By Jannat Merchant
Growing up as a South Asian Muslim, I was privileged enough to grow up in a very diverse community. I was able to grow up learning about and talking to people of different races and cultures, which helped my understanding of multiculturalism greatly. However, there’s something that stunts this understanding in many young children and teens, and that is the lack of diversity in media.
Taking myself as an example, a large part of the content I consumed in elementary school was Disney or Pixar related. I, along with the other kids I knew, looked up to Disney princesses. A huge factor that comes into play here, is that most of these princesses were White. The only princesses that weren’t, were Mulan, a Chinese warrior whose story created stereotypes for Chinese culture, Pocahontas, a Native American princess whose film glorified European colonizers, and Tiana, whose movie was actually really well done, except for the fact that the two Black leads were frogs for a majority of the movie. When you can’t see yourself in the people or things you idolize, you start to lose a sense of your identity, wishing you were someone else.
As a child, a subconscious thought was planted into my head. “To be recognized, I have to be someone else. To be important, I can’t be me.”
Racism has always been a huge issue. We’ve moved past slavery and segregation, but besides that, stereotypes, micro-aggressions, and subconscious racial bias have not changed. The generational racism combined with subconscious racism starting from a young age does not spark any movements for change in modern society, however, all is not completely bad.
Superheroes have been in the media for decades. It is a staple of many childhoods, and it often sticks with people well into their adulthood. This is why the introduction of the Black Panther in the Marvel Cinematic Universe was groundbreaking. An African superhero with an accent fighting along with a White-majority group of superheroes, who, up until that point, were all Black people had for representation. Following the release of Captain America: Civil War, which is where Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) made his first appearance, the film Black Panther was released. A Black-majority cast set in Africa, with a release of a soundtrack with all Black musicians. Black Panther changed the game.
Black kids had superheroes to dress up as for Halloween, to put on their backpacks, to pretend to be with their friends, and most importantly, to see themselves in. In fact, Black people of all ages now have a positive version of themselves in mainstream media. Even with the passing of Chadwick Boseman, Black Panther will forever be treasured by the Black community, and the term ‘Wakanda Forever’ will be used for generations to come.
Marvel is also making moves to introduce diversity to their films and TV shows, Ms. Marvel, a Pakistani-Muslim superhero, being one example. It’s not just them, however. The rapid consumption of content like K-pop and Anime helps East-Asian cultures be more widely recognized.
What can all of us do to increase the amount of diversity in media? The answer: not much. In the end, we don’t have much control over what large companies and corporations decide to put out. One thing you can do is consume content with accurate representation in order to increase demand for more. Lucky for you, the Sabre’s Scoop has suggestions!
FILMS
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse
Moonlight
Parasite
Home
Coco
Hidden Figures
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
TV
One Day At A Time
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Falcon and the Winter Soldier (out March 19, 2021)
Never Have I Ever
Fresh Off the Boat
Comments