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Colored Television by Danzy Senna

The Elusive American Dream

The pursuit of the American Dream has long been a central theme in literature, but few novels capture its modern complexities—particularly for people of color—quite like Danzy Senna’s razor-sharp new satire, “Colored Television.” Set against the backdrop of Los Angeles, that shimmering mirage of reinvention and possibility, Senna’s protagonist Jane Gibson finds herself caught between worlds—not just racially as a biracial woman, but also creatively as she tries to bridge the divide between “serious” literature and popular entertainment.

With biting wit and keen observation, Senna skewers the racial politics of both academia and Hollywood, while exploring deeper questions of identity, authenticity, and the stories we tell ourselves about who we are. The result is a darkly funny and unsettling portrait of 21st century America, where old hierarchies are crumbling but new forms of exploitation arise to take their place.

Plot Summary: A Writer’s Desperate Gambit

When we meet Jane, she’s living in a precarious state familiar to many struggling artists and academics. Despite having published one well-received novel years ago, she’s failed to produce a follow-up, putting her chances at tenure in jeopardy. She and her husband Lenny, an abstract painter, are barely scraping by with their two young children.

Their fortunes seem to change when a successful TV producer friend offers them the chance to housesit his luxurious Los Angeles home for a year. Jane sees this as the perfect opportunity to finally finish her sprawling, centuries-spanning novel about the mixed-race experience in America, which she grandiosely refers to as her “mulatto War and Peace.”

But when her agent and editor brutally reject the completed manuscript, Jane finds herself desperate for a Plan B. Enter Hampton Ford, a charismatic Black TV producer looking to create “diverse content” for a streaming network. Despite her initial skepticism about “selling out,” Jane throws herself into developing a sitcom about a biracial family, drawing heavily on her own experiences and creative ideas.

As Jane gets further enmeshed in the world of Hollywood development, compromising her artistic vision bit by bit, she starts to lose sight of her original goals and values. When Hampton ultimately steals her ideas and cuts her out of the project entirely, Jane is left to reckon with what she’s lost and what, if anything, she’s gained in the process.

Themes: Identity, Authenticity, and Appropriation

At its core, “Colored Television” by Danzy Senna is an exploration of identity—racial, artistic, and personal. Jane’s struggle to define herself mirrors larger societal debates about racial categorization and authenticity. As a light-skinned biracial woman, she often feels caught between worlds, not “Black enough” for some spaces but still Other-ed in white society.

Senna deftly illustrates how this in-between status makes Jane particularly vulnerable to exploitation by figures like Hampton, who see her as a convenient source of “authentic” diverse stories they can commodify. The novel asks uncomfortable questions about who has the right to tell certain stories, and how power and privilege shape whose voices get heard.

The book also grapples with notions of “selling out” versus “buying in” to dominant systems. Jane’s journey from aspiring literary novelist to desperate TV writer serves as a microcosm for larger debates in the culture about high art versus mass entertainment. Senna seems to suggest that these binaries are perhaps less meaningful than we think, and that real artistry can potentially flourish (or be crushed) in any medium.

Writing Style: Acerbic Wit Meets Emotional Depth

Senna’s prose crackles with sardonic humor and pop culture savvy. She has a particular gift for skewering the pretensions and hypocrisies of the creative class, whether academics or Hollywood types. The dialogue is especially sharp, capturing the way people in these worlds use language as both weapon and shield.

At the same time, there’s a current of melancholy and alienation running through the novel that gives it emotional heft beyond mere satire. Jane’s sense of displacement and her fears about losing her authentic self are palpable and relatable. Senna excels at illustrating how systemic inequities and cultural baggage compound to create a profound sense of precarity for her characters.

The structure of the novel is fragmented and non-linear at times, mirroring Jane’s increasingly fractured sense of self. Senna weaves in excerpts from Jane’s sprawling novel-in-progress, allowing us glimpses into her artistic vision and process. These meta-fictional elements add richness to the narrative and raise interesting questions about the relationship between art and life.

Character Analysis: A Gallery of Strivers and Schemers

Jane Gibson: The Conflicted Protagonist

Jane is a fascinatingly flawed protagonist—by turns sympathetic and frustrating. Her artistic ambitions and desire for stability for her family are understandable, but her willingness to compromise her values (and appropriate from her own life and community) is often cringeworthy. Senna does an excellent job of showing how systemic pressures and personal insecurities can lead even well-intentioned people to make ethically dubious choices.

Lenny: The Uncompromising Artist

Jane’s husband Lenny serves as something of a foil to her journey of compromise. His refusal to make his abstract paintings more “commercial” or pander to white liberal tastes is admirable in some ways, but also comes across as rigid and self-defeating at times. Their relationship dynamics illuminate larger questions about the costs and rewards of staying true to one’s artistic vision.

Hampton Ford: The Charismatic Exploiter

Hampton is a deliciously hateable antagonist—charming, ambitious, and utterly without scruples. He embodies a particular type of successful person of color who exploits identity politics for personal gain while reinforcing oppressive systems. Senna resists making him a pure villain though, hinting at the pressures and compromises that shaped him.

Social Commentary: Race, Class, and Power in Creative Industries

While the novel’s satire is often laugh-out-loud funny, it’s ultimately in service of a serious examination of how race and power intersect in creative fields. Senna is particularly insightful in depicting the ways that ostensibly progressive, diversity-minded institutions can still perpetuate harmful dynamics.

The academic world Jane inhabits is shown to be rife with performative wokeness masking deeper inequities. Meanwhile, Hollywood’s hunger for “diverse voices” is revealed as largely superficial—a way to profit from marginalized experiences without ceding any real power or control.

Senna is also attuned to the ways class complicates racial dynamics. Jane’s desperate financial situation makes her more vulnerable to exploitation, while Hampton’s wealth insulates him from certain consequences. The novel suggests that true diversity and equity require addressing economic inequality as well as racial representation.

Literary Context: In Conversation with Contemporary Fiction

“Colored Television” by Danzy Senna feels very much in conversation with other recent novels exploring race, art, and identity in America. It shares DNA with Kiley Reid’s “Such a Fun Age” in its examination of performative wokeness and the commodification of Black experience. There are also echoes of Brit Bennett’s “The Vanishing Half” in its nuanced portrayal of colorism and passing.

Senna’s satirical approach to Hollywood brings to mind Charles Yu’s “Interior Chinatown,” while her meta-fictional elements recall Percival Everett’s “Erasure.” Like those works, “Colored Television” uses humor and formal playfulness to tackle weighty themes about whose stories get told and how.

Critique: Strengths and Weaknesses

Senna’s greatest strength is her ability to mine painful truths from absurd situations. The novel is consistently funny while never losing sight of the serious issues at its core. Her insider knowledge of both academia and Hollywood lends authenticity to the satire.

The fragmented structure can occasionally feel disorienting, and some readers may find Jane’s passivity frustrating at times. Additionally, a few of the supporting characters verge on caricature. However, these are minor quibbles in an otherwise accomplished work.

Conclusion: A Timely and Incisive Novel

“Colored Television” by Danzy Senna is a novel that feels urgently of the moment while also exploring timeless questions about art, identity, and integrity. Senna has crafted a story that is both wildly entertaining and deeply thought-provoking.

In an era of racial reckonings and debates about representation, this incisive satire offers no easy answers but plenty of necessary questions. It’s a book that will make you laugh, cringe, and ultimately reflect on your own place in America’s complex racial landscape.

Recommendation

Highly recommended for fans of satirical literary fiction, readers interested in race and pop culture, and anyone who’s ever felt caught between worlds or wondered if they’re selling out. “Colored Television” is a novel that will stay with you long after you turn the final page.

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