It’s 2020. And we’re still struggling with representation in our industry.
by Son Pham
It was a long and chilly night; I grabbed some snack and made myself a cup of tea, tuned into Netflix to enjoy a movie night, on my own, trying to escape from the harsh reality with another lockdown coming. I kept pressing “Next” and suddenly it was 2 am. Is there any “Next” button I can use to skip 2020?
I’ve been watching Star Trek: Discovery at the moment and I feel like I’m such a geek. Never felt that before but it’s always nice to see a different you. After about 20 times watching Friends (10 seasons with 238 episodes, each episode is about 20 minutes, you may need 4760 minutes, which equals to around 80 hours of constantly watching. Oooh that’s geeky. I need to stop), I decided to use Netflix as a resource to learn and relax, other than just watching Friends.
So it led me to Star Trek: Discovery.
What I like about the show is the celebration of diversity, inclusion, representation and universality. It’s about empathy — its primary ground is that we are the same and we accept each others’ differences and find common ground. It celebrates the diversity of crew members, of the cast and of the stories each person brings to Discovery. You see yourself in there. At least that’s what happened on the screen. (The writing staff is overwhelmingly white, and Kemp Powers is the only credited black writer.)
But I am not here today to talk about the show or persuade you to have to watch it. I’m here to talk about representation.
People are talking about diversity and inclusion as if it was something happened yesterday, as if it was some fashion to wear, as if it was a box to tick and as if it was only about racial conversations.
There’s this quote from my friend Teela which I think will sum it up nicely what I want to talk about.
“I don't like the word diversity. To me, it suggests a norm. As if anything which deviates from this is abnormal. It's a loaded word, and though we bring different interpretations, I think it is a tool to keep the status quo, as if we have too much under representation to actually action change. And I think it's a polite word instead of calling out ableism and other isms. I much prefer the term representation, that we see a reflection of ourselves.
It's a job and a responsibility to see that representation, to see that everyone is well represented in the society and the community in which they live, no matter what. People have that right. The problems of the media in this are manifold, but let’s just talk about how they’ve been creating stereotypes, prejudices and biases for such a long time. Who said a person with a disability can’t be a superhero, but is that represented in the pop culture? Who said man can’t show their vulnerability, but is that well represented in the pop culture? And so many “who said”. It’s not only about racial conversations; it’s about able-ism, age-ism, socio-economic status or social capital status…”
“The current landscape of media inclusion does nothing to normalise disability, nothing to show the everyday landscape of work, creativity, and social interactions. All these traits are obvious to those living with a disability and the families around them. To that end, disabled talent needs to be engaged in all forms, every media.” (Dan White)
And that’s the problem.
We should see ourselves, people from all walks of life, represented not only in the media but also in our real life. Only then can we strive for a better society with empathy, understanding, joy and empowerment. It’s estimated that up to 120 million people in the US do not see themselves portrayed in adverts, while last year research found that 92% of creative jobs in the UK were held by the most ‘advantaged’ in society. Nearly 40 percent of Americans belong to a racial or ethnic minority, but the patients who participate in clinical trials for new drugs skew heavily white—in some cases, 80 to 90 percent. It’s only in healthcare sector.
A newly published report from PRCA shows that of the 95,000 professionals, only 10% identify themselves as non-white with only 1% increase from 2018.
Do you see the problem?
If one more person tells me to stand out from the crowd, I’m not sure how I’m going to response. As if 23 years living with a big nose and all the friends making fun of you wasn’t standing out enough. There’s a joke on the Internet. “Accepting your nose is the first step to love yourself.” As if being the only guy in the whole classroom with female classmates wasn’t standing out enough. As if being the only Asian person in the room wasn’t standing out enough. And as if your efforts to prove yourself to people wasn’t standing out enough.
It’s not about being “fit it” or “stand out”. It should be about celebrating the differences that one brings, whether they’re like us or not. It should be about celebrating the values of a voice, not the void of value. It should be about educating and bringing the education to help people have more opportunities to be exposed to that representation. The more diversity of thoughts, the much better and more meaningful creativity flows.
“Creativity can come from anywhere, but it should come from everywhere”.
You can be named Michael, where you are a boy or a girl and you should know that. You can be the first openly gay couple in the Star Trek franchise; you can be the first trans or non-binary character in sci-fi genre, on screen or off screen. You can be whoever you want.
Sadil: “Hope is a Powerful Thing.“
Burnham: “Sometimes it's the only thing.”
And I’m hopeful for the future.
Son Pham is an MA in PR and strategic communications at Leeds Becketts University and looking for work opportunities. You can say hello on Twitter at @BeyondSon
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