How Sandra Oh’s Emmy nomination further normalizes POC’s presence in TV
The TV industry has made considerable strides in trying to diversify content for a more racially conscious audience. And Sandra Oh’s nomination for the Lead Actress in a Drama Primetime Emmy for her role in Killing Eve is a testament to this. Her nomination is noteworthy not only for its place in history, this being the first nomination of an Asian woman for a Lead Actress award in the Emmy’s 69 year history, but also because of what it means for the presence of people of color in TV.
Oh has been recognized for a performance in a role that canonically may not have gone to her in the past. Oh’s character Eve Polastri is a MI5 officer turned unofficial MI6 agent whose job it is to track down a notorious serial killer.
On the surface, Oh’s character is a straight forward role that isn’t defined by any particular identity beyond womanhood.This role could have very easily gone to a white actress, but Oh was given the chance to audition and she was seen as the best fit for the role.
Killing Eve doesn’t try to compensate for Oh’s Asian identity by constantly referring to it. Her Asian identity isn’t integral to the relationship between her character and other characters. Eve Polastri is simply a woman, who happens to be Asian, who also tracks down the killer-for-hire Villanelle.
Oh’s character is an acknowledgment of people of color being in spaces that people wouldn’t automatically assume people of color to inhabit. Oh’s character dismantles the viewers racist preconceived notions of what an Asian woman is supposed to be, what her career is and how she lives.
The narrative we’ve come to understand is that for the content that isn’t explicitly diverse, it will have white actors. Killing Eve is the most subtle and non-confrontational exploration of the preconceived notions of people of color that I’ve seen recently, because it is all grounded in fact. What you see on the screen is what it is. Oh’s character isn’t preachy, and neither is Killing Eve as a show. We as an audience are given a reality and we accept it wholeheartedly. We never consider that Oh’s character could be anything but Asian, because Oh is playing the role.
And while roles for TV that are grounded in racial experiences are just as important, Killing Eve is the subversion of that growing imperative to cast diverse actors in specifically racialized roles and shows. Experiences unique to certain races are always important to see on screen, but just as important is the reconstruction of the narrative as a whole.
Oh’s character in Killing Eve and Oh’s nomination are a step forward in and the acknowledgement of the subtle and conscious normalizing of people of color in roles for TV that are diverse simply because they are human.