Migrant arrests and deportations on fictional television during the Trump era (2017–2021): from tokenistic storytelling to narrative activism

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article is a comparative analysis discussing the representation of migrant deportations, apprehensions, and raids by ICE in contemporary US television and streaming. The depiction of migration issues was a narrative and rhetorical constant in some fictional US television shows during the Donald Trump presidency (2017–2021), dramatizing the struggles of undocumented and newly arrived migrants and their families. These shows, which range from drama to comedy, include, among numerous others, Netflix’s Orange is the New Black and Gentefied, the reboot of Party of Five (produced by Sony Pictures Television for Disney’s cable channel Freeform), Vida (STARZ), and Superstore (NBC). This article argues some of these shows enact a form of narrative activism to denounce or put the spotlight on the plight of millions, while others use these types of narratives in an opportunistic way that falls into the cultural practice of tokenism . In these series, the ethnic origin and life story of the talent in front and behind the camera is key for self-representation and authenticity.