Posted by“But Black Panther only just came out!”
It’s so true that diversity and inclusion are big ol’ buzzwords in media lately. Recently, between movies like Black Panther and Crazy Rich Asians, we’re seeing teeny tiny snippets of slightly more inclusive media. I mean, it’s always been a thing: add in a token person of color or woman to your news anchor team, superhero squad, voting ballots, or 20-something sitcom friends. Well, not those Friends at least. But now audiences are asking for more — more inclusion, more marginalized groups represented in politics and communities, and more realistic portrayals of race, gender, sexual orientation, body size, etc. And way less tokenization.
How do I address problematic issues within my favorite shows and pop culture?
One of my friends will find a way in which they feel a show is bigoted (e.g. "Steven Universe is racist") and suddenly it's the... Read more
That’s why this video from College Humor, written by Rekha Shankar, hits the nail right on the head. Diversity isn’t a fad or a trend: it’s something that we need to be improving upon constantly and forever. It’s been spearheaded with consistent progress by hard-working people in all marginalized groups trying to see more of themselves in media since, you know, life itself is diverse as hell. Shouldn’t our media options reflect that?
In this hilarious “super chill” video that looks straight out of an after-school special preceding an episode of Saved By The Bell, we’ll see how diversity as a trend is regressive and that we can all do better.
About the Author: Catherine Clark
Catherine Clark loiters at her local library, makes art, watches movies en masse, plays video and tabletop games, poorly cooks healthy things, cuddles with her feline fur babies, and blogs at BijouxandBits.com.