Group items tagged

"However, when considering our current fixation on representation, I have to wonder if we have overlooked other meaningful ways of being represented, those that can be pinpointed only in life experiences and emotional phenomenon beyond the visible self. When I think of all the "black art" being ushered in by this new era, I feel conflicted. As a black person, I enjoy seeing artists whose careers are finally being given due praise and whose voices are at last being amplified. However, a question arises of what it means to be truly represented. Is it enough to look like the artist if you do not recognize yourself in the art? And yet there is nothing simple about it. Representation is such a complicated issue because on the surface it presents itself as a politically correct, objective good for all of society. For those being represented, it plays to a collective sense of pride and personal vanity. It feels good to see ourselves and know that people in our communities are being paid to craft their own narratives. Representation also presents the opportunity for other communities, which might have otherwise stereotyped or discriminated against us, to see our humanity and acknowledge our worth in the art we produce. However, while representation may be a praiseworthy standard for creative industries, it cannot be the bench mark against which we measure good art. Good art must do more than reflect our own images back at us. It must move us to a place beyond our obsession with identity, sense of tribalism and fear of others."

"In an effort to change the limiting culture of Hollywood, which continues to fail to represent the full spectrum of humanity, we're proud to introduce The Representation Test - a media literacy tool that grades films on how well they challenge the status quo."

" am energized by the idea of creating a framework for learning that weaves my students' interests with the desire to push their thinking around media literacy.  The course began with setting essential questions that would guide our inquiry throughout the semester.  The following questions captures the lines of inquiry students were interested in taking on at the beginning of the course: How does Media affect culture and society? What problems do we see with representation of race, class, gender and sexuality in Media? How do we critically examine popular culture and push back against the biased representation of race, class, gender and sexuality in popular culture?"

"Diversity and inclusion were the big winners at the 91st Annual Academy Awards. In the years since the #OscarsSoWhite campaign, launched by April Reign in 2015, the Academy has added more than 1,500 new voters-an increase of almost 30%. And the improvements in representation among nominees and winners were evident from the start of the ceremony. Even though there were no women nominated for Best Director, and none of the Best Picture nominees was directed by a woman (despite many critically acclaimed potential nominees) there was still much to celebrate at this years' Oscars."

"An introductory assignment may ask students to think about representations of different social groups in the fictional TV shows, films and books that have shaped their lives. For example, at the beginning of the semester, I will give students an assignment titled "The Stories in Your Life" with the following list, and ask them to think of characters from these social groups that are represented in their favorite stories (this list of groups corresponds with the chapters in the textbook Diversity in U.S. Mass Media): African Americans, Native Americans, Latino Americans, Arab Americans, Asian Americans, teenagers, elderly people, people with disabilities, wealthy people, impoverished people, LGBTQ, and women. When we come together as a class and discuss their lists, the students have typically made some startling yet obvious discoveries: there may be no characters in a certain group, or the characters might be one-dimensional stereotypes. They quickly have those lightbulb moments that will open their minds to deeper discussions about underrepresentation and misrepresentation in entertainment media. They often realize that more often than not, the stories in their lives ask them to identify with white males. This introductory step in media literacy education gives students the reflective and analytical tools to examine what media tells them about themselves and others."

"hey also see opportunities for women to have an equal place on the page and on the screen, and for the Captain Marvel character to grow as an icon of female representation and empowerment. "What Captain Marvel needed to be when she debuted in the 1960s is very different than what she needs to be in 2019, when she's anchoring a major film," said Kelly Thompson, the current author of the Captain Marvel comic book series. "The film has her poised to be more important to more people than ever, and comics gets to be the proving ground for the character.""

"The global box office success of Black Panther is no surprise to UCLA sociologist Darnell Hunt. His annual report on Hollywood diversity argues that movies and TV shows with diverse casts and creators pay off for the industry's bottom line. Hunt says Black Panther, for example, "smashed all of the Hollywood myths that you can't have a black lead, that you can't have a predominantly black cast and [have] the film do well. It's an example of what can be done if the industry is true to the nature of the market. But it's too early to tell if Black Panther will change business practices or it's an outlier. We argue it demonstrates what's possible beyond standard Hollywood practices." The fifth annual diversity report is subtitled, "Five Years of Progress and Missed Opportunities," suggesting that America's increasingly diverse audience prefers diverse film and television content. The study reports that people of color bought the majority of movie tickets for the five of the top 10 films in 2016, and television shows with diverse casts did well in both ratings and social media."

"The Representation Project is excited to partner with Harry's on "A Man Like You." This short film tells the story of an alien who discovers how to be a man with the help of a young boy. As a result of the alien's many questions, the boy learns that traditional ideals of masculinity are sometimes too narrow for today's world. In the end, a real man is simply a good human."

Male and female images As one dramatic example, the image and representation of women and girls in the media has long been a subject of concern. Research shows that there are many fewer females than males in almost all forms of mainstream media and those who do appear are often portrayed in very stereotypical ways. Constantly polarized gender messages in media have fundamentally anti-social effects. In everything from advertising, television programming, newspaper and magazines, to comic books, popular music, film and video games, women and girls are more likely to be shown: in the home, performing domestic chores such as laundry or cooking; as sex objects who exist primarily to service men; as victims who can't protect themselves and are the natural recipients of beatings, harassment, sexual assault and murder. Men and boys are also stereotyped by the media. From GI Joe to Rambo, masculinity is often associated with machismo, independence, competition, emotional detachment, aggression and violence. Despite the fact that men have considerably more economic and political power in society than women, these trends - although different from those which affect women and girls - are very damaging to boys.

"We're not doomed. But balanced gender representation is going to take some serious work. "

"Any revolution in the depiction of women's bodies is not going to come from marketers, whose job it is to construct a narrative in which a person is incomplete until a product is purchased-and so must create feelings of unworthiness and desire, as well as an impulse to change. The problem with looking to companies, even well-meaning ones, to determine ethical standards is that the effort will always feel cynical at some level. And so, as it ever was, the representation of the female form will continue to be a battleground."

"Despite proof that everyone loses when Hollywood is sexist, everything from the questions actresses are asked in interviews to the representation of women on the big and small screens suggest that an issue remains. Old habits die hard, but many actresses are lining up to deliver a blow. Here are eight actresses who aren't afraid to call out Hollywood's sexism:

"In its fourth year, the #NotBuyingIt / #MediaWeLike hashtags reached nearly 60 million igniting a global conversation calling for better representation for all."

"From the filmmaker behind "Miss Representation" and "The Mask You Live In" comes an exploration of inequality and our cultural values."

"While the sexual exploitation of women and girls is rampant, there are many ways that you can help combat the media objectification of girls. Whether it is through writing, petitioning or joining organizations that promote gender equality and balanced gender representation in the media, here are ways in which you can help stop sexual exploitation of girls."

"For the month of November, Men's Health Awareness Month, TV Guide is presenting "I See You Man," a series of stories that take a deeper look at representations of men on TV today. Check back here throughout the month for more stories about men on television."

"According to a Pew research study, 57% of searches for professionals under-represent women. Learn more about the image problem in search engines. Try searching the word "professor" in Google images, and you'll be hard-pressed to find photos that include non-white and non-male scholars. It's even worse when you search for illustrations of professors. Sexism has found its way into machine learning and search engine algorithms-and unfortunately for us, society's unconscious bias is mirrored in search engine results."

"MissRepresentation.org and Common Sense Media have partnered to create Media Literacy Conversation Starters with a gender lens, for young people and families."

"Earlier this week, at the biggest video game conference of the year - the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) - Microsoft unveiled a number of new games for their Xbox One video game console. After the presentation, Anita Sarkeesian, of Feminist Frequency, correctly observed that none of the games featured had a female protagonist."

"As I sit here in Northern California, I ask myself, "how can I possibly do anything that would make a difference for that grief stricken family whose child's room is empty tonight?" How can I possibly make any difference to the town of Newton, Connecticut - who will have to carry today's horror and sadness with them, forevermore? What we can do is teach our young boys and young men that being emotional and empathetic are part of "being a man." That "sharing one's feelings to sort out one's problems" is a masculine trait. We need some new definitions of "manly" so our boys can express and know their full selves, not just the culturally accepted "extremes" that predominately exist today."