Cultural Anthropologist Michael D. Baran answers your questions!
Harvard University Professor Michael D. Baran, Ph.D. is an expert on anthropological and psychological theories of how children learn about race. Racebending.com collected questions from readers and submitted them to Professor Baran via e-mail.
RACEBENDING.COM: What potential impact does the "whitewashing" of the heroes of The Last Airbender have on children in the audience?
PROFESSOR BARAN: It’s hard to speculate on the impact of these casting decisions. Certainly it would be worrisome if all the heroes in any film were white and the villains were minorities. For those who were already familiar with the TV series, it may send additional problematic messages about the suitability of minorities as heroes.
Because children are trying to figure out these complicated social categories, it is particularly important for producers and casting directors to pay close attention to these decisions and thoroughly think through potential impacts.
RACEBENDING.COM: How does the absence of heroes, fantasy figures, and role models of color impact the children watching? How important is it for kids to have heroes who "look like me"?
PROFESSOR BARAN: It is critical that children see all sorts of people playing both the good and the bad roles in media. Otherwise, they may take those absences as meaningful and it may affect how they understand social categories. And it is certainly important for kids to be able to identify with heroes that they feel represent who they are as people.
For very young kids, this might or might not fall out along racial lines and we must be careful not to impose our reification of race onto their knowledge. But we might as well err on the good side, by having a diversity of heroes for people to relate to - not just racially, but also in terms of gender, religion, body type, etc.
To Read the Complete Interview, Click Here!
RACEBENDING.COM: What potential impact does the "whitewashing" of the heroes of The Last Airbender have on children in the audience?
PROFESSOR BARAN: It’s hard to speculate on the impact of these casting decisions. Certainly it would be worrisome if all the heroes in any film were white and the villains were minorities. For those who were already familiar with the TV series, it may send additional problematic messages about the suitability of minorities as heroes.
Because children are trying to figure out these complicated social categories, it is particularly important for producers and casting directors to pay close attention to these decisions and thoroughly think through potential impacts.
RACEBENDING.COM: How does the absence of heroes, fantasy figures, and role models of color impact the children watching? How important is it for kids to have heroes who "look like me"?
PROFESSOR BARAN: It is critical that children see all sorts of people playing both the good and the bad roles in media. Otherwise, they may take those absences as meaningful and it may affect how they understand social categories. And it is certainly important for kids to be able to identify with heroes that they feel represent who they are as people.
For very young kids, this might or might not fall out along racial lines and we must be careful not to impose our reification of race onto their knowledge. But we might as well err on the good side, by having a diversity of heroes for people to relate to - not just racially, but also in terms of gender, religion, body type, etc.
To Read the Complete Interview, Click Here!