Week 12

I’ve been reading about the Black student protests at the University of Missouri in the news and on social media over the last couple of days, and I am truly appalled at some of the comments I have been seeing. Through these protests, Black students are fighting for what they believe in, but it seems that they are only being mocked for it. All over Twitter, I’m reading ignorant tweets making fun of the situation, and I’m also surprised to see the number of people who are retweeting and favoriting these ridiculous comments.

It seems that a lot of these comments are completely missing the point of the protests. Black students at Mizzou do not feel safe; they are constantly subjects of racial discrimination and bigotry in what should be a safe space for all students. As a college student, I could never imagine the experiences that some of the Black students at Mizzou described. One student explained, “At a predominantly white environment, you just have to deal with acceptance and it’s hard being a student of color because you have to deal with the segregation of Mizzou. You deal with racism and you just deal with people trying to belittle you because you’re black.”

Even while Black students are fighting for justice, they are receiving threats and insensitive comments about the protest. Several students have even threatened to shoot the protestors on Yik Yak. While media coverage of the protests is inevitable, it does not create a safe space for the students participating. It should be about securing a space where blackness is not violated. Considering the media portrayals of Blacks throughout history, it is obvious that Black people would not be fairly represented even when they are fighting social injustices and defending themselves. Anyone who mocks the situation is contributing to the problem of racism that seems to never end. Despite the so-called progress that has been made, racism is still very much alive and well. 

To the students of color at Mizzou, we, students of color at the University of Southern California, stand with you in solidarity. To those who would threaten their sense of safety, we are watching. 
‪#‎ConcernedStudent1950 ‪#‎InSolidarityWithMizzou

Week 11

Prior to this week, I never really knew a lot about Aziz Ansari or his work. I knew who he was, but I was not aware of any of his television shows or movies. He recently released Master of None on Netflix, which features a ton of diversity and also explores the significance of identity. Though I have not yet watched the show, I’ve heard a lot of great comments about it, from people in my classes to reviews I’ve read online. I had the chance to get to know Aziz better after reading his piece in the New York Times about race in Hollywood. In this article, he made excellent points about the lack of diversity in Hollywood and the fact that those behind the camera are not trying hard enough.

Aziz begins the article talking about Fisher Stevens, an actor who he contacted over the phone. In a movie called Short Circuit 2, Stevens, a Caucasian man, used brownface to portray the role of an Indian man. Growing up, Aziz always admired this role because it featured an Indian man as the lead, but once he learned the truth about Stevens, Aziz was exposed to the harsh reality that his ethnicity was being mocked. After speaking with Stevens, Aziz learned that he is not a bad guy, but at the time, he was a struggling actor looking for a big break. Stevens said that he would never take on such a role today, and while this mindset seems progressive, there are still so many cases in which actors of other ethnicities are playing Indians.

Aziz mentions that he is trying to understand where the creators behind the production are coming from, but he can never get a straight answer. He acknowledges the fact that sometimes it is difficult to find a minority actor because they may have the look but not the skillset to play the part; however it seems that this is where the filmmakers may not be trying hard enough. Although there has been some progress in TV and film, it’s not enough to say that everyone is equal.

One quote that stands out to me in his piece is, “Even at a time when minorities account for almost 40 percent of the American population, when Hollywood wants an “everyman,” what it really wants is a straight white guy. But a straight white guy is not every man. The “everyman” is everybody.” Just as we discussed in class, when we picture the main characters of a romantic comedy, our minds will automatically go to an image of a white male and female. After years and years of perpetuating stereotypes of minorities in TV and film, filmmakers have a difficult time taking a step in the right direction and considering non-white actors for lead roles. As Aziz demonstrates, Arnold Schwarzenegger played a robot in Terminator using his Austrian accent and no one cared about the fact that he was not American. At the end of the day, there should be no reason for the lack of minority actors in lead roles because they’re equally as talented, capable, and deserving of every opportunity.  

Week 10

A few days ago, I saw a Twitter trend about racist declarations that a Southern Methodist University sorority made about African American pledges. After seeing so many similar incidents over the past few years, I was actually surprised to see that nothing has changed in the Greek system. I know it’s not fair too blame the entire Greek system for someone else’s ignorant comments, but such blatant racism in fraternities and sororities is getting really old and we should be past such narrow thinking and ignorance.
In an anonymous post on Greek Rank, a sorority member at SMU laid out a list of reasons why “black women do not and will not get bids.” They start off by calling Black women racist for creating their own sororities which is one of the most absurd things I have ever heard. Then they go on to attack their appearance, personality, and reproduce stereotypes about their background, wealth, and education. The last point in the post says that they only accept a few black girls for the sake of being diverse.

The post lists all of these reasons of why Black women would not fit into a sorority, but in reality minorities have never been treated fairly in the first place. The people in the sorority who have the power to choose are the ones who not welcoming of people of color because they have a preconceived idea of who they are as people.

Before I came to USC, my mom really wanted me to join a sorority to meet people and enjoy all of the opportunities that come with it. I was slightly interested, but seeing the underrepresentation of minorities turned me away. In a way, I felt intimidated by Greek life because I thought that I would always be the outsider or the odd one out. I never rushed, but mostly because I was scared to face any potential discrimination or rejection.
From my knowledge, sororities are supposed to be a place where so-called “sisters” engage in academic, social, and philanthropic activities, but it always looks like more of a exclusive social club where only the seemingly popular kids are accepted. I have friends who are minorities in sororities, but they’re always placed in the same in the same ones. The sororities that are considered the “top-tier” mostly consist of white girls, and the same goes for white guys in fraternities. Just as we saw with the racial slur hurled at Rini a few weeks ago, racism is still very much alive and well. I cannot believe that I’m still reading about incidents like these, but I’m glad that they are receiving national attention.

Week 9

On an episode of The View, Raven-Symoné made headlines yet again for some controversial comments relating to race and discrimination. The View panelists held a discussion surrounding the question, are you judged by your name? The group talked about whether or not they judge other people based on their names and Raven commented that she would never hire someone based solely on their name. She used the name “Watermelondra” as an example and laughed that she would never hire them based on that alone. She also mentioned that she would prefer if people used the word discriminatory rather than racist when referring to her choice of words. Unfortunately, Raven fails to see the irony in this situation because her name is unique as well, and she has been afforded many opportunities throughout her career. Sitting at the panel is Whoopi Goldberg who is taken aback by Raven’s comments while the rest of the panel tries to reason with Raven.
The first point that was argued at the panel is that people cannot help what they’re named, and thus should not be judged for it. The point I’d like to make is, even though Raven believes it is only discriminatory, it is actually really racist. People with ethnic names (like Raven herself) are often judged in America because people associate certain stereotypes with those names. From the stereotypes I have heard, individuals judge African American names that are uncommon to be “ghetto” and thus they make false assumptions about that person and their background. I have many Asian American friends who have two names. Their birth name is related to their ethnic background, while their second name is an “American” name, which makes it easier for other people to say and remember.  If we were to judge anyone based on his or her birth name, how would we ever know who he or she really is?
Personally, having the name Brittany has often caused a lot of confusion when people first look at me. The name Brittany supposedly gives off this image of a white blonde girl, so when people learn my name they are surprised. When my mom named me, she heard the name from one of her favorite television shows in the 90s and had no idea what associations people would make with it. Due to my first and last name, people usually see me as a “white-washed” Indian, but they hardly know anything about my identity and cultural practices. It’s crazy to me that a name can hold so much power, when they do not really tell much about who you are as a person. With all of the stereotypes that are perpetuated in society, I understand why people hear a name and quickly jump to conclusions about that person, but names are only surface level, and we should be able to see beyond them.