Producer, writer focuses on career, role of race in media

Instead of Clarissa, Alison Taylor explained it all.

Taylor, the accredited writer of "Clarissa Explains it All," "Hangin' with Mr. Cooper" and "Lizzie McGuire," discussed her career as well as diversity in modern entertainment Tuesday night at the Joyce Hergenhan Auditorium.

Conversation topics ranged from teen television to race in entertainment, in writer and producer Taylor's lecture. The lecture marked the seventh Conversation on Race and Television as part of the school's Leaders in Communications speaker series.

The event was conducted in a talk show-like atmosphere as television, radio and film professor Richard Dubin asked Taylor questions about her career and then opened the floor to questions from the audience.

"It's a little embarrassing to admit, but I thought I was going to be an actress," Taylor said.

Raised in Pasadena, Calif., Taylor's career quickly shifted from the stage to behind-the-scenes work.

Along with her friend, Kelly Goode, Taylor wrote a half-hour script called "Designing Women," and although they were given a pilot, it did not get shot. When Goode became an executive, Taylor decided to continue writing, got her own agent and began working on Nickelodeon's "Clarissa Explains It All."

Many opportunities followed as Taylor found work on the Disney Channel, Nickelodeon and ABC's "TGIF" lineups.

Taylor explained how in the "tween" market, the demographic between early childhood and adolescence, children can do things adults may consider old, but kids are seeing for the first time. The audience laughed when Taylor gave the example of a knock-knock joke being hilarious or someone "slipping and falling on goo."

The topic of conversation shifted when Taylor was asked about racial aspects of her job. Taylor continued to stress how she is not out to create "a rainbow coalition" and select a character from every race to create diversity.

"I thought it was refreshing how Alison Taylor strives to portray reality in her TV shows rather than filling an arbitrary quota," said Megan Hess, a freshman magazine journalism major.

"I think there is a desire and mandate to increase diversity but not at the expense of the show," Taylor said. "Kids impression of race and gender is much different."

The audience clearly held similar beliefs with Taylor as heads shook in agreement with her responses to questions about racism in the industry.

In response to questions asking whether Taylor believes that there is enough diversity on television, she was quick to point out that only 14 percent of the country is a minority, and if the purpose of diversity on television is to show real life, then minorities are overrepresented.

.Taylor finished by giving the students valuable advice to take away from the program.

"You need to have a broad undergraduate experience, and you have to be good, not be the first one out there," she said. "Kids need the opportunity to fail; they don't always need to be the winner. They can fail, get back up and move on. I always want to show that it's fine to be second place."

kalandsm@syr.edu