Today, in class, a student referred to me as a social justice warrior. He was being sarcastic and negative, but that’s totally okay. I was pushing buttons, confusing students in the process, and acting like a social justice warrior. It’s what I do. You know, that “question everything” deal and making students uncomfortable because they have to think about bigger pictures than a word search.
The bad thing about being a social justice warrior is that you have to wade through Amy Schumer’s new Snatched trailer, some Bridesmaids, some Ghostbusters (the female one), and the new Wonder Woman. We were starting with something simple–bias. Because the first couple of those movies shows women in a slapstick way, where oftentimes the female has to suffer to make the scene funny. Ghostbusters tried to have women as scientists. Wait–what? Women can be scientists? Not in Amy Schumer’s movie they can’t. I’m confused. And Wonder Woman will save the world, right after all the bridesmaids rid their bodies of Indian food.
Lots of mixed signals sent out to kids in one-way communication form. You see, there’s no talking back to Goldie Hawn rubbing too much sunscreen on her Amy Schumer daughter. It’s there, it is seen, and you have now processed it. Kids process a ton of that “suffer” comedy, too, where someone is falling, or getting hit by something, or throwing up a friend’s head. It’s hilarious until . . . we are told to take female characters seriously.
My seniors came up with Ellen, Oprah, and Michelle Obama for women who are portrayed well in the media, and who, in general, use the media to show how well they carry themselves. When asked about what female they grew up with in the media, who is was that portrayed themselves professionally, who was articulate and a role model for all, they came up with Disney characters or some characters from Nickelodeon. No real people. Two of the real women they identified have a one-word name that represents them. Cher and Roseanne must be furious that Ellen and Oprah surpassed them.
I was playing music the other day in class from a playlist I created on Spotify. All the music was from women. It was an adventure in HUH? Now, I’m not sure how many of the males they would have known if there was a playlist of male-dominated music, but there were not many options for them. They know Beyonce, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Nicki Minaj, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Adele, and anyone else who have hits in the here and now. But they scoffed and chuckled when I played Aretha Franklin. Say what? Yeah, and “Say A Little Prayer,” no less.
My prayer, as always, is that they awaken from their slumbers. Because every student, every guy, every girl, every kid and adult that keeps sleeping while the world surrounds them with shiny objects, will end up claiming a certain strength, albeit in ignorance.