The consequences of no representation is quite tragic. Many people who do not see figures like themselves in the media actually causes a lot of harm and self doubt. An article I found discussed the importance of representation to Native Americans because they feel unrecognized. Not seeing themselves represented in contemporary media puts them at a disadvantage of them trying to fit in with the domains of society (Leavitt et al., 2015). The only time they are represented is in historical events and western films (Leavitt et al., 2015). This is truly upsetting. That in itself shows how society crafted history and the people in it, by picking and choosing what is ‘acceptable.’ Reading further into the article these people do not feel like they are worth the time and effort to be put in the media because most have spent most of their lives still maintaining their culture values and their ways of life. However, In recent years it has become a lot harder for them because situations arise and they feel forced to have to become ‘civilized’ and ‘domesticated’ (Leavitt et al., 2015).
As stated in “The History of Representation” tab I touched base on the film Birth of a Nation and how horrendous the film is (Clark, 2018). This shows us a consequence of no representation because those people who are not being represented get ‘represented’ by the white narrative allowing them to take control of minority representation. Not only in this film, but if there was no representation for other ethnicities, genders, race, classes, etc. people would feel left out or as though they do not matter. When communities are not recognized and are not truly represented it causes more harm than just not including them. We have seen in our society as the white narrative continues to be demonstrated. The internal struggles that a member of a minority community face is a lot more difficult than those of non minorities. Some may ask how, or when I have talked to some of my family and friends, since I come from a typically conservative part of North Carolina they tend to bring up that they ‘worked for everything they had, and it was not easy.’ What I have been expressing and explaining to these people is that yes, it may have been hard, but the difficulties of battling a society that deliberately discriminates against you because of your skin tone, gender, sexual orientation, beliefs, etc. is not the same of these minorities. Take the Black community for example. They are discriminated against for their skin tone, they are often also thought to be ‘very loud.’ The thing is they have been so underrepresented in our society that they have to work harder than those of white descent. They continue to face regulations such as red lining and normally are more likely to be fired from a job or to not get a job than those of white descent. Same thing goes for the LGBTQIA community. They are continuously battling issues that society has put into place that ‘limit’ their freedom as humans. They too have been underrepresented in our society and now we are starting to see a shift, not a huge shift, but a lot more than before of acceptance and inclusion in our media. Now we see that there have been more openly figures from the LGBTQIA being represented, Some examples are Robin Roberts known from Good Morning America, Sam Champion known from The Weather Channel, and Anderson Cooper known from CNN. These are just some of the examples of the LGBTQIA in our media who give hope to others who are struggling and to give light that they are seen, heard, and just as important. That is not all though, having someone run for the presidency that is openly Gay truly shined light for the LGBTQIA community. Pete Buttigieg was one of the Democratic candidates running for president. Although he dropped out of the election he still held his ground for the majority of the time campaigning. He opened so many minds of the LGBTQIA community giving them some hope that they too can run to be president. Representation is a need for our society. For centuries our society has been creating more ways to keep us divided rather than bringing us together. The consequences outweigh the good if we continue to divide. It is up to upcoming generations to help mend these issues that the United States, and other countries continue to battle. Resources: Clark, A. (2018, August 14). How 'The Birth of a Nation' Revived the Ku Klux Klan. Retrieved December 05, 2020, fromhttps://www.history.com/news/kkk -birth-of-a-nation-film Leavitt, P. A., Covarrubias, R., Perez, Y. A., & Fryberg, S. A. (2015). “Frozen in Time”: The Impact of Native American Media Representations on Identity and Self-Understanding. Journal of Social Issues, 71(1), 39–53. https://gold.worcester.edu:2191/10.1111/josi.12095
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