Strange ponderings as I watch TV.


I've started watching an Australian TV show from the mid 2000s, which to me was only not that long ago. It's a cop show set in a Sydney neighborhood that has a high Arab population. The protagonists is a cop of Iraqi descent -- an Arab. He's endeavoring to work with his community and not against it like some of the other blatantly racist cops characters. 

So as I was watching the second episode today a noticed a pit forming in my stomach. The line that triggered this pit was, "You're either an Arab or a cop." UGH!! This was only made 15 years ago - we knew better at this point, or so I thought. But it got me thinking about what is it that we should representing on TV. Should we be representing the world that is warts and all? Or should we be representing the world that could be as a model for the viewing public. 
What impact do the narratives that play out on our screens day in and day out have on the norms and behaviors that take hold in society? 
What it does make me think about is the importance of representation and the ability to be a critical thinker while watching. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Too Long Between Hugs

Three years it had been since I've hugged one of my blood relatives. My recollection has it as four Christmases / New Years' ago (2018/2019). I was lucky enough to have an extended stay while I waited for my visa but that had it's own stressors.  Roughly 1000 days since I've seen my big sister in the flesh. And tomorrow I get to hug her neck.  The last time I saw her I didn't have a child and I wasn't married. During these 1000 days she has sent her eldest to boarding school at the top end of the earth. I know it broke her heart a little, and the best we could do was connect via WhatsApp.  I can't wait for my boy to meet his Debbie Debbie Dumpling.  I will be cautiously optimistic until her plane touches down at JFK. Once it does I will soak up every bit of the next 5 days. 
Read more

Mission Accomplished

No idea what to write about today but I'm committed to this challenge. Post something I've written everyday. I laid in bed this morning while my little boy snuggled at my breast wondering what I would write today. Leave it until later in the day, I thought, inspiration will strike you throughout the day. It didn't. I was busy with chores and my child. Perhaps I'll start a list of things I can write about and then randomly pick one on days that I'm stuck. Perhaps I'm censoring my ideas a little too early. Perhaps writing what's in my head will bring my clarity and calmness to my busy mind. Things to ponder. For now I have accomplished my mission for today - to write. Well done me!! 
Read more

A Trip to the Spelling Bee

Crawling up the FDR, heading towards the GWB. We're off to watch our niece perform in good old New Jersey. She's lead in a production about a spelling bee, Not sure if there's singing or if it'll be like TV's Glee. But we know she gonna rock it as she's as talented as can be. 
Read more