“The media's the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that's power. Because they control the minds of the masses.”
-
Malcolm X
I admit the title of this blog post is misleading; I will
not be talking about John Cena in any way shape or form. But if that’s the only
reason you clicked on this post, stick around a little while longer and I
promise it will be worthwhile.
I never really start my blog posts with a quote, but as soon
as I decided I was going to write a post about representation in the media,
this is the quote the instantly popped into my mind.
It’s a quote that seems to become more significant as the
methods of media communication expand and become more prominent in our day to
day lives; a product of continually advancing technology.
Just to clarify, because I feel as though when referring to
media people instinctively think of social media, but when discussing mass media,
I am referring to:
-
Print media (newspapers, magazines, literature)
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Broadcast media (tv, radio)
-
Outdoor media (billboards, posters)
-
Film
-
Internet (social media)
-
Games (Online, console)
So, just because you don’t have a Twitter or Instagram account with thousands of followers does not mean that this post isn’t relevant
to you.
I should also mention that the topic of mass media
representation is a ridiculously broad one, so within this post particularly, I
will be exploring the representation of Black people and people of African
descent.
PART I- Are You Blind
At the age of 4, my sister pointed to a shampoo advert that
came on the tv and casually asked me why ALL the girls ALWAYS, had hair ‘like
that’, and never had hair ‘like ours’.
Now, the crazy thing is, I don’t even have to tell you or
specify what kind of hair she was referring to, because odds are that you
already know.
If I asked you to think of a shampoo advert right now,
chances are the same kind of image comes to your head as what we were looking
at. White models with long silky blonde or brunette hair, (unless they were
feeling adventurous and maybe included a token girl with ginger hair).
Like I say, she asked the question very casually, she was
still super young and learning about the new and exciting world she lives in…
And I (age 14 at the time) did not know what to say. In fact, I was at a loss
for words. Do you understand how mad it is that my sister at the age of 4
acknowledged that fact that she did not see herself on TV? That’s the power of
the media.
That is something that neither I nor my parents could shield
her from. The media shoves messages down our throats that we either willingly
or unwillingly stomach and accept as our reality.
Sure, you can argue that this was 6 years ago and there must
have been large strives when it comes to representation. But I will ask you
this. Why did you know the exact kind of shampoo adverts I was referring to?
I still don’t see myself reflected in shampoo adverts, and
maybe it’s a lot to ask, but I dunno, I want my sister to see her beautiful
type 4 hair type in a shampoo advert within her lifetime.
But fine, shampoo adverts aside, the media represents black
people and people of African descent awfully. It is disgusting to see. The African diaspora is so beautiful, diverse, and intricate, yet we are ALL reduced
to character tropes with negative social impacts. Whether done intentionally or
unintentionally, this is an issue across many forms of media, where tropes such
as the ones listed below are constantly reinforced:
-
The angry/ tough, sassy black woman
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The insensitive, criminal, and poverty-stricken
black man
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The broken black family
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The ‘freshie’ straight out of Africa who has no
connection to the ‘modern world’
-
Slave… literally just slave
And to make things worse, we are never even the main characters,
we are always portrayed as extra two-dimensional token background characters,
and we all know the story would still make sense without us.
This distorted representation is maybe even worse than not
being represented at all. This false sense of diversity is toxic and seeps into
the heart of society, and not only influences structural racism, but also fuels
internalised racism.
For example: the tough black woman trope has penetrated the
medical field.
Black women are 5 times more likely to die in pregnancy and
childbirth than White women. Black women are thought to be able to cope with
and tolerate more pain, studies have even shown that medical professionals (who
were in medical school for years) believed this to be fact. THIS IS NOT TRUE BY
THE WAY! As a result, the pain experienced by black women is not taken as seriously
in medical settings. Serena Williams has spoken out about the pain, difficulties
and medical negligence she experienced during labour, and she is a woman with
great experience and understanding about what is healthy or normal for her body
and what is not.
All this, from one ‘fun character trope’. That’s the power
of the media.
I could go on talking about how black men continuously being
told that they shouldn’t be in touch with their emotions reflects in mental
health statistics.
Or the association of African countries with ‘primitive’ or
‘backwards’ societies and the negative impact on development due to human
capital flight (‘the brain drain’).
If you haven’t read my post entitled “Wakanda Perception do
you have of Africa”, within this post I go into some greater detail about the
representation of Africa and people of African descent in the media.
To cut a long story short, everywhere I look, I can’t see
me. It’s as if the whole world has chosen to turn a blind eye to my lived
experience, and I am not worth being represented.
MY black life clearly does not matter.
PART II- Is This Your King?
Let me tell you something for free yeah, 2018 was MY YEAR!
I watched Black Panther around 5 times in the cinema.
My favourite marvel film to date, Spiderman into the
Spiderverse, was released.
Spiderman into the Spiderverse has by far the best film
soundtrack to grace any film I have EVER watched.
My brother has a black panther phone case, and my sister and
I have Miles Morales’ spiderman as our wall papers.
I wrote a 3,000-word academic essay- yes you read that
correctly A THREE-THOUSAND WORD ACADEMIC UNI ESSAY on Black Panther.
An essay that actually inspired my first ever blog post on IAMLENGA
(it is still my favourite post to date and my literal pride and joy).
2018 was my year.
I felt seen.
I felt heard.
That’s the power of the media.
On the back of the recent passing of Chadwick Boseman (may
his soul find rest, and may his powerful legacy live on), I want to take this
opportunity to discuss the film Black Panther once more.
This film will remain iconic for the years to come.
I genuinely think that the shared black experience and
celebration of African culture that this film brought about will remain
unmatched.
Is this how white people feel all the time??!!!
Maybe this is why we never get represented properly or get
any screen time?!
But all jokes aside, the success of this film, and the response
of the African diaspora to being represented should really tell you everything you
need to know.
I was a superhero. He was my superhero, and as a marvel fan, I
saw myself reflected up on that big screen for the first time in the MCU. Not
as some extra background character to fill a diversity quota, but an intricate
character with depth and substance.
So, yes, THIS IS MY KING! And the role Chadwick played as
Black Panther will forever be pivotal in the way I perceive myself, and my
intrinsic view on what I can or cannot be.
I cannot be reduced to a character trope; reduced to 3
qualities that make the ‘white man’s narrative’ more interesting.
To my under/misrepresented readers of minority groups, you
can be whatever the hell you wanna be. You can take up whatever spaces you want
to take up, regardless of what mass media will tell you.
You wanna be a superhero (Black Panther, Spiderman into the
Spiderverse), you wanna be a scientist (Hidden Figures), or you wanna be a
model in a shampoo advert, go out there and be seen.
I see you.
…
IAMLENGA
https://www.vogue.co.uk/beauty/article/black-maternal-mortality
- https://www.today.com/health/implicit-bias-medicine-how-it-hurts-black-women-t187866
- https://www.google.com/search?q=netflix&oq=netflix&aqs=chrome..69i57j35i39j0l6.2170j0j8&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
- https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a863844/racism-movie-tv-stereotypes/
- https://www.opportunityagenda.org/explore/resources-publications/media-representations-impact-black-men/media-portrayals
- https://bbamantra.com/media-types-characteristics/
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2019/05/22/why-is-equal-representation-in-media-important/
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