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I feel like we do the next generation a disservice when we believe the only time one cane relate to a story is when the protagonist looks and sounds like them. How many good books would I have overlooked if I were only looking for Black folks at the center of the narrative? https://twitter.com/robertjmonson/status/1264207547638009856
I appreciated this episode as I’ve had similar thoughts myself. And I truly appreciate the reference to Mother/Auntie Toni Morrison’s interview. I have always loved that her work was primarily written to “us” as the main audience.
When I look at many of the mainstream forays into non-western cultures, there’s often the central white character through which we experience events. That can be damaging when left unchecked.
Sometimes you have to scroll past the first page or two of recommendations on your streaming service to see something told from a different perspective since so much of what we consume caters to the majority.
I love the Toni Morrison interview with Jana Wendt that was referenced. The comparison of being an AA writer to being a Russian writer is so key!
And now I've gone down a rabbit hole of interviews. I appreciate journalists who do their research, prepare and ask questions organically based on how someone is responding instead of just going down a list.
What I am getting at has multiple facets: 1) It's important to have narratives from different perspectives. I love stories shedding light on Black culture, which is a unique experience that isn't often highlighted when told by those who have lived that experience.
Imagine having most stories abt people who look like you told by people who don't look like you or folks who have second-hand knowledge of your culture. That's what many people groups have experienced in the U.S. Second-hand narratives. This is why...
...many Black folks teared up when we saw Matthew Cherry's "Hair Love", an animated short about the natural hair care process for Black folks. Lord knows I did. There's something affirming about representation.
On the flipside, certain people groups tend to only consume content featuring protagonists who look like them. It's as if there's an invisible colour line that can't be crossed UNLESS it's pop culture because let's be honest. Twitter and Tik Tok video trends are telling.
But it leads me to the question of how do we determine when we press play on programming? What are we looking for? How do our personal biases playout through what we decide to consume? What does that say about us?
Yes....this should've been a blog post instead of a bunch of random tweets crafted while on the phone with a friend. Yet, here we are. 
