“Cultivation Theory: Why Viola Davis’ Emmy Win Matters”
“In layman’s terms, it’s a theory that suggests that over time, people begin to believe that the television universe reflects real life. Essentially, people who watch lots of TV begin to see the social reality of fiction as an accurate account of real life…
If women of colour are always being portrayed as the supportive best friend to the white female lead; if the Arab guy is always a terrorist; if the Latina woman is always a maid, then is it really so surprising then that women of colour aren’t being offered leading roles? That Kelly Osbourne thinks the sum total of the Latina contribution to the workforce of the United States is housekeeping? That an inquisitive little boy with brown skin and a Muslim name would be accused of building a bomb? It’s why I get so annoyed when people say that pop culture doesn’t matter…
So when people are upset that Lena Dunham’s Girls is so white, it’s not because we just felt like picking on a random White girl for shits and giggles. It’s because she is a White woman who is actively erasing people of colour from their own reality with a show set in a city that is currently being aggressively gentrified.”
I mean, you just have to look at her daughter’s halloween costume. It’s so much to be able to assert the reality of your experiences.
Related: “Eddie Huang on Seeing His Memoir Become a Sitcom”; “A Dribble of Ink” — an extended metaphor on what it does to you to only see false versions of yourself in media; “GEENA DAVIS’ TWO EASY STEPS TO MAKE HOLLYWOOD LESS SEXIST” — the 17% statistic in this one will follow you; “Artists got ‘Homeland is racist’ Arabic graffiti into the latest episode of ‘Homeland’”; “5 Latinas Discuss Cristela, Jane the Virgin, and Representation on TV”; “This Is The Most Profound — And Unexpected — Speech About Cultural Identity You’ll Read Today”; “Native American Rap Is the Most Authentic Rap We Have Today”; and “LUCY: WHY I’M TIRED OF SEEING WHITE PEOPLE ON THE BIG SCREEN” on magical blue eyes in film
^list compiled during one of those aggressive procrastination sessions that also includes doing laundry and re-organizing your closet
