Page - 109 - in Media – Migration – Integration - European and North American Perspectives

Leen d’Haenens | Whither Cultural Diversity on the Dutch TV Screen? 109 their casting decisions and story-line selections4. The following research questions were raised: Which factors are influencing the ways in which ethnic diversity is being visualized in the production of homemade fiction series? And in what way do these factors play a role in the production process5? Four kinds of fiction series were analysed. Seven program makers (either the scenario writer or the creative producer) of a soap series6, a police series7, a comedy series8, and a children’s series9 were interviewed in-depth. Only two of them were working on a series aired on the commercial broadcaster. This illustrates the more prominent role the public broadcaster is playing in the production of homemade fiction in the Netherlands. 4 Such research was carried out by René Aarden for his Master’s thesis in Communication Studies at Radboud University Nijmegen under the supervision of the author of this article. 5 This basic knowledge examined in the country of residence consists of two parts: knowledge of the Dutch language and of Dutch society. The former is tested with 50 questions examining sentence repetition, answering short questions, finding opposites, retelling stories. The latter is examined by means of 30 questions covering the 7 topics from the DVD ‘Coming to the Netherlands’ dealing with geography and living, history, polity, democracy and legislation, Dutch language, education and upbringing, health care, work and income. This DVD is part of the integration package that the individual eager to come to the Netherlands should purchase in order to prepare her- or himself for the integration examination, which takes place in the Dutch embassy or at the consulate-general in one’s country or neighboring country. Costs amount to €350 to be paid to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, prior to examination. The exam can be taken over and over again. 6 As soap operas, Goede tijden slechte tijden/Good Times Bad Times (RTL4) en Onderweg naar morgen/On the Way to Tomorrow (BNN, PSB) were selected. Good Times Bad Times is about relations and problems among and within families. The series lasts already for ten years. Underway to tomorrow started off as a hospital series, but changed its focus to the life of urban youth in their twenties. 7 Van Speijck (Talpa) and Spangen (TROS, PSB) were the police series under study. Van Speijk is about the (petty) crime-related ongoings in the Van Speijk street in Amsterdam. Spangen is a detective series in which murder cases are to be solved. 8 De band/The Band (VARA, PSB) and Kinderen geen bezwaar/Children no Objection (VARA, PSB) were the examples chosen for comedy series. The Band follows the lives of five members of a music band. Children no Objection is a sitcom casting a couple with two kids from a former marriage. He is a house husband and she is a psychiatrist. The boy is in love with the girl and does about everything to attract her attention. 9 Ik ben Willem/I am Willem (VPRO, PSB) was the only homemade children’s program produced by the public broadcaster. I am Willem is based on a book, following an eight-year-old boy with divorced parents. Willem lives in Amsterdam with his mom and dad alternately.