<Popular Media Culture and Diversity
Louise & Louise
1
,LECTURE 1: INTRODUCTION
Dates presentation in PDF course overview Ufora
Courses will be recorded
Not discussed in class you don’t have to learn from book
1. What’s at stake?
Some examples:
Alyssa Milano (actress) started #metoo in 2017
Metoo-movement already existed but thanks to Alyssa’s tweet more
people became aware and it went viral newsarticles public debate
politics
Metoo is just one example (related to gender)
#OscarsSoWhite
Didn’t have as big an impact as metoo but the organization did react
FC De Kampioenen (2020)
Important as an academic: pause & look at what actually happened
There are 2 racist episodes VRT decides to no longer air those episodes
(only available on VRTMAX)
There had been no request for this, VRT decided to do this on their own
big discussion, negative reactions from conservatives etc
Same thing happened in the UK
BUT different approach: stereotypes in the series were used to mock them
in society
Eventually both the VRT and BBC added a disclaimer to the episodes
William Boeva
Called out stereotypical representation of people with disabilities on
television
Snow white
Big discussion about whether the dwarfs should be played by little people
or not
Peter Dincklage & William Boeva say the problem is that there are not
enough ‘non-stereotypical’ roles for little people and that that’s the main
people
Case: The Last of Us
Third episode stands alone (trailer in ppt)
Bill lives on his own during zombie pandemic
Frank appears in one of his pits?? But Bill saves him and they start living
together and fall in love
episode is being “review bombed”: received 2x as many reviews as
other episodes, and a lot of negative reviews; there was a campaign to
sabotage the episode
2
,Masculinity: Close & Le Otto Montagne
Two films that focus on male friendship
Homosocial bounds (not homosexual relations)
Close: other people assume that they are gay and both boys are struggling
with what is excepted
Le Otto Montagne: one stays, one leaves the mountain -> …
Primavera Sound Festival
Interesting action in 2019:
They had always had a diverse line-up BUT introduced the new normal in
2019: 50/50 male/female
Want to emphasize female success and give them a stage
Some take-aways from these examples
Always a public debate & heigtened sensitivity when something happens
in popular culture linked to minoritized identities and challenging/shaping
perceptions & beliefs:
- One side of the debate demands more fair/balanced representation
- The other side says it has gone to far and media has gotten too woke
Cultural wars are not new, since the 19th century (establishment
democratic nation-states)
- Over position religion in modern states, set of norms and values
representing the ‘modern states’
- Primarly fought through cultural media
Media uproars over identity may be perceived as banal or insignificant
BUT debates and backlashes have an impact on the daily lives of many
people
Yes there has been progress BUT the last weeks/years we notice
these things are also temporary because they can also be
reversed
- Roe v Wade overturned
- Same-sex couples in Italy: mothers removed from birth
certificate
- Trump makes 2 sexes legal and scraps DEI policies
- Young women more progressive and men more conservative
- Muslims in Europe face more racism and discrimination than
ever
- …
Important to know and remember that politiciants and policy-makers very
well understand the power of media and popular culture
+ right now we are witnessing Big Data companies are no longer focussing
on diversity and inclusion etc., they did when it was cool but don’t really
care; only an commercial interest
He wants to emphasize that that’s why representation matters !
3
, Activists, minoritized audiences: scrutinize role popular media culture
plays in advancing or hampering living conditions minoritized groups
4
Louise & Louise
1
,LECTURE 1: INTRODUCTION
Dates presentation in PDF course overview Ufora
Courses will be recorded
Not discussed in class you don’t have to learn from book
1. What’s at stake?
Some examples:
Alyssa Milano (actress) started #metoo in 2017
Metoo-movement already existed but thanks to Alyssa’s tweet more
people became aware and it went viral newsarticles public debate
politics
Metoo is just one example (related to gender)
#OscarsSoWhite
Didn’t have as big an impact as metoo but the organization did react
FC De Kampioenen (2020)
Important as an academic: pause & look at what actually happened
There are 2 racist episodes VRT decides to no longer air those episodes
(only available on VRTMAX)
There had been no request for this, VRT decided to do this on their own
big discussion, negative reactions from conservatives etc
Same thing happened in the UK
BUT different approach: stereotypes in the series were used to mock them
in society
Eventually both the VRT and BBC added a disclaimer to the episodes
William Boeva
Called out stereotypical representation of people with disabilities on
television
Snow white
Big discussion about whether the dwarfs should be played by little people
or not
Peter Dincklage & William Boeva say the problem is that there are not
enough ‘non-stereotypical’ roles for little people and that that’s the main
people
Case: The Last of Us
Third episode stands alone (trailer in ppt)
Bill lives on his own during zombie pandemic
Frank appears in one of his pits?? But Bill saves him and they start living
together and fall in love
episode is being “review bombed”: received 2x as many reviews as
other episodes, and a lot of negative reviews; there was a campaign to
sabotage the episode
2
,Masculinity: Close & Le Otto Montagne
Two films that focus on male friendship
Homosocial bounds (not homosexual relations)
Close: other people assume that they are gay and both boys are struggling
with what is excepted
Le Otto Montagne: one stays, one leaves the mountain -> …
Primavera Sound Festival
Interesting action in 2019:
They had always had a diverse line-up BUT introduced the new normal in
2019: 50/50 male/female
Want to emphasize female success and give them a stage
Some take-aways from these examples
Always a public debate & heigtened sensitivity when something happens
in popular culture linked to minoritized identities and challenging/shaping
perceptions & beliefs:
- One side of the debate demands more fair/balanced representation
- The other side says it has gone to far and media has gotten too woke
Cultural wars are not new, since the 19th century (establishment
democratic nation-states)
- Over position religion in modern states, set of norms and values
representing the ‘modern states’
- Primarly fought through cultural media
Media uproars over identity may be perceived as banal or insignificant
BUT debates and backlashes have an impact on the daily lives of many
people
Yes there has been progress BUT the last weeks/years we notice
these things are also temporary because they can also be
reversed
- Roe v Wade overturned
- Same-sex couples in Italy: mothers removed from birth
certificate
- Trump makes 2 sexes legal and scraps DEI policies
- Young women more progressive and men more conservative
- Muslims in Europe face more racism and discrimination than
ever
- …
Important to know and remember that politiciants and policy-makers very
well understand the power of media and popular culture
+ right now we are witnessing Big Data companies are no longer focussing
on diversity and inclusion etc., they did when it was cool but don’t really
care; only an commercial interest
He wants to emphasize that that’s why representation matters !
3
, Activists, minoritized audiences: scrutinize role popular media culture
plays in advancing or hampering living conditions minoritized groups
4
