-
Yeah I spotted something similar last night on the Temple of Doom description on NowTV. I think it's good there is acknowledgement that the film is outdated/racist/a bit shit but at the risk of being that "where do you draw the line" idiot i think flagging films will be very tricky as many new films still have outdated themes and representations in them. The film industry and the representation of people in films needs to change otherwise this just feels a bit like arse covering.
Maybe too much of an assumption but if we had a far better balance of films telling real stories about real people then hopefully these "outdated" films will become much more apparent to audiences without them having to be told.
Saying that targeting films aimed at children is probably necessary as it's totally unfair/unrealistic to expect kids to find their way through such garbage.
The UK in particular needs to make industry changes as the BFI and British TV is disgustingly under represented in comparison to the US.
jono84-
the BFI and British TV is disgustingly under represented in comparison to the US
I don't cast any doubt on lack of and mis-representation in British film and TV, but what is your comparison with the US? I'm not very familiar with TV in either country, but I guess I'm curious in a wider sense, when we talk about representation how much it relates to statistics, how much to do with narrative, and how much to do with building a better society.
Like you might say, as an absolute minimum, that the quantitative representation of BAME people in UK film+TV should reflect the general population (which is a significantly higher proportion in US). But it also needs to give us characters that aren't just stereotyped and aren't token. And if it means part of creating better social cohesion, shouldn't the quantitative representation exceed the population stats? Like is equality 'fairness' or is it about what you are trying to achieve. Obvs answer that it includes both, not trying to pitch an either/or here, just unpicking a little.
I'm also thinking in the US there are narratives of indigenous people that are so fundamental to the identity of the country, that everyone starting from childhood, needs to hear them more. We don't really have an equivalent in the UK, but colonialism and imperialism are probably the closest. 'Stories of people' is such an important aspect, not just taught as 'history'.
hoefla
While on the subject of movies, my daughter put on a Disney film the other day and I saw they have now added a disclaimer about how their old films have racist elements, I never even noticed it before but apparently its been updated from this...
'This program is presented as originally created. It may contain outdated cultural depictions'
To this...
'This program includes negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures. These stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now. Rather than remove this content, we want to acknowledge its harmful impact, learn from it and spark conversation to create a more inclusive future together.'
A step in the right direction?