Yes!!!!!!
Tag: representation
The Statement Reads as Follows:
“I accepted the role unaware that the character in the original comics was of mixed Asian heritage,” Skrein explained in his statement. “There has been intense conversation and understandable upset since that announcement, and I must do what I feel is right.”
“It is clear that representing this character in a culturally accurate way holds significance for people, and that to neglect this responsibility would continue a worrying tendency to obscure ethnic minority stories and voice in the Arts. I feel it is important to honour and respect that. There I have decided to step down so the role can be cast appropriately.”
“Representation of ethnic diversity is important, especially to me as I have a mixed heritage family. It is our responsibility to make moral decisions in difficult times and to give voice to inclusivity. It is my hope that one day these discussions will become less necessary and that we can help make equal representation in the Arts a reality.”
“I am sad to leave Hellboy but if this decision brings us closer to that day, it is worth it. I hope it makes a difference.”
“With love and hope,”
“Ed Skrein”
This not only shows that actors have a say in what roles they take, but also that what they do in such situations showcases their true integrity.
“Diverse media is treated with a harsher lens than everything else” Probably because we’re assuming if you took the time to include us you’d do the bare minimum which is treat characters like us with respect and how dare we be upset when that doesn’t happen
True, but in a capitalistic-driven world like ours where media’s success is measured in revenue rather than it’s cultural importance, how we engage diverse media is literally a deciding factor of if we’ll get more.
And what type of media is it affects this even further.
TV shows and movies do not have a history of reacting to outcry or criticism by re-engaging and trying to fix it, they have a history of going “oh, right, no one wants [minority] in the focus, got it” and then shelf the project and go back to “white boy wonder #3000″ and his cookie cutter story that’s guaranteed to bring in money.
Videogames have a better reaction to critical commentary about their handling of diversity, hilariously enough. This is why we had things like Gamer Gate. Because the industry is willing to listen, much to the disdain and distaste of some of its fanbase.
I get it, though. White, straight, cis people have this pool of stories and if something is not to their liking, they can complain about it and go find another one they like better, because statistically, someone out there has tackled that specific take in a story. But if you’re in a minority and the movie/game/comic/THING you got is the only one you’ve got you want it to be everything. You feel it has to do everything perfectly, on every aspect. Because you don’t have anything else.
I sincerely believe that our engagement – critical and political – with diverse media needs to radically change, however. Because our own reactions to imperfect representations of ourselves – and let’s be honest, they’re ALL imperfect representations of ourselves, someone might find them suitable and someone might find them offensive, and we’re back with trying to make ONE THING that will satisfy ALL THE THINGS FOR EVERYONE EVER – don’t encourage people to try again and do better next time. This hyper critical culture in our own communities, that also has slowly been bled out of rational or structured long term planning, has resulted on people dogpiling anything that is even remotely “problematic” and decrying it as the Absolute Worst, thus demanding it be boycotted and as far removed from everything as possible. You’re not allowed to discuss the things diverse media did right, on penalty of being told you’re supporting everything they did wrong. You’re not allowed to say “Okay, it’s not FOR EVERYONE or ALL THE THINGS, but you know what, it’s doing THIS ONE THING really well”, because then you’re a traitor and must be destroyed.
I’ve seen people stirring in the Asian and Latino camps that Black Panther is not a big deal, because there aren’t any Asian or Latino people in the front and center of the movie.
I’ve seen people hissing that Wonder Woman should be boycotted because it’s an all-white imperialistic fantasy.
Look, guys. This approach to media betrays a simple misunderstanding of what Diverse Media is. Diverse Media is not the search for The One, you know, The One Good Book/Movie/Series/Game/Comic. Diverse Media is a road towards becoming Media, without qualifiers. It’s not about finding The One and stopping, because nothing will ever represent us that well ever again. It’s the constant road we’re paving, one step at the time, to reach the point where we too will be able to wrinkle our nose at any given piece of media and then shrug and go look for something else, like white, straight, cis people do today, with that same confidence that we WILL find something else, for whatever the reason, because we’re no longer genre pieces.
Be critical of Diverse Media, by all means. But be critical while you support it. Be critical while you scream at the top of your lungs that you want More of it.
And for the love of anything holy, please learn to engage media without that fucking Purity Culture filter bullshit that’s just ruining everything for everyone around you.
Hi, writer here, just to add my two cents. Here’s the thing: YOU LITERALLY, IN NO POSSIBLE WAY OR FORM WHATSOEVER, CANNOT HAVE A SINGLE PIECE OF MEDIA THAT CAN CATER TO EVERYONE. Read it, then read it again. It is LITERALLY, i mean LITERALLY IMPOSSIBLE to have that. All good stories have a singular goal, something it wants to say. A STORY CANNOT BE ABOUT EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE. Okay? Okay. Now stop saying that this one thing is Bad because it wasn’t written for you, or it wasn’t perfect. Support it anyway, because THAT’S how we get more of these things, and getting more of these things means getting MORE CHANCES OF GETTING THIS RIGHT.
WRITERS ARE PEOPLE, AND WE MAKE MISTAKES. We’re gonna make some shitty mistakes, because no matter how #ownvoices or well-researched or sensitivity read our stuff is something is, chances are we’re going to mess up and we’re going to offend someone. And sometimes that person will be right to be offended. The best of us apologize. But we literally cannot continue to keep making things better if you don’t support us, because we can only do better if we can live off of these stories.
So PLEASE, stop sabotaging us and yourselves. We need you to help us. Please trust that we’re doing our best.
Pass Through Fire 