The Mary Sue: Everything I love is problematic, I’m realizing. Star Wars and Harry Potter don’t have enough diversity. Every person in the comedy group Monty Python is a white man. Pitch Perfect 2, Mean Girls, and Family Guy have jokes that are offensive to many groups of people. Bill Cosby, H.P. Lovecraft, and Marion Zimmer Bradley were not good people. I can’t wear my Jayne hat without worrying a little hate will leak into my ears through that adorable pompon. In short, just like people, no media is perfect.
3 comments:
I feel like Delilah S. Dawson is taking words right out of my head. I'm aware of the issue at hand and even though I'm privileged doesn't mean I'm not part of the problem with diversity. As of right now, I go to college, buy my own food and live under a roof. Also, I'm a healthy, Caucasian, tall woman who doesn't hesitate to speak her mind. However, if this issue isn't brought up to my attention, then I lose track of what I stand for. It's hard enough standing for women power and what is right and wrong, but diversity is a whole different story. I recently had this conversation with one of someone who is a short, African American, curvy woman. We talked about how we are so similar in personality but we're so different in the way we look. Our looks are what causes us to handle situations differently, whether we're at the grocery store, going out, or on a date. There is a fine line that "the only thing that matters is what's on the inside," but we soon realize that we care more about the physical characteristics then we initially assumed.
I run into this problem literally all the time. The trope of "turning off my feminist brain to enjoy a movie" hit so close to home for me. I think that no matter where in are in history, people will continue to be terrible human beings. However, that's not an excuse for things like cultural appropriation or casual racism. The first step in any situation is recognizing the problem, which Dawson has done in this article, so that's a good step for her. However, if we want to make a change in the way that media represents different cultures, we need to support the good and not just bash the bad. There's no use complaining about something if you don't propose a solution. this is where we, as white, cisgendered, privileged citizens can use our privilege to support others. Consuming media created by minorities is extremely important in order to diversify our culture. We need to make that conscious effort to better society. We can do it. It's not that hard.
I feel like this article hits the nail right on the head. Obviously we strive to be socially conscious people, but that doesn't mean condemning everything in this world. There are problems and imperfections in every piece of media, and it's up to each and every one of us to decide where to draw the line. For me I've noticed this problem a lot with the casual use of derogatory language. Most people recognize that using gay in a negative context is a bad thing, but they don't always call someone out. Like with media we should recognize the problem and talk about it (i.e. tell them it's wrong) but then don't proceed to condemn they for the incident if they strive to be better in the future. We must start by acknowledging the issues, and striving towards correcting them and building a better environment for everyone. But that doesn't mean you have to condemn everything that came before. Obviously we shouldn't perpetuate negative media, but that doesn't mean that you have to throw away everything. The original Star Wars does have a diversity problem, and the new movies are trying to correct that with a more diverse cast. But that doesn't mean you aren't allowed to still enjoy the originals if you have acknowledged the issues it presents. The main point of what I am trying to say is that it is a tricky balance but the most important things we have to do is recognize our own bias and privilege and not ignore the problems when they arise.
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