Representation Matters

Stories are important. Stories propel humanity further. Heroes and villains, right and wrong, reality and absurdity. As a species we communicate lessons through the method of storytelling. In the modern world those who tell stories, and create media have the power of changing perception.

In 2018 we have the luxury of smart phones which can create media and stories instantly. Smart phones are so incredible and so intertwined with society that it’s hard to remember life before them. There are incredible, outrageous, amazing things happening around us every day. We are so inundated with incredible things we take most of them for granted. I don’t stop and think how amazing my phone is every day. Under the same vein I never realized how important representation is to self-esteem.

The fact that black people are not always positively portrayed within media is a well-known fact. If you are any minority you can understand the effects of negative representation. Constantly seeing people who look like you being portrayed as stereotypes or jokes can be damaging. After constant reminders with t.v. shows and movies where people with your skin color are bad the message becomes clear.

Being biracial and growing up in the 90s I never saw anyone who looked like me. I didn’t even have negative representation, I had no representation. There were little to no characters who resembled me.

Things are much different now and people of all color around the world have access to tools to create media. We can all tell our stories and more importantly it’s necessary for us to do so as a species. While consuming media it is also necessary to acknowledge the effect of said media.

Be diligent in selecting what media you wish to consume, the stories you carry with you, are a part of you…they are you. The stories you have committed to memory shape you.

We are witnessing an era where storytellers of all ages, races,  and nationalities can tell their tales from a variety of platforms. Diversity fosters creativity and positivity.

Popular Culture is Black Culture

Right now the most untrendy thing to be is white and rich. Unlike every other singular time period in history there are actual drawbacks to being a wealthy white person during this current juncture in time.

The world is stirking back against those in power and possessing privelege. Donald Trump and his image of white privelege accompanied by corporate nepotism and large-scale handouts has infuriated less fortunate and priveleged Americans.

Rich white kids are now dressing down in rags and wearing street fashion emulating black celebrities because being black is what's popular.

Diversity is in, and it's hip to be poor because being poor is more relatable to the majority of America than vast riches at this point. Social media is dominated by diverse individuals who inseminate the world with snippets and slices of black culture.

On Reddit there is a subReddit called Black People Twitter which is heavily frequented by white people.

The internet is driving new trends and steering culture in a new direction. Hip-Hop is now blending with Pop music, slang is commonplace even in corporate or professional settings.

Young impressionable minds in this country look up  to the The Rock, Cardi B, and Migos. Black people have received far more favorable representation than whites within the last five years.

I don't see a reversal to this trend within 2018 and beyond as more people of color infiltrate positions of power and drive media and culture.