Highly recommended article
http://www.racialicious.com/2012/08/20/how-the-dark-vs-light-skin-debate-misses-the-point-about-black-women-and-the-media/
I am afraid if I blockquote this I'll do this article a disservice.
It does however have a lot of deepness about storytellers, story, and who owns the story, who tells the story.
It's an article aimed at black women, for black women.
However, as a white "almost senior" (give me 5 more years of middle age, thanks, that's how I choose to identify and I am sticking to it) I think this article could be intersected (is that the right word?) to spread wayyyy out, from women of all backgrounds...to POC generally and specifically, and low income folks and other people as well. The article is specific, but allows for your own extrapolation on how this would effect Hollywood and the general culture on other POV's that are lacking in the movie-verse.
As a person who knows a little about anthropology, I think this paradigm would reverse Hollywood's poles, so to speak. What a sea change if the people of the story were given the next decade to tell their stories, their way... at least 85% of the time. Since I think that is about the average % of mostly male involvement in owning the story.
I'll be thinking about the owners of the stories and the storytellers and the stories for a while now.
By the way, this is a very wholistic well thought out well written post and I highly thank the commenter on Shakesville that recommended this.
What would Star Trek be like if written and directed by women POC, with say, Uhura's rise to a Captain of a starship through her own POV?
What about using the post-Wash story of Zoe as told by maybe Nalo Hopkinson, in a follow up series to Firefly? Directed by POC women directors.
"Herstory" needs to be included in genre, too. However, honestly, I think of woman of color would be better equipped to tell the how, what and why, I was just extrapolating off the top of my head.
The skills and depth of passion about genre are out there, I hope it gets to TPTB ( hey! Joss! you should definitely read that article and Brad of SG-verse, etc. )...and maybe somehow foment a few new PTB...
I am afraid if I blockquote this I'll do this article a disservice.
It does however have a lot of deepness about storytellers, story, and who owns the story, who tells the story.
It's an article aimed at black women, for black women.
However, as a white "almost senior" (give me 5 more years of middle age, thanks, that's how I choose to identify and I am sticking to it) I think this article could be intersected (is that the right word?) to spread wayyyy out, from women of all backgrounds...to POC generally and specifically, and low income folks and other people as well. The article is specific, but allows for your own extrapolation on how this would effect Hollywood and the general culture on other POV's that are lacking in the movie-verse.
As a person who knows a little about anthropology, I think this paradigm would reverse Hollywood's poles, so to speak. What a sea change if the people of the story were given the next decade to tell their stories, their way... at least 85% of the time. Since I think that is about the average % of mostly male involvement in owning the story.
I'll be thinking about the owners of the stories and the storytellers and the stories for a while now.
By the way, this is a very wholistic well thought out well written post and I highly thank the commenter on Shakesville that recommended this.
What would Star Trek be like if written and directed by women POC, with say, Uhura's rise to a Captain of a starship through her own POV?
What about using the post-Wash story of Zoe as told by maybe Nalo Hopkinson, in a follow up series to Firefly? Directed by POC women directors.
"Herstory" needs to be included in genre, too. However, honestly, I think of woman of color would be better equipped to tell the how, what and why, I was just extrapolating off the top of my head.
The skills and depth of passion about genre are out there, I hope it gets to TPTB ( hey! Joss! you should definitely read that article and Brad of SG-verse, etc. )...and maybe somehow foment a few new PTB...