Interracial marriages seem to be a fad now. I'm waiting to see a commercial for something like Ancestry DNA in which they show a family reunion with Asians, Hispanic, Europeans, Pacific Islanders and orangutans all dancing and kissing each other.
And if Ancestry did such a commercial, it would be quite literally depicting my family -- but would need to add in some Black and Middle Eastern people and lose the orangutans. "Interracial" (and, while we're at it, same-sex) marriage is hardly a "fad," and the only reason it seems that way to you is that for the first 70+ years of television you never saw it on the screen. This is precisely why representation in media matters: The fact that you think these people and their relationships are somehow unusual or contrived. And when I see these representations, it catches my attention for exactly the opposite reason: "Oh hey, it's people who look like us! We're not invisible/unacceptable! The dominant culture is acknowledging our existence as legitimate and normal members of society!" Whether it's a movie, a TV show or just a stupid ad, it is an affirmation that minorities may and do participate in the life of the nation, and that's important for everyone to see.
You've completely misinterpreted the meaning of my first post in this thread. I'm not saying "interracial" or any other type of non-heterosexual relationship is a fad. I said the commercials on TV showing men kissing each other and every race under the sun playing together appears to be the latest "fad" or method of advertising. I can't name one product that I've ever bought because I saw it on a TV commercial. Also, when I can, which is about 2/3 of the time, I fast-forward through commercials.
When I watch a commercial I don't think, "Oh hey, it's people who look like us!" when I see those commercials. I don't really think much about them other than they're silly - like just about every commercial.
P.S. you wrote "And if Ancestry did such a commercial, it would be quite literally depicting my family -- but would need to add in some Black and Middle Eastern people and lose the orangutans." It would be depicting my family too. And I have a cousin who looks like an orangutan.
By its nature, a pendulum swings. It's what they do. We now have the situation in which almost every judge (say; just to pick on the legal profession because that's what they're for) on TV is a Black woman. I have nothing against Black women judges and I am hugely in favor of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson making it onto the Supreme Court, but it is not a realistic portrayal and it is possibly harmful.
I see no problem with some over-representation of minorities in mass media, particularly in "non-traditional" roles. Think of Grey's Anatomy, in which Black and female doctors are clearly over-represented compared to their actual numbers in the profession. Most people have little real-life contact with thoracic surgeons, so their perceptions of what's "normal" is shaped by what they see on TV. The more people see of them in the media, the less minorities seem unusual in any role.
I've never seen Grey's Anatomy and I understand your point: but if Black and female doctors are "clearly over-represented compared to their actual numbers in the profession" isn't there are danger that people - or some people - might think "well everything is OK now, we can relax." Or even "What are they complaining about?" Obviously the old depiction of doctors and judges and police chiefs (etc) always having to be white men of a certain age was wrong on two counts: it was not true and it supported that expectation. I'm not sure that an overly optimistic depiction of the current level of diversity is a good thing.
You've completely misinterpreted the meaning of my first post in this thread. I'm not saying "interracial" or any other type of non-heterosexual relationship is a fad. I said the commercials on TV showing men kissing each other and every race under the sun playing together appears to be the latest "fad" or method of advertising. I can't name one product that I've ever bought because I saw it on a TV commercial. Also, when I can, which is about 2/3 of the time, I fast-forward through commercials.
When I watch a commercial I don't think, "Oh hey, it's people who look like us!" when I see those commercials. I don't really think much about them other than they're silly - like just about every commercial.
P.S. you wrote "And if Ancestry did such a commercial, it would be quite literally depicting my family -- but would need to add in some Black and Middle Eastern people and lose the orangutans." It would be depicting my family too. And I have a cousin who looks like an orangutan.
In your OP you declared it "bothered [you]" that TV commercials and other "things on TV" "represent all ethnicities and sexual preferences" "all dancing and kissing each other," that it made you "cringe" and that you found it "all so phony." But now you say such representations "would be depicting [your] family too," including your "cousin who looks like an orangutan." If that is the real world that you experience, why are you bothered? Do you prefer fare that represents the world as exclusively generic cisgender heterosexual Christian white people? Why isn't *that* the phony representation that bothers you and makes you cringe?
I've never seen Grey's Anatomy and I understand your point: but if Black and female doctors are "clearly over-represented compared to their actual numbers in the profession" isn't there are danger that people - or some people - might think "well everything is OK now, we can relax." Or even "What are they complaining about?" Obviously the old depiction of doctors and judges and police chiefs (etc) always having to be white men of a certain age was wrong on two counts: it was not true and it supported that expectation. I'm not sure that an overly optimistic depiction of the current level of diversity is a good thing.
Judging by the George Floyd/Black Lives Matter protests -- which drew a broad cross-section of Americans -- and the significant public attention given to the cases of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Philando Castile, Tamar Rice, and many others, I don't think anyone in this country is laboring under the delusion that "everything is okay now." And I don't think we need an overly optimistic depiction of diversity as much as we need consistent and prominent representation of all types of minorities in all types of roles in popular media. Being seen is important in developing norms and creating a world where everyone can be accepted for who they are and not be marginalized for being different from the default "ideal."
In your OP you declared it "bothered [you]" that TV commercials and other "things on TV" "represent all ethnicities and sexual preferences" "all dancing and kissing each other," that it made you "cringe" and that you found it "all so phony." But now you say such representations "would be depicting [your] family too," including your "cousin who looks like an orangutan." If that is the real world that you experience, why are you bothered? Do you prefer fare that represents the world as exclusively generic cisgender heterosexual white people? Why isn't *that* the phony representation that bothers you and makes you cringe?
Now the responses I'm getting are what's making me cringe. I can't think of anything more to say.
Check your cis white male privilege, please. The lot of ya.
“I ask no favor for my sex. All I ask of our brethren is that they take their feet off our necks.” ~ Ruth Bader Ginsburg, paraphrasing Sarah Moore Grimké
My last GP was an Indian woman from Glasgow. So what?
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”
At one point during my recent extended hospital stay three of the doctors checking on me were I. Patel, J. Patel, and U. Patel.
(and my regular primary care physician is from Pakistan)
It's all part of the liberal elite's plan to strip 3rd world countries of their best minds, in order to keep them subjugated.
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”
In your OP you declared it "bothered [you]" that TV commercials and other "things on TV" "represent all ethnicities and sexual preferences" "all dancing and kissing each other," that it made you "cringe" and that you found it "all so phony." But now you say such representations "would be depicting [your] family too," including your "cousin who looks like an orangutan." If that is the real world that you experience, why are you bothered? Do you prefer fare that represents the world as exclusively generic cisgender heterosexual white people? Why isn't *that* the phony representation that bothers you and makes you cringe?
Now the responses I'm getting are what's making me cringe. I can't think of anything more to say.
I guess I'll turn on South Park....
You asked an open ended question, and got many answers. As for why you don't like those, I suggest you look within, grasshopper.
“I ask no favor for my sex. All I ask of our brethren is that they take their feet off our necks.” ~ Ruth Bader Ginsburg, paraphrasing Sarah Moore Grimké
