Representation in Modern Media – A Non-Issue

The most recent storm in a teacup over, of all things Toy Story 4, seems to have served as a tipping point for my brain to go into deep ponder.

Why do these criticisms of “lack of representation” constantly pop up? There seems to be a deep conviction that the discussion whether or not we need it is OVER; and that they know all the answers and can tell us where we went wrong, yet again. (see this article https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/31/16790006/poc-black-latinx-history-film-diversity-representation )

I disagree.

Here's my question: Why is representation so important to you? And I found this article that seems to sum up what I have heard and read elsewhere https://www.theodysseyonline.com/5-reasons-why-representation-matters

So, this is what I am going to pick as my example to debunk. If there are more arguments, please let me know, perhaps there IS an answer out there that I have overlooked so far.

A bullet list of the article's arguments reads, for your comfort:

1. Everyone should have characters or images they can relate to.

2. It helps us to embrace our culture.

3. There are stories that are missing.

4. It's realistic.

5. Because everyone deserves to see themselves in their heroes.

There is an obvious trend which I would boil down to “One single factor, picked randomly, is who you are in your entirety” (sure, I could have worded that more elegantly, I'll leave that up to my esteemed critics).

Again, I disagree.

“Everyone should have characters or images they can relate to.”

While that is true, and in my case it's an essential that I cannot only relate but also empathize, on which ground do people feel connected? It turns out it is about character, about choices, life circumstances. One of my all-time favorite Jackie Chan movies, Little Big Soldier, a mix of comedy and tragedy about a man, always down on his luck who will not give up. I am not a 50-something Asian male, but the plucky resolve and tongue-in-cheek attitude resonate deeply with me. So, I relate.

As do hundreds of millions (if not billions?) of people all across the world. We consume media where the characters often have no superficial similarity to us. And it is that emotional connection on a deeper level of understanding the general ups and downs of being alive driving movies about aliens, dogs, plants, zombies … you name it … to become box office hits.

Yes, sweat heart, if you are not a raging racist, you can relate to other beings on the merit of them having your kind of a soul.

“It helps us to embrace our culture”

Humans have been around for much longer than movies have. Interestingly enough, early human art, which could take great pain to depict animals amazingly lifelike, only showed humans rather stylized. Just compare the 17 thousand year old paintings of their prey in Lascaux (https://d.ibtimes.co.uk/en/full/1495897/lascaux-iv.jpg ) with the Venus of Willendorf (http://academics.smcvt.edu/awerbel/Survey%201%20Exam%20Study/Venus%20of%20Willendorf.png ).

While that lady is nearly twice the age at 30 thousand years, she is one of the most detailed depictions of a human being that we know of until roughly 10 thousand years ago. Early humans understood something about us, we are who we are inside. And that is exactly how they represented themselves, whittled down to the essentials of arms, legs and, really funny, often an over sized set of twig and berries.

Embrace your culture based on the merits you see, living it in your every day life; serve as an ambassador for it when you meet outsiders. Inform yourself on the details and share them with those who don't know.

And you will find that only racists refuse to adapt and praise new and improved ideas.

“There are stories that are missing”

Yes, and isn't that exciting? That means we will never run out of material to write new stories. Hollywood is doing an excellent job of proving my point of how boring eternal re-runs and re-hashes of same/old/same/old are.

You feel like a story needs to be told? Tell it, then. You will probably not find much of an audience, and I guess that is the real crux of the matter. If not instant fame and success, then life is not fair.

How do I put it … hm … life is what it is. You take it by the horns and hope it won't get a sudden spurt of diarrhea while it's whirling you around. Nobody gets a better deal than that, so life is actually pretty fair.

Here's another thought, if the story has already been told and the ONLY plot difference where your story does not align with the other one is color of skin, that does make you a raging racist to think it is entirely different.

“It's realistic”

Is that really the end goal? In that case, fear no more, The Witcher has got you covered. As it takes place in a fictional Slavic area, the characters are white (for humans) and Slavic folklore for the rest. Unfortunately for your argument, there are the usual culprits whining about The Witcher not being inclusive enough (https://www.polygon.com/2015/6/3/8719389/colorblind-on-witcher-3-rust-and-gamings-race-problem ).

Let us also address the issue whether or not it IS realistic to have a set percentage per color of skin. For someone from China, having a cast that is 13% black is unrealistic. If the Chinese audience is to assume that the movie takes place anywhere in the world, this just does not fit with their reality.

How about movies with a fixed location. Well, it would take scientific data to establish what the correct mix of population at that time and place would have been. While the US currently have an average of about 13% black people, there are vast regional and historic differences. Take Maine, for example, the correct representation of black people should be less than 2%. Somehow I doubt the people clamoring for representation will be happy with that outcome.

Let me also point out art often/normally does not portray reality without embellishments (it's pretty much one of the major points of art, dont'cha know). While educational material should do the best it can to be accurate (a bad example lately being the ridiculous BBC portrayal of ancient GB with black people cropping up all over the place; just duckduck BBC blackwashing history), obviously other types of media are more story driven. Whatever serves the narrative best, that is the choice you make.

Asking for realism and ignoring that the world is a very diverse place and experiences differ wildly, why that is a racist thing to do.

“Because everyone deserves to see themselves in their heroes”

It is again an argument for visuals over content. I will still go into this variation, since it is just as wrong as the other incarnations of this line of reasoning.

How do we determine who is or is not a hero? I don't think many people would argue that fire fighters are not heroes. Or the many heroes we meet in our daily lives who rescue animals, children, those in need. Clearly, it is deeds that define a hero, not color of skin.

I have to wonder at someone who thinks only a person of their own race, their own sex, can be a hero they can look up to. Smacks of racism to me.

To sum it all up and some extra thoughts:

Obviously, I think you must be an ideologist if you try to argue for representation by race, sex, sexuality … you name it. It is nonsensical as the world is too diverse to come up with arbitrary numbers and claim they represent us all accurately. Every single one of us is a unique mix of experiences, background, genetics, morals, circumstances, a whole slew of factors.

Consequently, the only way you can make a point for “accurate” representation is by ignoring everything but the single attribute you pick, randomly. If we follow this process to its logical conclusion, there would come a point when nobody could represent anyone but themselves. It is also ironic to read proponents of representation talking about “Latinos” as if they are a homogeneous blob, in happy disregard of the diversity this term already bears.

People who are still clamoring for more representation already have a wide range of media trying to bend over backwards to accommodate them. Adding insult to injury to those of us who us want to enjoy a movie and connect to the cast based on their character and actions.

If you are so deeply racist that everything has to be about melanin, so sexist that you dehumanize the opposite sex, so hung up on a single issue that it defines all of you, by all means, you do you. But please leave those of us who are sane out of it.