Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses racism and includes racist terms for Black and biracial people in direct quotes from the source material. 

A core theme of Colored Television is the struggle artists face, particularly in Los Angeles, between balancing artistic integrity and financial security. Senna represents this through the life experiences of the four main characters in different ways. Brett MacNamara represents a commercial artist who has no qualms about creating work that suits the market. Although there are passion projects he would like to work on, he is happy and unashamed of his life choices. Hampton Ford feels some qualms about the shows he makes to please audiences and placate network executives, but he nevertheless pursues this goal single-mindedly. On the other end of the spectrum is Lenny Gibson, who views people like Brett and Hampton as “sellouts.” Lenny is steadfast in his artistic vision, even though he does ultimately make a small concession to branding by the novel’s end to sell his work. Throughout the novel, protagonist Jane Gibson changes her outlook. She begins by largely sharing the principle of artistic integrity with her husband, Lenny, but her desire for financial security leads her to sacrifice elements of her artistic vision to appeal to Hollywood agents and producers.