Transcription
All over the world, in every country and every culture, storytelling has significant power. The stories that we are told via books, our screens, and advertising build identities, determine behaviors, and forge our dreams.
American researchers found that stories repeated in our minds actually interact with our biology. Our brains need shortcuts to simplify and organize information and data constantly coming at us. They impact how we view the world and make meaning from what we perceive.
The narrative we tell and are told has the potential to create and continue prejudice beliefs by those few who dominate the storytelling sphere. So, what dangerous ways has this materialized itself in the media and advertising?
The British Film Institute found that between 2006 and 2016, of around 45,000 roles credited to actors in the UK, only 0.5% were played by Black British actors. Not seeing yourself represented often leads to self-imposed limitations on what you can achieve and allows for negative perceptions to go unchallenged.
And when Black people are represented, there are many reoccurring racialized tropes, most of which can be traced back to colonialism, historic anti-Blackness, and the legacy of slavery. 64% of UK crime films have featured roles for Black actors, and 15% of all films featuring Black actors between 2006 and 2016 focused on crime narratives.
You've probably come across a few other stereotypes within a range of film, TV shows, and adverts: the mummy, the Jezebel, the angry sassy Black woman, the stoic, the gangster, the angry Black man, and the Black best friend. These notions of who Black people are were created by white storytellers throughout history, carefully crafted to dehumanize and erase the multiplicity of Black people's existence.
Take for example, one of the most historical tropes, the mummy. Academy Award-winning Hattie McDaniel famously played this role in *Gone with the Wind* in 1939. Her performance as a loyal, subservient caregiver had been created by white American storytellers to distance themselves from the harsh reality of race relations in a post-slavery society.
In light of the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, the streaming platform HBO Max removed the film due to the racist depictions, later republishing it with disclaimers about the historical context and warnings about racial stereotypes in the film.
In current pop culture, we are often shown racist caricatures: the angry Black woman we see on reality TV and the hyper-violent Black man in gritty documentaries. These depictions are, in part, informed by colorism, a phrase coined by the author and activist Alice Walker, which means the prejudiced treatment of those within the Black community who have darker skin.
In on-screen storytelling, there is an easy way to tick the boxes of so-called diversity without having to critically engage with anti-Black bias. Often, this is done by the use of mixed-race or light-skinned characters. Usually, a character's proximity to whiteness, whether that be through them having fairer skin, a white parent, partner, or friend, often increases their social standing, presumed likability, and success, further constructing and upholding racist perceptions.
As of 2018, the average American spends over 11 hours a day watching, listening, reading, and interacting with media. Therefore, mass media has the power to challenge and change perceptions.
The next time you see an ad, watch a film, or a TV show, ask yourself: Whose voice is telling this story, and who is it trying to represent? And for the storytellers amongst you, strive to give the same platform and voice for people to tell their own stories and shape their own identities, so that in the future, we can show endless possibilities of who Black people can be and what we can [Music] dream.