The Always-Mad Minority
by
B.J. on
9/07/2004 11:08:00 PM
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Not that I've been looking back at my posts cause it's always hard for me to do, but I know I've blogged/talked a lot this summer about the submerging (Going Down Sunset Blvd., The Post, the project from the kid at UC-Davis) and empowerment (APL Song, Harold and Kumar) of the minority in the most powerful form of communication, the media (thanks 'Ree, DSLars, and Dima !).
Anyone reading this however who tends not to agree with my views would probably respond saying "you're [me] always mad, you make your race, ethnicity, class, etc. such a big deal. You're not happy with ANY of the media's portrayal of minorities. If they're living in the suburbs, they're too white, but if they're living in the slums, they're too stereotypical. There's no pleasing you [me]."
Usually, I would attack that person's credibility saying that they don't know how it is because they are not a minority. And usually that works just fine.
But not only is that immature and Republican-like in that it masks the truth, but it also really doesn't address the minority who tells me that above statement.
To the minority who tells me that, here's my response:
Yes, I will probably remain pissed about minority representation in the media either way simply because minorities will be stuck to stereotypes with little representation.
Being mad about minority representation in the media will be an issue until minorities are treated as equals in the media and elsewhere. "Treated as equals" in this sense means that minorities in the United States the have same sphere of influence as the white to the point where people of "minority" descent are looked upon as individuals.
The answer: being treated equal will be accomplished simply by getting more minorities in the media.
I don't mean through force, of course, they earn their way (as if there can only be 1 talented minority per show). It's a bias and racist in itself to think that there can only be 1 minority per show.
But if you're having trouble accepting that there needs to be minorities for them to be accepted by mainstream America, think of the way we vote for president in America.
As Republicans and Bushites who would usually disagree with my opinion presented here, would say in defense of the (s)election of their candidate in 2000, we don't go by popular vote, which is the raw number of people that vote for a candidate. We go by electoral votes, so that every state is represented well even though they may be sparsely populated. So while it may not be proportional, it is the fair way to represent all people in different demographics.
So while the number of minorities may not be proportional, more of them would better represent minority folks and not make radical people like me "overly critical."
Labels: Racial Misunderstandings