kayleewagner21

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Multimedia Journal Summary

To summarize all of what I learned throughout reviewing a movie, a TV series, and a social media page, I learned that there is so many different ways in which we can address racial, ethnic, cultural, and gender discrimination. After watching The Help, viewers were able to understand the stereotypical positions that Black women held back during the 1960s and the discrimination they faced every day. When I watched the Jane The Virgin series, I was able to learn much more about how Jane and her family embraced their culture, and beat the stereotypes that Latinx families face when living in America. Finally, after looking at the TikTok creator @modern_warrior__, it was clear that there is a lot that needs to be done to address the discrimination against Native Americans and Native culture. Having these television series, movies, and social media pages all provide ways in which we can take a look at and address different racial, cultural, ethnic, and gender disparities among people.

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Multimedia Journal Entry #3 Social Media

In my third multimedia journal entry, I have decided to review the social media influencer and TikToker account, @modern_warrior__. Lance Tsosie is a 31-year-old, Native American born in the Navajo Nation, content creator on TikTok. With a current following of 2.4 Million followers on the video-sharing app, they began their following after beginning to advocate for Native American culture and the issues surrounding ethnocentrism and the disrespect to indigenous communities. One of his most popular videos, created in May 2021, is calling out a white man for victimizing himself and judging Lance's native facial features. Not only does Lance advocate for his own culture, but being non-binary, they also advocate for gender fluidity and how it is a colonial construct that differs by culture. Lance is a really great example of using his platform for good and bringing awareness to the discrimination that Native Americans face on a daily basis. Lance also aims to help Native college students by giving them different scholarship opportunities. I think this is a great way to advocate for education in indigenous communities, by encouraging applying for scholarship opportunities.

To compare to the material in this class, I think reading about the Wounded Knee Massacre would correlate to some of the things that Lance advocates for. The Wounded Knee Massacre was a tragic and brutal killing against Native Americans and was due to misconceptions about their culture. Similarly, Lance uses his platform to try and reduce those misconceptions and show that Native culture is important and something that was taken away from them when white people started colonizing the United States. In a video below, I have decided to share an important TikTok that was posted by Lance in which he aims to bring awareness to cultural appropriation.

References

Lance Tsosie on TikTok. TikTok. (n.d.). Retrieved July 24, 2022, from https://www.tiktok.com/@modern_warrior__/video/6999443313048751366?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1&lang=en

Hudson, M. (n.d.). Wounded Knee Massacre. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved July 24, 2022, from https://www.britannica.com/

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Multimedia Journal Entry #2 Movie

The movie that I have decided to discuss in this second journal entry is the 2011 film, The Help. This movie stars Octavia Spencer, Emma Stone, and Viola Davis, and is based in the 1960s. Emma Stone's character, Skeeter Phelan is an aspiring author during the civil rights movement who decides to interview a southern Black family, who takes care of a very prominent southern White family. Depicted in a very lighthearted way, this movie while it does show some racial and ethnic disparities, does not necessarily show what it was actually like back then. This makes sense because it is a drama that is aimed at younger teen audiences. Though, we do see many examples of how Black women were treated in a very southern town. We can also see stereotypes of positions that Black women held in societies back then, such as nannies and maids.

When reviewing material over the course of this class, the shadow archives by Mirzoeff especially stood out to me in terms of relating the photographs and art pieces to the movie. In these archives, black people were depicted in a negative light and we also see the enhancement of their features to portray them in different ways. However, even though the negative art pieces were a predominant part of society, Mirzoeff also shows examples of positive pieces that show the true nature of Black people and the experiences that they actually faced. This is similar to The Help because Skeeter decides to take on an interview with Minny Jackson and Aiblieen Clark, to shine a positive light on their family and their lives as maids, despite knowing she would receive backlash for doing so.

References

avatar By Tyler Aquilina June 05, 2020 at 03:27 P. M. E. D. T. (n.d.). 'the help' becomes most-viewed movie on Netflix amid anti-racism protests. EW.com. Retrieved July 24, 2022, from https://ew.com/movies/the-help-most-viewed-movie-netflix-black-lives-matter-protests/

Mirzoff, Nicholas “The Shadow and the Substance: Race, Photography, and the Index. Only Skin Deep: Changing Visions of the American Self December 12, 2003, /courses/501718/files/49058689

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Multimedia Journal Entry #1 Television

For my first entry, I have decided to discuss the the many different racial, ethnic, and cultural aspects in the television show, Jane the Virgin (2014). This show debuted in 2014, and follows Jane, a devout Venezuelan Catholic women, who accidentally becomes pregnant via insemination. Following insemination, Jane must navigate through life with help from her mother, Xiomara, her Abuela, Alba, while also juggling her relationships with the father of the baby, Rafael, and her fiancé, Michael. However, even though this show is meant to be a comedy-drama that was adapted from a Venezuelan telenovela, it goes much deeper than that. This show occurs during present time, where we still see debate over immigration, citizenship, and Latinos in America. We also see how gender and race impact the life that Jane has while growing up in a house with empowering women. Jane the Virgin is a great example of showing the lives of Latin Americans, and the struggles they deal with being Latino in America.

I was lucky enough to have knowledge of this show, prior to this assignment, so being able to look at this show and connect it to the many readings and documentaries I have witnessed in this class, has really changed my perspective. One visual from this class that I feel has relation to this show, is The Couple in a Cage documentary. The reason I feel this show resonates so well, is because in the documentary, we see this couple who is not afraid to show off their culture, and is not in fear of judgement from others. Similarly, in Jane the Virgin, Jane and her close relationships are constantly having to battle judgement from others, based on the fact that she is a Catholic and Latina women, who is breaking Latinx stereotypes. Another example, is how Alba, Jane’s Abuela, is always reminding her family to be proud of their culture and heritage. The Couple in a Cage documentary also shows examples of using their own traditions in language, similarly to Jane the Virgin, and using Spanish and celebrating classic Venezuelan traditions.

Jane the Virgin is a classic example of how culture is found in DNA, and helps represent a community that is often very unrepresented, especially in television.

References

Guillermo Gómez-Peña and Coco Fusco’s “Couple in the Cage” (1993) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv26tDDsuA8

Melanie Mayron, B. S., Kevin Kiner & Kevin J. Edelman. (2014) JANE THE VIRGIN. USA.

Zeilinger, J. (2015, February 18). 6 ways 'Jane the virgin' is destroying Latino stereotypes. Mic. Retrieved July 17, 2022, from https://www.mic.com/articles/110768/6-ways-jane-the-virgin-is-destroying-latino-stereotypes