The Marginalization of Marketing
Recognizing Inclusivity in a Diverse Marketplace
America at its core is the picture of diversity. This land was inhabited by people of color before white settlers came, and brought more people of color — making America the beautiful melting pot it is today. America is a wonderful mix of traditions, culinary flare, etc. Yet in the interest of capitalism, stereotypes and marginalization still exist — established as norms — and it’s the consumers working to eliminate them.
Standard marketing practices (which are a bit outdated) emphasize stereotypes, and consumers recognize it. Because of America’s not-so-inclusive history (to put it mildly), tensions are running high as American citizens work to break established norms of stereotyping based on race, sexuality, religion, and disability. Anything produced for consumers, regardless of a consumer’s background, is picked apart — and opinions are given a large spotlight thanks to interactive media platforms. And once an issue reaches an online audience, if it’s juicy enough, it’s going viral.
Media has a powerful impact on established norms and the ideals Americans have for one another and other countries; and most forms of entertainment act as an exact reflection of society, for many people. The entertainment industry, namely Hollywood, is a business, and for many years has worked with a formula that catered to the established norm to sell tickets and merchandising. Hollywood has been called out many times for whitewashing (casting a role with a white actor of a character historically known/understood to be of non-white origin), stereotyping, and pay inequality — and the voices are only getting louder.
But there are times when the casting of a role with a white actor can be taken out of context.
For example, there is much controversy surrounding the casting of Tilda Swinton as the character The Ancient One in the “Doctor Strange” film adaptation. Marvel Studios was accused of whitewashing the film by casting Swinton in place of an Asian man that fit the comic book description and image of The Ancient One.
But, Marvel Studios could possibly be an example of a business taking a risk against established norms to break stereotypes. The film did a great job of addressing Swinton’s nationality, and maybe even cultural appropriation. It is never overlooked that Swinton is a white woman with the audacity to be looked upon as the Sorcerer Supreme in a predominantly Asian country, and master of an art form adopted from the Asian culture. In fact, when the character Dr. Stephen Strange initially meets The Ancient One, you can see how production toyed with its intent to break a long-standing stereotype shaped in Western society of a wise Asian man — the studio placed an ideal-looking Asian man in the scene that Dr. Strange mistakes as The Ancient One.
The truth is, Marvel Studios has been doing a good job of diversifying its projects, which can still be considered a risk, even today, and maintaining relevancy of its brand with consumers. “Doctor Strange” has a 90% rating on Rotten Tomatoes®; and box office sales reflect the risk was well worth it.
In 2015 the Showtime® drama series “Homeland” was criticized for racism and stereotyping, and was called out in a shameful way. During an episode, there was graffiti on a wall reading, “Homeland is racist.” In the interest of making “Homeland,” the show was strictly based on a stereotype that marginalized a group of people — in America and beyond.
During a CNN news report, an Arabian Street Artist, Heba Amin, the show hired to create the graffiti explains she left the message because “the show inaccurately portrays world events…‘this dangerous phantasm has become mainstream ‘knowledge’ in the U.S. and has been repeated as fact by many mass media outlets.”’
Millions of people saw the message and it went viral quickly.
Regardless of industry, marketing is the backbone to reaching consumers. Marketing plans make an intentional effort to categorize using demographics to connect with consumers, initiating a cycle of marginalization. Demographic stereotypes and categorizations that may have been accepted by consumers in the past are quickly being put onto an “unacceptable” list. Brands do have a responsibility to recognize inclusivity in a diverse marketplace such as the United States.
The truth is, the world is changing and consumers are changing with it. Globalization is prevalent and marketing plans need to take this into consideration.
