it lead to the creation of ComicBook/MilesMorales as direct inspiration, who in turn became one of the most popular characters introduced in the 2010s.
* Stepin Fetchit got his start in the Black vaudeville circuit as a character actor. However, his slow-witted [[UncleTomfoolery tomming]] in the 1929 version of ''Showboat'' endeared him with white audiences, and led to mainstream success.
* Martial arts films starring Creator/BruceLee, Creator/JackieChan, and Creator/JetLi have gained mainstream popularity in the UsefulNotes/UnitedStates.
* ''Film/{{Friday}}'' was a breakaway hit with a virtually all-Black cast and took place in South Central UsefulNotes/LosAngeles, yet it's a favorite even among white audiences, with its archetypal characters, stoner humor and lack of forced racial commentary.
* The ''Film/HaroldAndKumar'' trilogy has a Korean and an Indian as the lead characters. It's also popular, hilarious, profitable, and well-reviewed. Notably, the studio, apparently believing in this trope, [[ExecutiveMeddling attempted]] to [[RaceLift change the main characters' ethnicities]] to Jewish in order to make them more "acceptable" to white viewers. The writers (who are Jewish) responded by including two Jewish buddies... as side characters.
* 2012 movie ''Film/ThinkLikeAMan'', which had an almost all-Black cast and was BasedOnAnAdviceBook by Black comedian Creator/SteveHarvey, topped the box office when released in theaters, actually pushing ''Film/TheHungerGames'' to No. 4.
* ''Film/SlumdogMillionaire'' is a decidedly Indian story (albeit directed and written by white Brits), yet it earned both critical and commercial acclaim in the west as well as that year's [[UsefulNotes/AcademyAwardForBestPicture Best Picture Oscar]]. However, opinion on the film in India itself is decidedly more mixed.
* ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitch'' (and ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitchTheSeries'') stars a pair of native Hawaiian sisters and their various alien TrueCompanions; even most of the secondary human cast (Cobra Bubbles, Mrs. Hasigawa) are non-white. Nevertheless the movie was quite successful. Not as successful as most Creator/{{Disney}} originals, but that may have been from competing with ''Film/ScoobyDoo''.
* The bulk of the main cast of the ''Film/SpyKids'' series is Hispanic, with the movies revolving around the exploits of the Mexican-American Cortez family (fitting, since the series was created by the Mexican-American Creator/RobertRodriguez). It was also one of the most popular children's movie franchises of the 2000s, spawning three sequels and grossing over $500 million.
* Nineteen years after the first ''Spy Kids'', Creator/RobertRodriguez's direct-to-Creator/{{Netflix}} superhero movie ''Film/WeCanBeHeroes2020'' would present a similar premise -- crimefighters' offspring free the adults from captivity -- with an even more diverse cast, anchored once again by Latin-Americans. It managed to become Netflix's most-streamed movie for more than one day, boosted by some of the adults' star power, and the public's nostalgia for Rodriguez's past family pictures. Consequently, Netflix greenlit a sequel.
* The Creator/{{Disney}} features ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}}'', and ''WesternAnimation/{{Moana}}'' were wildly successful, while having casts consisting entirely of Arabic, Chinese or Manchu, and Polynesian characters. ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'' became a CultClassic, despite its predominantly African-American cast, and AmbiguouslyBrown {{Love Interest|s}}. ''{{WesternAnimation/Pocahontas}}'', which also features Native American protagonists, has also been VindicatedByHistory and has more fans these days. Additionally, while ''WesternAnimation/{{Encanto}}'' (a.k.a. a film with a cast consisting of Colombian characters) didn't actually do so well in the box-office, the popularity of the film ''SKY-ROCKETED'' after it got released on Creator/DisneyPlus as the film top the platform's "trending" topics for the following three months as well as being all over social media platforms, and the film even had Disney's first ever #1 Billboard Hot 100 song since the pop version of "A Whole New World" in the form of "We Don't Talk About Bruno".[[note]]Most of the cast of ''Aladdin'' was white but ''Moana'', ''The Princess and the Frog'', ''Mulan'', ''Pocahontas'', and ''Encanto'' featured predominantly Polynesian, African, Asian, Native American, and Latin American voice actors respectively where they were required.[[/note]]
* The ''Film/{{Aladdin|2019}}'' LiveActionAdaptation boasted an even more ethnic cast (aside from the above-mentioned Creator/WillSmith plus one white actor playing a visiting monarch, the main cast were of Arab, Persian or Indian descent), and became the year's ninth-highest grossing film worldwide.
* ''Film/DjangoUnchained'' stars Creator/JamieFoxx as a Black ex-slave and was both a critical and commercial success.
* In 2013, ''The Best Man Holiday'', the sequel to a cult classic film, ''Film/TheBestMan'', that came out in 1999 about the relationships between African-American couples, was a surprising success at the box office and was even more profitable percentage wise compared to ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld'', the biggest release at the time. The film had a small budget of 17 million, but made over 71 million dollars in profit. Pretty impressive, since romantic films starring African-Americans usually don't do well at the box office.
* A similar instance was cited for ''Film/NoGoodDeed2014'', which starred Creator/IdrisElba and Creator/TarajiPHenson. Though it was savaged by critics, the film managed to pull in $51 million on a $13 million budget, making it a surprise success. This trope was even cited by box office analysts, who stated that it was unusual for a Black-led thriller to find success like that at the box office.
* ''WesternAnimation/Home2015'', which stars singer Music/{{Rihanna}} as the film's Black protagonist, was a surprise hit, opening at $54 million domestically and 99.7 million worldwide. The movie's opening weekend was touted as a much-needed success for Creator/{{DreamWorks}} after the disappointing openings for ''WesternAnimation/MrPeabodyAndSherman'' and ''WesternAnimation/PenguinsOfMadagascar''.
* ''Film/StraightOuttaCompton'', the movie about the controversial rap group, {{Music/NWA}}, had a mostly Black cast, a Black director, and many Black producers and executive producers. It was a huge success at the box office, and reigned as the number one film in America for three weeks in a row before another Black film, ''Film/WarRoom'', surpassed it as the number one film for the fourth and fifth week. It's considered one of the most successful Black films in American history and a strong statement against the stereotype that African-American films can't do well at the box office. Interestingly, during the sixth week after ''Straight Outta Compton'', another Black film, ''The Perfect Guy'' came in number one at the box office - making it six straight weeks that an African American film was the number one seen movie in America.
* ''Film/{{Shaft}}'' made back its budget many times over and earned excellent reviews, despite having a black lead and a mostly Black cast.
* ''Film/GetOut2017'' was seen as a long shot, as it was an indie horror film about race, starred a [[Creator/DanielKaluuya largely-unknown]] (at least in the U.S.) actor as the lead, and was director Creator/JordanPeele's first movie. It opened at #1 at the box office and garnered rave reviews, and went on to gross $252 million dollars against a meager 5 million dollar budget. Peele would then have success again with ''Film/{{Us}}'', which might not be as representative of the ghetto - it does star a whole Black family, but [[Creator/LupitaNyongo the lead]] is well-known, and race is not as central to the plot.
* The Music/QueenLatifah film ''Film/GirlsTrip'' opened with $34 million dollars at the U.S. box office, coming in second place to the blockbuster ''Film/{{Dunkirk}}'' and easily beating out ''Film/ValerianAndTheCityOfAThousandPlanets''. It managed to be a hit despite analysts noting the poor track record of other comedies released that summer; in its second weekend, it even beat out the highly-anticipated ''Film/AtomicBlonde''.
* ''Film/BlackPanther2018'', which has a very African setting and only two white actors in the main cast, was released to rave reviews and a higher opening than the first installment of any other solo [[Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse MCU]] movie series, going on to break Creator/MarvelStudios' top three largest-grossing movies worldwide. Domestically, it became the highest-grossing superhero movie of all time, not adjusting for inflation - [[https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-02-22/-black-panther-reveals-black-audiences-box-office-superpower analysts even pointed out how well it performed in mostly Black cities]]. Then it became the first superhero genre film to be nominated for [[UsefulNotes/AcademyAwardForBestPicture Best Picture]] at the 2019 [[UsefulNotes/AcademyAward Academy Awards]], and the first MCU film to win any Oscars at all.[[note]]Specifically, it claimed Best Costume Design, Best Production Design, and Best Original Score.[[/note]]
* ''Film/Aquaman2018'' grossed over $1 billion worldwide and garner positive reviews while being directed by Asian-Australian filmmaker Creator/JamesWan and having the traditionally white superhero be played by Polynesian and Native American actor Creator/JasonMomoa. If anything, fans openly embraced Aquaman's RaceLift since Momoa's performance helped save the hero from his infamous JokeCharacter reputation.
* Like its book adaptation, ''Film/CrazyRichAsians'' became a box office success and earned positive reviews which proves that a movie with an all-Asian cast can be successful as any other movie. And a week after the movie's release, a sequel, which would adapt the second book (''China Rich Girlfriend''), began being planned.
* The film adaptation of ''Theatre/FlowerDrumSong'' featured an almost all-Asian cast, which was quite impressive in 1961. Despite persistent rumors that it was the only Creator/RodgersAndHammerstein film to lose money at the box office, it actually grossed $10,7 million against a $4 million budget.
* Although not as successful as other Franchise/SpiderMan films (largely due to being released alongside ''Aquaman'' and ''Film/{{Bumblebee}}''), ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManIntoTheSpiderVerse'', starring ComicBook/MilesMorales, raised $375 million in total, won the [[UsefulNotes/AcademyAward Oscar]] for Best Animated Film and has already been confirmed a sequel, in addition to plans for future spin-offs with female protagonists, such as Spider-Gwen and Spider-Woman.
* ''Film/Spawn1997'': This trope is the reason why Al's former best friend and Wanda's second husband Terry was [[RaceLift made white]] whereas he's black in the comics. The studio was afraid that having three black main characters would've made people think it was a "black" movie. This becomes ironic in hindsight due to the heavy implication that Wanda's daughter Cyan was fathered by Al. The comics later revealed that Al was an abusive husband who caused Wanda to miscarry, and Cyan is indeed Terry's daughter, but in the movie she's fully black.

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* This happened as early as the 1850s with the English translation and publication of ''[[Literature/ArabianNights A Thousand and One Nights]]''. Those stories have been wildly popular with Europeans and Americans ever since, despite featuring Arabs and Persians as their main characters.
* As noted above, ''Literature/{{Earthsea}}'' novels are very popular despite the fact that most of the characters are dark-skinned (black or brown in color) and white people are a minority, however the author acknowledged that, due to this prejudice did not describe the skin color of Ged, the protagonist, until the first novel was well advanced, so that the reader could identify with him.
** Another of her novels, ''Literature/TheLeftHandOfDarkness'', can also be considered a aversion, with a black protagonist and the inhabitants of Gethen described as similar to the Inuit or Tibetans.
* ''Literature/{{Salammbo}}'' it was also very popular in 19th-century Europe, although most of the characters are from North Africa (libyans, numidians, carthaginians)
* ''Literature/TheKaneChronicles'' by Creator/RickRiordan, who wrote the popular ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'' series, has two biracial lead characters. However, note that the leads' race is not immediately obvious on the [[http://www.rickriordan.com/my-books/kane-chronicles/books/red-pyramid.aspx cover art]], unlike the [[http://www.rickriordan.com/my-books/percy-jackson/percy-jackson-olympians/lightning-thief.aspx cover art]] for ''The Lightning Thief''. Might be Percy doesn't immediately look white, so most readers are probably going to assume that he is, but he could as well be Asian.
* The title character of the popular ''Literature/AlexCross'' series by Creator/JamesPatterson is Black. This is another example of a book where the POC lead character's race is kept ambiguous until after you've started reading.
* English author Zadie Smith avoided the ghetto with her first novel, ''White Teeth'', which featured tons of characters representing many different races and religions. But she remarked in an interview that it bothered her when fans of the book came up to her and said: "My favorite character in ''White Teeth'' was [character who was of that person's race or religion]. I could really identify with him/her." Smith said that people need to be exposed to the experiences - whether real or fictional - of people who are ''not'' like them. Even though her mother was a black Jamaican, Smith listed a number of white males as her favorite authors.
* ''Literature/TheJoyLuckClub'' is perhaps the most famous example of Asian American literature in existence. It was made into a critically acclaimed film.
* ''Literature/CrazyRichAsians'' trilogy is also a best-selling novel about a bunch of rich Asians, of which a film adaptation was made that also had an all-Asian cast.

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
* The Creator/{{Starz}} crime drama ''{{Series/Power}}'' was created with this trope in mind. The marketing and advertising for the show was specifically intended to bring in more African American subscribers. It worked and the series became their highest rated series since [[Series/SpartacusBloodAndSand Spartacus]].
* ''Series/TheWire''. Almost all the cast is Black. It's largely about the problems of low-income communities and housing projects almost exclusively inhabited by black people. It is also regarded as one of the best TV series ever made. It is especially popular among academics, so much so that [[http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/tv/item_TxvbS2nzKJOzClVuOxRDmI Harvard]], [[http://www5.uwm.edu/news/2012/04/26/uwm%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%98the-wire%E2%80%99-course-started-academic-trend/#.UUgFQXE-v8Y UWM]], [[http://www.dukechronicle.com/articles/2010/03/04/professor-turns-hbos-wire-class Durham]], and [[http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2010/03/this_will_be_on_the_midterm_you_feel_me.html other colleges]] are offering courses on the series. It is worth noting, however, that the season of ''Series/TheWire'' that had the highest ratings was the one in which the majority of characters were white. Which is ironic in itself, as the second season is generally regarded as SeasonalRot, and can more likely be attributed as a roll-on effect of how well the first season was received.
* ''Series/TheCosbyShow'' is probably one of the biggest aversions of this in TV history. Though, of course, Creator/BillCosby had to work like heck to convince network execs that a show about a professional-class African American family [[AndYouThoughtItWouldFail was something that people would watch]].
** Its sister series, ''Series/ADifferentWorld'', was also largely successful.
* ''Series/LittleMosqueOnThePrairie'', a Canadian sitcom about Muslims, ran a respectable six seasons and was a big hit for the Creator/{{CBC}}, even attracting media attention [[{{Eagleland}} south of the border]].
* ''{{Series/Desmonds}}'', a Creator/Channel4 comedy in Britain, became almost as famous as ''The Cosby Show''. The star of ''Desmond's'' was invited to do a walk-on part on ''The Cosby Show'' as a relative of the Huxtables.
* ''Series/GoodnessGraciousMe'', a British comedy sketch show with an Indian cast, was highly successful.
* ''Series/KenanAndKel'', a Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} sitcom with two black leads, ran for 62 episodes and is beloved by children of the '90s.
* ''Series/SisterSister'': Five Black protagonists, and the leads were girls to boot. It ran for six seasons and was quite popular on Nickelodeon.
* ''Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir'' was a Black-led sitcom, and is a classic that launched Creator/WillSmith's career.
* ''Series/FamilyMatters'', particularly after the introduction of [[BlackAndNerdy Steve Urkel]].
* ''Series/TheJeffersons'', the longest running black sitcom in history. It was rated in the top 30 for most of its run. Granted, there were white actors in the cast, but the leads and the majority of the cast were Black.
* ''Jeffersons'' producer Creator/NormanLear also struck gold with both ''Series/GoodTimes'' and ''Series/SanfordAndSon'', although both shows would be dogged with accusations of UncleTomfoolery, and are often mocked as "black shows that only appeal to white people."
* ''{{Series/Seinfeld}}'' was originally viewed this way by at least one studio executive, who thought that most Americans would find it "too Jewish." Needless to say, it wasn't too Jewish to become one of the most successful and influential sitcoms of TheNineties.
* ''Series/TheBrothersGarcia'', a successful sitcom about a Hispanic family, featured an all-Hispanic cast as well as guest stars of many ethnicities. It was one of Creator/{{Nickelodeon}}'s more popular shows and ran for four seasons.
* ''{{Series/Scandal}}'' has a Black female in the lead, averting both the MinorityShowGhetto ''and'' the GirlShowGhetto.
* ''Series/HowToGetAwayWithMurder'' managed to have one of the highest-rated debuts of the season, which analysts noted was a rarity for Black-led shows. Along with the premiere of ''Series/BlackIsh'', the show was cited as an example of how Creator/{{ABC}}'s push for more ethnic diversity was paying off.
* ''Series/FreshOffTheBoat'', which stars an Asian-American family and also airs on Creator/{{ABC}}, turned out to be a surprise hit. Many were expecting it to flop like the ''Series/AllAmericanGirl'' example from above, but it turned out to have a very strong debut. There's a LampshadeHanging on this trope in-universe. In one episode, one of the sons says that he wants to be an actor, and Jessica tells him that there are no roles for Asian actors in Hollywood.
* ''{{Series/Nikita}}'' has an Asian female in the lead and, like ''Series/Scandal'', breaks out of both the MinorityShowGhetto and the GirlShowGhetto.
* ''Series/ThatsSoRaven'' is recognized as one of Creator/DisneyChannel's iconic shows, essentially acting as the codifier for shows that weren't influenced by ''Series/LizzieMcGuire''. It was so popular, it ran past the typical Disney Channel 65-episode limit[[note]]Disney Channel shows are contracted to end once they've hit 65 episodes[[/note]] and gained both a spin-off in ''Series/CoryInTheHouse'' and a revival in ''Series/RavensHome''.
* ''Series/InLivingColor'' was pretty much the African-American version of ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' and became a huge success for the Creator/{{Fox}} network, and was at one time competing neck-and-neck with ''SNL'' for ratings. The show ran for five seasons until it was finally cancelled, not due to ExecutiveMeddling, but because the majority of the show's main cast all became big stars in their own right and went on to make successful films and television shows for themselves. Some of the people behind the scenes went on to create ''Series/MadTV1995'', though that show didn't have a predominately African-American cast.
* One of the stars of ''Series/InLivingColor'', Damon Wayans, also managed to co-create and star in a successful sitcom, ''Series/MyWifeAndKids'', that while not a ratings behemoth still managed to last for five seasons.
* ''Series/{{Empire}}'' has proven to be a surprise hit for Creator/{{Fox}}, with viewership dwarfing many of the other hyped up shows of the season like ''Series/AgentCarter''. Some people (including Music/FiftyCent) have actually accused the show of being a case of FollowTheLeader made to cash in on the success of the aforementioned ''Series/{{Power}}''.
* ''Series/ChappellesShow'':
** The series, with its black ''auteur'' writer, largely black cast, and focus on racial issues, was a massive ratings and critical success. Unfortunately, Chappelle felt deeply ambivalent about his success with white audiences, worried that too many of them were [[MisaimedFandom laughing at him and not with him]] and that he'd descended into ModernMinstrelsy.
** In-universe, Dave jokes that Creator/WayneBrady, the black lead of the American ''Series/WhoseLineIsItAnyway'' among other shows, is so popular with white audiences because he's non-threatening, making "Bryant Gumbel look like UsefulNotes/MalcolmX." Wayne takes Dave on a terrifying night on the town showing him [[PlayingAgainstType just how threatening he can be]].
* Creator/AzizAnsari's ''Series/MasterOfNone'', which also {{Lampshades}} this trope. The episode "Indians On TV" revolves around Dev accidentally finding out that the creator of the TV series he and his friend Ravi both tried out for doesn't want two Indian actors on the show, as he feels that it would alienate white viewers. Dev later says that America is only just now getting to a place where two black actors can star on the same show without it being labelled a "black show" by people.
* Creator/{{Netflix}}'s ''Series/{{Narcos}}'' has a similar vibe as ''Series/BreakingBad'' except it's based on the RealLife notorious Colombian drug lord, Pablo Escobar. As expected, the majority of the cast are Hispanics and it got renewed for several more seasons and earned several Golden Globe nominations. This is possibly because of its huge international scope: not only are there several English-speaking supporting characters, but later seasons expand beyond Escobar to chronicle the rise of the entire New World drug trade in both Colombia and Mexico.
* ''Series/LukeCage2016'' premiered to massive viewership and became the fifth most-watched original series in Netflix's history, even beating out ''Series/JessicaJones2015''.
* ''Series/{{Atlanta}}'', despite having a Black cast and writing team (in addition to being pretty weird), has gathered excellent ratings, critical acclaim, and a large amount of awards.
* ''Series/TheMandalorian'' seems like the most racially-diverse live-action ''Franchise/StarWars'' property, with plenty of POC in both the cast (headlined by ''Narcos''' Creator/PedroPascal in the mostly-masked title role) and the crew (several chapters boast nonwhite directors, many of whom helm other ''Star Wars'' projects afterwards). Among ''Star Wars'' fans, the first two seasons became the best-received live-action products of the Creator/{{Disney}}[=/=]Creator/{{Lucasfilm}} merger, while the show's warm reception among the general public turned it into an early hit for the Creator/DisneyPlus steaming service. Interestingly, the first SpinOff to air, ''The Book of Boba Fett'', co-stars two AAPI actors (Creator/TemueraMorrison and Creator/MingNaWen), who, unlike Pascal, can show their faces in every episode.

[[AC:{{Music}}]]
* Ironically given the discussion of "rockism" above, RockAndRoll itself endured this in its early years in TheFifties, when it was pigeonholed as "race music" and subjected to a [[MediaScaremongering moral panic]] about how white teenagers were being negatively influenced by the "jungle rhythms" of rock and how it was breaking down color barriers. Music/ElvisPresley is often credited as the artist who started pulling rock out of the ghetto and making it acceptable for mainstream white listeners, eventually culminating in UsefulNotes/TheBritishInvasion when the face of rock music became mostly white bands from the UK, leading to the rise of RAndB, {{soul}}, {{funk}}, {{disco}}, and HipHop in the '60s and '70s as "black" genres. These days, while rock's roots in the black community are well-known, ''modern'' rock music is seen as a very "white" genre in both its fans and its musicians, with black rock musicians often seen as odd ducks the same way that white rappers are.

[[AC:ProfessionalWrestling]]
* Since the above article was written, Wrestling/{{WWE}} has seen a couple of aversions:
** {{Wrestling/Naomi}} finally got her long awaited push as the top face and became [[Wrestling/WWESmackDown [=SmackDown=]]] Women's Champion in 2017.
** Wrestling/EmberMoon was pushed with an undefeated streak on [[Wrestling/{{WWENXT}} NXT]] and eventually became Women's Champion.
** [[Wrestling/KanakoUrai Asuka]] proved to be a massive star, beating out Wrestling/{{Goldberg}}'s undefeated streak and even becoming the winner of the first Women's Wrestling/RoyalRumble.
** Kairi Sane was the winner of the Wrestling/MaeYoung Classic tournament.

[[AC:TabletopGames]]
* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering's'' "Mirage" block is set in an African-themed setting and most of the human characters on the cards are black. It was also successful enough that many of the concepts introduced in it (the block structure, "enters the battlefield" abilities, sets designed with Limited play in mind, reminder text for keywords) are simply taken for granted in modern Magic. It was also the first set re-released for Magic Online and the character of Teferi came back to be the protagonist in the later "Time Spiral" block. Teferi is in fact popular enough that he was eventually printed as a [[http://mythicspoiler.com/c14/cards/teferitemporalarchmage.html planeswalker card]] despite the fact that he canonically [[HeroicSacrifice gave up his planeswalker spark]], also, his planeswalker card is one of only five who can be a commander in Commander/EDH format. This is quite an honor as normally only creatures can be commanders.

[[AC:{{Theatre}}]]
* ''Theatre/TheWiz'' presented an all-African-American retelling of ''Literature/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz'', also boasting African-American songwriters and a black director. It lasted four years on Broadway, and also won seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Additionally, the 2015 TV special - which had an African-American director as well as Black actors and actresses - earned strong ratings and reviews, and won an Emmy for costume design.
* There's also ''Theatre/{{Hamilton}}'', a hip-hop musical penned by Puerto Rican Creator/LinManuelMiranda, and almost exclusively starring non-white actors (the only white character is the BigBad). Not only was it a smash hit on Broadway, but the cast album managed to make it to #12 on the Billboard 200, the highest entrance for a musical since 1963.
* Burt Williams was one of the biggest Broadway stars in the 1920s & 1930s. Sure, a lot of his shtick was UncleTomfoolery, but some of his work (particularly the song "Nobody") were rather serious takes on the racism of the day.
* ''Series/KimsConvenience'', a Canadian play about a Korean family and their Toronto convenience store, which was successful enough to spur a successful sitcom on Creator/{{CBC}} and a 2017 Off-Broadway run.

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* ''VideoGame/BackyardSports'' become immensely popular with young children even though you could count the white males on one hand.

[[AC:WebOriginal]]
* Several of Website/YouTube's most subscribed channels are run by Asian Americans. This includes Creator/{{Nigahiga}}, Creator/WongFuProductions, Creator/FreddieWong, WebVideo/KevJumba, and [=MichellePhan=]. However, [=YouTube=]'s audience is global, and globally Asians aren't exactly the smallest group in the world.

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/FatAlbertAndTheCosbyKids'' was very popular, having run on Creator/{{CBS}} for most of the 1970s.
* ''WesternAnimation/DoraTheExplorer'' is universally loved by small children, despite featuring a Latina protagonist whose ethnicity is played up.
* Similar to ''Dora'', ''WesternAnimation/DocMcStuffins'' has proven to be very popular, with ''The New York Times'' [[http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/27/business/a-disney-doctor-speaks-of-identity-to-little-girls.html?_r=0 actually commenting on the franchise's success]] by saying that it provides a positive role model for African-American girls while appealing to other demographics as well.
* The ''Franchise/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' universe is set in a fantasy world with heavy inspiration from the FarEast and, along with most of the characters being Asian, many of the lead characters are particularly dark skinned. Despite this, it is has become incredibly popular.
** SequelSeries ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' was just as popular as the original, and also adds breaking out of the GirlShowGhetto to its list of achievements.
* Despite being rather controversial in its first season, ''WesternAnimation/TheBoondocks'' would grow to become one of Creator/AdultSwim's most popular productions. Its third season was even regularly beating out both ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' and ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'' in the ratings.
* ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'' has an entirely Asian main cast, with the recurring characters Captain Black and Viper the only major Caucasian characters on the heroes' side. It was also one of the most successful original Creator/KidsWB shows of the early 2000s, with a devoted fanbase that's still active today. Perhaps this is to be expected, since the cast was headed up by a [[AdamWesting highly fictionalized version of]] Creator/JackieChan [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin himself]], who also tends to avert this.
* ''WesternAnimation/StaticShock'', which had a largely black cast, was one of Creator/KidsWB's highest rated cartoons at the time. In its final season, only ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' managed to consistently outperform it in the ratings and reruns on Creator/CartoonNetwork were only outperformed by ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy''. It did have trouble with merchandise though, while other superhero shows like ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' and ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' did not.
* ''WesternAnimation/ElenaOfAvalor'' has a large vast of Latin characters who all make an impact in some way. It's also one of Creator/DisneyJunior's highest rated and most successful shows. Like its [[WesternAnimation/SofiaTheFirst parent series]], it also breaks out of the GirlShowGhetto.
[[/folder]]

* ''WesternAnimation/OnyxEquinox'', the third Website/{{Crunchyroll}} original production to be released after ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'' and ''Webcomic/GodOfHighSchool'' was also the least successful of the released originals up to that point. After a few weeks of releasing the episodes weekly, Crunchyroll eventually released the entire series the day after Christmas 2020 to burn off what remained.

* Ironically given the discussion of "rockism" above, RockAndRoll itself endured this in its early years in TheFifties, when it was pigeonholed as "race music" and subjected to a [[YouCanPanicNow moral panic]] about how white teenagers were being negatively influenced by the "jungle rhythms" of rock and how it was breaking down color barriers. Music/ElvisPresley is often credited as the artist who started pulling rock out of the ghetto and making it acceptable for mainstream white listeners, eventually culminating in UsefulNotes/TheBritishInvasion when the face of rock music became mostly white bands from the UK, leading to the rise of RAndB, {{soul}}, {{funk}}, {{disco}}, and HipHop in the '60s and '70s as "black" genres. These days, while rock's roots in the black community are well-known, ''modern'' rock music is seen as a very "white" genre in both its fans and its musicians, with black rock musicians often seen as odd ducks the same way that white rappers are.

* The TV series ''Series/KungFu'' was originally meant to star Creator/BruceLee. However, executives feared that a show starring an Asian man would be rejected by viewers and cast the white Creator/DavidCarradine as the [[FakeMixedRace half-Chinese]] Caine.

* English author Zadie Smith avoided the ghetto with her first novel, ''White Teeth'', which featured LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters representing many different races and religions. But she remarked in an interview that it bothered her when fans of the book came up to her and said: "My favorite character in ''White Teeth'' was [character who was of that person's race or religion]. I could really identify with him/her." Smith said that people need to be exposed to the experiences - whether real or fictional - of people who are ''not'' like them. Even though her mother was a black Jamaican, Smith listed a number of white males as her favorite authors.

* The Creator/{{Disney}} features ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}}'', and ''WesternAnimation/{{Moana}}'' were wildly successful, while having casts consisting entirely of Arabic, Chinese or Manchu, and Polynesian characters. ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'' became a CultClassic, despite its predominantly African-American cast, and AmbiguouslyBrown {{Love Interest|s}}. ''{{WesternAnimation/Pocahontas}}'', which also features Native American protagonists, has also been VindicatedByHistory and has more fans these days. Additionally, while ''WesternAnimation/{{Encanto}}'' (a.k.a. a cast consisting of Colombian characters) didn't actually do so well in the box-office, the popularity of the film ''SKY-ROCKETED'' after it got released on Creator/DisneyPlus as the film top the platform's "trending" topics for the following three months as well as being all over social media platforms, and the film even had Disney's first ever #1 Billboard Hot 100 song since the pop version of "A Whole New World" in the form of "We Don't Talk About Bruno".[[note]]Most of the cast of ''Aladdin'' was white but ''Moana'', ''The Princess and the Frog'', ''Mulan'', ''Pocahontas'', and ''Encanto'' featured predominantly Polynesian, African, Asian, Native American, and Latin American voice actors respectively where they were required.[[/note]]

* The Creator/{{Disney}} features ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}}'', and ''WesternAnimation/{{Moana}}'' were wildly successful, while having casts consisting entirely of Arabic, Chinese or Manchu, and Polynesian characters. ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'' became a CultClassic, despite its predominantly African-American cast, and AmbiguouslyBrown {{Love Interest|s}}. ''{{WesternAnimation/Pocahontas}}'', which also features Native American protagonists, has also been VindicatedByHistory and has more fans these days. Additionally, while ''WesternAnimation/{{Encanto}}'' didn't actually do so well in the box-office, the popularity of the film ''SKY-ROCKETED'' after it got released on Creator/DisneyPlus as the film top the platform's "trending" topics for the following three months as well as being all over social media platforms, and the film even had Disney's first ever #1 Billboard Hot 100 song since the pop version of "A Whole New World" in the form of "We Don't Talk About Bruno".[[note]]Most of the cast of ''Aladdin'' was white but ''Moana'', ''The Princess and the Frog'', ''Mulan'', ''Pocahontas'', and ''Encanto'' featured predominantly Polynesian, African, Asian, Native American, and Latin American voice actors respectively where they were required.[[/note]]

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Home}}'', which stars singer Music/{{Rihanna}} as the film's Black protagonist, was a surprise hit, opening at $54 million domestically and 99.7 million worldwide. The movie's opening weekend was touted as a much-needed success for Creator/{{DreamWorks}} after the disappointing openings for ''WesternAnimation/MrPeabodyAndSherman'' and ''WesternAnimation/PenguinsOfMadagascar''.

* The Creator/{{Disney}} features ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}}'', and ''WesternAnimation/{{Moana}}'' were wildly successful, while having casts consisting entirely of Arabic, Chinese or Manchu, and Polynesian characters. ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'' became a CultClassic, despite its predominantly African-American cast, and AmbiguouslyBrown {{Love Interest|s}}. ''{{WesternAnimation/Pocahontas}}'', which also features Native American protagonists, has also been VindicatedByHistory and has more fans these days.[[note]]Most of the cast of ''Aladdin'' was white but ''Moana'', ''The Princess and the Frog'', ''Mulan'', and ''Pocahontas'' featured predominantly Polynesian, African, Asian, and Native American voice actors respectively where they were required.[[/note]]

* ''Series/InLivingColor'' was pretty much the African-American version of ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' and became a huge success for the Creator/{{Fox}} network, and was at one time competing neck-and-neck with ''SNL'' for ratings. The show ran for five seasons until it was finally cancelled, not due to ExecutiveMeddling, but because the majority of the show's main cast all became big stars in their own right and went on to make successful films and television shows for themselves. Some of the people behind the scenes went on to create ''Series/{{MADtv}}'', though that show didn't have a predominately African-American cast.

* The ''Film/HaroldAndKumar'' trilogy has a Korean and an Indian as the lead characters. It's also popular, hilarious, profitable, and well-reviewed. Notably, the studio, apparently believing in this trope, [[ExecutiveMeddling attempted]] to [[RaceLift change the main characters' ethnicities]] to [[YouHaveToHaveJews Jewish]] in order to make them more "acceptable" to white viewers. The writers (who are Jewish) responded by including two Jewish buddies... as side characters.

* Justine Larbalestier's ''Literature/Liar2009'': The original US book cover had the [[RaceLift minority lead changed to be a white woman]]. This is depressingly common in the Young Adult category -- with the minority ghetto sometimes passed around as an excuse for doing so. The author blogs about the change [[http://justinelarbalestier.com/blog/2009/07/23/aint-that-a-shame/ here]]. But there's a happy ending: After the issue got a significant amount of negative publicity, the publishers [[http://justinelarbalestier.com/blog/2009/08/06/the-new-cover/ commissioned a new cover for the next print run]] that's basically the same as the old one [[AuthorsSavingThrow but with an African-American model who looks like the book's actual protagonist]].

* Music/FKATwigs says that [[https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/aug/09/fka-twigs-two-weeks-lp1 her racial background is why]] she is considered "[[PBRAndB alternative R&B]]", even though she believes her music has more in common with punk and doesn't consider herself to be R&B at all.

* Creator/{{Netflix}}'s ''Series/{{Narcos}}'' has a similar vibe as ''Series/BreakingBad'' except it's based on the RealLife notorious Colombian drug lord, Pablo Escobar. As expected, the majority of the cast are Hispanics and it got renewed for several more seasons and earned several Golden Globe nominations.

* A big part of why {{disco}} became CondemnedByHistory is that it was never able to fully escape this despite the explosion of its mainstream popularity. It had its roots in the Black, Latino, Italian, and [[WhereEverybodyKnowsYourFlame gay]] nightclubs of UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity and UsefulNotes/{{Philadelphia}}, roots that it never shook even as people from those scenes accused the genre's biggest artists of [[{{Sellout}} selling out]], and so for many (especially in [[FlyoverCountry Middle America]]) who didn't come from that background, disco came to be indelibly associated with [[TheHedonist hedonistic]] [[CampGay effetes]] and [[TheCityVsTheCountry city slickers]] bringing their lifestyles into the heartland. Music historians often see the backlash against disco as intertwined with the broader conservative backlash of the late '70s that eventually produced UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan and UsefulNotes/MargaretThatcher.