A Soliloquy of Sorts
3 months ago
Post has 295 notes.
the things I think about at art school race racism civil rights white supremacy oppression white people white privilege white guilt

Being racist is not being crazy, people.

In class today we were talking about all of these cases of race-infused violence in the south during the Civil Rights Movement, and Emmett Till came up. And of course we talked about how brutal his murder was - he was beaten, shot in the head, drowned, one of his eyes was gouged out. There was a quiet in the room as we all took in the sheer amount of superfluous physical violence put upon him and everyone from the black kids to the brown kids to the white kids could feel it.

So of course this white guy has to say that those murderers must have been “psychopaths” and “crazy,” because obviously only mentally deficient people would be so cruel as to beat a black kid to death over allegedly flirting with a white woman. And then a few of the other white people in the room were like, “Yeah, they must have been crazy, like serial killers are,” and suddenly an invisible white angel had appeared in the room to bask the white people in a beautiful white glow of non-white-guilt as they sighed a sigh of relief and the painful things that happened to Emmett Till or Medgar Evans or James Chaney suddenly became less painful because the white guys who did it must have just been crazy. God-forbid they were actually perfectly sane and were just hellbent on exerting the racial hierarchy and upholding a racist status quo.

Yo, for real, calling people who engage in violent acts of white supremacy or any kind of oppressive dominance are not akin to people who would be classified as “crazy.” People are drawn to think things like that because it allows any white person to separate themselves from their role in white supremacy and just make racism into something that is only perpetuated by individuals and not toxic and oppressive culture.

5 months ago
Post has 152 notes.
privilege asexual aromantic vanilla monosexual otherkin human oppression

“Privileges” that don’t exist

  • Sexual privilege (as opposed to people on the asexual spectrum)
  • Romantic privilege (as opposed to aromantic folks)
  • Vanilla privilege (as opposed to those who practice BDSM)
  • Monosexual privilege (as opposed to bi/pansexuals)
  • Human privilege (as opposed to otherkin)

There are probably more, but these are the ones I’ve heard about. What are listed above are more like social advantages, not privileges whereby people who don’t have them are oppressed. Some “privileges” are way too steeped in intersections of sexism, racism, and heterosexism to actually be considered privileges, some are just examples of living on the margins of society, and some are just ridiculous and have no place in the reality of what a privilege is and its place in oppression. If a “privilege” seems sketchy, it probably is.

5 months ago
Post has 68 notes.
black men black people feminism films hollywood horror film kyriarchy oppression people of color race racism stereotypes white people white supremacy racist intersectionality

A Brief List of Films in Which People of Color Are The First (or Only) to Die

We all know the trope: The person(s) of color (overwhelmingly the black guy) gets killed off first, especially in a horror film. Well here is a brief list of such films, many of which not only feature the person of color dying first, but feature the main white characters ultimately saving the day:

  • X-Men: First Class
  • King Kong
  • Scream 2
  • Predator (1 & 2)
  • Serenity
  • State of Play
  • Deep Rising
  • Kill Bill: Volume I
  • Jaws: The Revenge
  • House of Wax
  • Alien Vs. Predator: Requiem
  • Stargare
  • Aliens
  • The Shining
  • Leviathan
  • Terminator (1 & 2)
  • Red Dawn
  • Jurassic Park
  • Gremlins
  • Hollow Man
  • Hulk
  • Predators
  • United 93
  • Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
  • Super 8
  • Cursed
  • Killjoy
  • Queen of the Damned
  • Transformers (Not a complete fit in the trope since it’s not human-based. The only autobot to die in the film is Jazz, the jive-talking autobot voiced by a black actor)
  • 300
  • Resident Evil
  • The Mummy (1 & 2)

And believe me, I could probably find many more if I looked a little harder. (Feel free to correct me on any films, as I have not seen a few of these films).

So, what is the point of this list? Well, it’s to illustrate that even if at first glance, a film may show potential of diversity, people of color are still, in many respects, disposable in films. It’s just enough time to introduce the idea that these films are inclusive by introducing some racial diversity, yet allows them not to have to explore the nuances of these characters of color by killing them off, to focus on the true protagonists - the white folks.

Now, let me make it clear: the individual films listed are not necessarily racist because the feature this trope, and the reasoning for killing of the character of color might not be a conscious choice. Rather, the focus is how the overall trope itself is racist, as it is evident in several films that even if there are people of color in films, they are likely to be killed off or rid of early on, further illustrating Hollywood’s penchant for not telling stories of people of color in any meaningful way and only actively engaging a white-centered audience.

5 months ago
Post has 5 notes.
perks of a feminist reputation racism sexism heterosexism douchiness oppression cissexism feminism

When I’m around someone I know who says something racist or sexist or just really douchey…

And on the outside I’m like:

But on the inside, they know I’m thinking:

And they know I’m not going to take that crap so they stop:

And I walk away like:

7 months ago
race racism theatre colorblind people of color norm oppression
Colorblind Casting or Color-Conscious?

Actors of color are skimming the breakdowns. They see something like the following:

KAREN – 35-year old woman, quiet, shy, and a loving heart.

Most of the Black, Latino, and Asian women from their 20’s through their 50’s will not consider attending that EPA (even if they are not among the masses who have given up on them completely).

Why? Because there is an un-spoken rule in the theater that no one is talking about. Character descriptions in plays, which may eventually be shared in casting breakdowns, are coding a tone of racial inequality in the theater. Unless race is specified, we actors of color (yes, I am also one of them) know that we are most-likely not going to be seriously considered for the role, because no racial specification usually translates to “white”.

As someone who is interested in creating theatre for groups who rarely have theatre made about and for them, including people of color, I think about this all the time. White is considered the “norm,” and so when race is not specified or not relevant to the story, people of color are overlooked.

7 months ago
Post has 32 notes.
Occupy Wall Street racism race colorlines oppression sexism feminism white men sex gender
Making Room For Racial Justice

My friend Anita Earls said once that in this country, we have something called “universal white man” standing. I don’t think Anita would mind if I added “straight” to that description. She means that white men are the standard of universalism, and if something doesn’t affect them, it is considered a side issue and not part of the universe. Given the terrible conditions in which the average white man finds himself these days, I certainly agree that we need to speak to the specifics of their situation. But addressing other systems of oppression, and the people those systems affect, isn’t about elevating one group’s suffering over that of white men. It’s about understanding how the mechanisms of control actually operate. When we understand, we can craft solutions that truly help everybody. Building movements that include groups that explicitly address the racial, gender and sexual dimensions of our economic system is key to that process.

8 months ago
Post has 24 notes.
The West eurocentric racism Europe Asia Africa oppression conquer colonization imperialism

I’m studying for a Theatre History exam for tomorrow, and so far it’s all about Greek and Roman theatre, and I can’t help but feel like I’m missing a huge chunk of history. Throughout my entire syllabus, there is not one mention of Asian or African contributions to theatre. Look through my textbook? All about Europe, a bit of Canada, and a little chapter on Latin America. Absolutely NO remarkable content on any non-Western cultures except mentions on how European cultures conquered them and how their subjugation affected Western theatre. And I’m sitting here going:

I understand that I live in the West and that everything comes from the West, but I have spent almost every year in middle school, high school, and now college learning about how important Western history is and how Western theatre shapes us and how Western things are awesome and how non-Western people are apparently only worth our time when Westerners are stealing their cultures and killing them. It just frustrates me so much that the “history” of theatre, the history of EVERYTHING, is all about how white Westerners shaped theatre and not the parallels with other culture or the influences of other cultures.

8 months ago
Post has 31 notes.
Glee Mike Tina TV television asian racism asian american token oppression High Quality
Via: Aria Watches TV
aria-watches-tv: I feel like Mike and Tina’s purpose on Glee is to remind people that they are Asian. I mean, seriously. “Asian” and “Other Asian”? Asian camp? Asian kiss? Asian couples therapy? And now “Asian F’s”? I get it, you get it, we all get it: They’re both Asian. I feel like they have absolutely no value to the group except being the token Asians. Everything they do has to do with being Asian. Maybe if Glee actually tried to show Asian-American culture, then I would be more lenient. But nope, it’s just stereotypes associated with Asian-ness. Just because you have a racially diverse group of characters doesn’t mean you know how to portray them.

aria-watches-tv:

I feel like Mike and Tina’s purpose on Glee is to remind people that they are Asian.

I mean, seriously. “Asian” and “Other Asian”? Asian camp? Asian kiss? Asian couples therapy? And now “Asian F’s”?

I get it, you get it, we all get it: They’re both Asian. I feel like they have absolutely no value to the group except being the token Asians. Everything they do has to do with being Asian. Maybe if Glee actually tried to show Asian-American culture, then I would be more lenient. But nope, it’s just stereotypes associated with Asian-ness.

Just because you have a racially diverse group of characters doesn’t mean you know how to portray them.

8 months ago
Post has 19 notes.
games gaming Max Payne Max Payne 3 racism sexism sexualization women men race sex gender black men stereotypes oppression feminism High Quality
Via: Gamerisms
gamerisms: TW: mentions of violence, racism, sexualization [image description: A poster for Max Payne 3. At the foreground on the right is Max Payne, a white cis man with a beard, holding a whiskey a glass and wiping his mouth. In the background to the left is a dark-skinned cis man with most his face covered, holding an automatic weapon in one hand. To his right is a white cis woman with her hands behind her back, writhing in pain] This is the newest cover art for the game Max Payne 3. Let’s ignore Max Payne himself. Let’s ignore the game’s content, message, previous incarnations, et cetera. This post is just about the advertisement poster, and I do realize I am largely taking it out of the context of whatever kind of game Max Payne is. This cover art displays some very racialized, sexualized images that I’m actually surprised a game company would actually use. Let’s start with the woman. Looking at her in the background is very discomforting. Although she appears to be held captive against her will, her post is almost model-esque, just teetering on the edge of looking like she’s in pain or in pleasure. It evokes both violence and sexualization at the time, a rarity, but not unheard of, in advertisements and posters and covers featuring women. Now, let’s look at the dark-skinned man to the left of her. Max Payne 3 appears to be set in Brazil, so of course there are going to be brown people around. However, even without the context of the game, just take a look at that image. A dark-skinned, evil looking man taking hostage of a beautiful white, or at least light-skinned, woman. This is something I think we see all too often. We can look at the presentation of the woman and the presentation of the dark-skinned man, but when you put them both together onto one cover art with Max, who many unfamiliar with the game will probably assume is the protagonist, at the foreground of the picture, how can anyone look at it and not see a sexualized, racialized image? - Aria

gamerisms:

TW: mentions of violence, racism, sexualization

[image description: A poster for Max Payne 3. At the foreground on the right is Max Payne, a white cis man with a beard, holding a whiskey a glass and wiping his mouth. In the background to the left is a dark-skinned cis man with most his face covered, holding an automatic weapon in one hand. To his right is a white cis woman with her hands behind her back, writhing in pain]

This is the newest cover art for the game Max Payne 3.

Let’s ignore Max Payne himself. Let’s ignore the game’s content, message, previous incarnations, et cetera. This post is just about the advertisement poster, and I do realize I am largely taking it out of the context of whatever kind of game Max Payne is. This cover art displays some very racialized, sexualized images that I’m actually surprised a game company would actually use.

Let’s start with the woman. Looking at her in the background is very discomforting. Although she appears to be held captive against her will, her post is almost model-esque, just teetering on the edge of looking like she’s in pain or in pleasure. It evokes both violence and sexualization at the time, a rarity, but not unheard of, in advertisements and posters and covers featuring women.

Now, let’s look at the dark-skinned man to the left of her. Max Payne 3 appears to be set in Brazil, so of course there are going to be brown people around. However, even without the context of the game, just take a look at that image. A dark-skinned, evil looking man taking hostage of a beautiful white, or at least light-skinned, woman. This is something I think we see all too often.

We can look at the presentation of the woman and the presentation of the dark-skinned man, but when you put them both together onto one cover art with Max, who many unfamiliar with the game will probably assume is the protagonist, at the foreground of the picture, how can anyone look at it and not see a sexualized, racialized image?

- Aria