This was a VERY interesting read:
http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2016/12/21/506347676/when-swinton-and-cho-talk-race-the-points-lost-in-translation
One of the things that we don't do well as a society, even in our post-modern world, is engage each other on meaningful and substantive levels regarding questions of race. It also extends to gender, sex and sexuality, ethnicity, and religion, but this article is about race, so that's what I'm referring to.
The thing is, people of color (a blanket term I'm using here to mean non-white, and which in my mind would include Hispanics) are not necessarily interested in the particular issues. This is what the author is referring to at the end of the piece. That conversation is narrow in scope and effect, and leaves people of color feeling frustrated because folks just don't "get it." And just what is it that we're supposed to get?
Well, that's a tough one.
I've said before that the world is greatly skewed in my favor. I'm tall (6'2"). I'm white (very white). I have blue eyes and brown hair (which used to be very blond when I was a kid). I am a dude (meaning, I have a y-chromosome and male sex organs) and I am straight (meaning I am attracted to women). I am very much what one would consider a normal, if a little boring, white man. And all of this means that I am instantly judged according to a certain set of expectations and standards that A) I did not create and B) are generally skewed in my favor. I am aware of this, and while I've never consciously or purposefully used it for my advantage, it's something I've become accustomed to and which affects my life in ways I probably can't recognize. At some level, and to whatever degree, I've come to expect deference due to how I look. Which is stupid, because I didn't do anything to deserve any of this. I didn't. But it's real nonetheless.
All of these things are different for others, and people of color do not enjoy that same deference I've come to expect. Which is not something I can understand - ever - because I've not ever been privy to that experience. I cannot. I just can't. And this, I believe, is where the frustration comes from, and why Ms. Cho feels that the convo was a "fight", while Ms. Swinton probably felt that the convo went pretty well. But as the author points out, the subtle and polite defensive tone that was almost immediately a part of the conversation (on both sides) is pervasive.
On one hand, one can feel that Ms. Swinton - like many of us white folks - seems to be genuine in her attempts to address something that is very big. I mean, very, very big. And this is laudable. But the way she goes about it is at least off-putting, and at worst offensive (although clearly no such offense was intended). Ms. Cho's response, though, clearly was guarded and politely defensive, while attempting to explain the "WHY" of the thing, which is where Ms. Swinton started to get defensive as well. I don't think Ms. Cho was interested in the reasons behind the casting/role change. I think she was talking about a larger issue, one that (as the article points out) goes to the heart of the issue - why is there a stereotype in the first place? Why aren't more people of color getting to tell meaningful, significant stories about who they are and where they're from? And why (for the love!) are we still dealing with blackface in our enlightened and post-modern society? The whitewashing of the parts/roles/characters is one thing... Putting (or not putting) women and/or people of color in significant roles that tell their stories (rather than just as a cursory nod to diversity) is another (if related) issue... And all of this speaks to the need for continuing progress, for communication that is honest and open, and for a broader discussion about how issues of race affect people. Because while I can't do anything about the fact that I'm a big white dude, I can be aware of how I treat others. And if we were all a little more aware, if we could put down our pride and arrogance for just a little bit, if we could view people as they ARE - the vast panoply of people and culture and language and LIFE and HUMANNESS - we'd all be a lot better off.
http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2016/12/21/506347676/when-swinton-and-cho-talk-race-the-points-lost-in-translation
One of the things that we don't do well as a society, even in our post-modern world, is engage each other on meaningful and substantive levels regarding questions of race. It also extends to gender, sex and sexuality, ethnicity, and religion, but this article is about race, so that's what I'm referring to.
The thing is, people of color (a blanket term I'm using here to mean non-white, and which in my mind would include Hispanics) are not necessarily interested in the particular issues. This is what the author is referring to at the end of the piece. That conversation is narrow in scope and effect, and leaves people of color feeling frustrated because folks just don't "get it." And just what is it that we're supposed to get?
Well, that's a tough one.
I've said before that the world is greatly skewed in my favor. I'm tall (6'2"). I'm white (very white). I have blue eyes and brown hair (which used to be very blond when I was a kid). I am a dude (meaning, I have a y-chromosome and male sex organs) and I am straight (meaning I am attracted to women). I am very much what one would consider a normal, if a little boring, white man. And all of this means that I am instantly judged according to a certain set of expectations and standards that A) I did not create and B) are generally skewed in my favor. I am aware of this, and while I've never consciously or purposefully used it for my advantage, it's something I've become accustomed to and which affects my life in ways I probably can't recognize. At some level, and to whatever degree, I've come to expect deference due to how I look. Which is stupid, because I didn't do anything to deserve any of this. I didn't. But it's real nonetheless.
All of these things are different for others, and people of color do not enjoy that same deference I've come to expect. Which is not something I can understand - ever - because I've not ever been privy to that experience. I cannot. I just can't. And this, I believe, is where the frustration comes from, and why Ms. Cho feels that the convo was a "fight", while Ms. Swinton probably felt that the convo went pretty well. But as the author points out, the subtle and polite defensive tone that was almost immediately a part of the conversation (on both sides) is pervasive.
On one hand, one can feel that Ms. Swinton - like many of us white folks - seems to be genuine in her attempts to address something that is very big. I mean, very, very big. And this is laudable. But the way she goes about it is at least off-putting, and at worst offensive (although clearly no such offense was intended). Ms. Cho's response, though, clearly was guarded and politely defensive, while attempting to explain the "WHY" of the thing, which is where Ms. Swinton started to get defensive as well. I don't think Ms. Cho was interested in the reasons behind the casting/role change. I think she was talking about a larger issue, one that (as the article points out) goes to the heart of the issue - why is there a stereotype in the first place? Why aren't more people of color getting to tell meaningful, significant stories about who they are and where they're from? And why (for the love!) are we still dealing with blackface in our enlightened and post-modern society? The whitewashing of the parts/roles/characters is one thing... Putting (or not putting) women and/or people of color in significant roles that tell their stories (rather than just as a cursory nod to diversity) is another (if related) issue... And all of this speaks to the need for continuing progress, for communication that is honest and open, and for a broader discussion about how issues of race affect people. Because while I can't do anything about the fact that I'm a big white dude, I can be aware of how I treat others. And if we were all a little more aware, if we could put down our pride and arrogance for just a little bit, if we could view people as they ARE - the vast panoply of people and culture and language and LIFE and HUMANNESS - we'd all be a lot better off.
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