#negative representation
the whole “fiction doesn’t affect reality” argument is actually kinda racist…
people talk about like how finding nemo and jaws are great examples but nobody ever talks about how fiction has shaped our perceptions of different racial and ethnic groups
like do you think the media has no hand in why alot of ignorant white people think africa is a desertland and not a continent of different countries, full of rich and diverse cultures, beautiful buildings and riches? or why they think asia is only japan, korea and china? when asia is also india, bhutan, the Philippines, nepal, etc?
do you think that media and fiction hasnt allowed whites to view black people as ignorant and lazy thru cartoons and minstrel shows?
like if you really think what youre seeing on tv doesnt affect reality and how people think then like. you must be fuckin stupid.there are several studies which prove this by the way. like how black children (and white girls) self esteem is negatively impacted by media.
there are harmful psychological effects on native americans thanks to sports mascots.
how about how inaccurate race and poverty images in the news effect our views on welfare?
the availability of GLB roles on TV positively impacts the gay community
and i honestly i could go on and on and on and on
i know i know water is wet, all these studies to tell you what common sense could. but like … there is very real research out there that shows fiction has a very real harmful impact on minority communities. and that positive representation has a positive effect on these communities.
so no. fiction is never just fiction. and frankly people who think fiction is just fiction can fuck off.
And as creators of fiction we owe it to ourselves and our audience to be aware of these things and to do our very best not to feed that particular beast.
Whoever is using Jaws or Finding Nemo as examples of fiction not influencing people is wrong. Both of those had a huge ecological effect and negatively impacted conservation efforts.
If a fictional shark can put a species on the endangered list just think of what centuries of racist portrayals of people of color has on society.
Fiction is where people learn their first lessons on interacting with other people, other cultures, and new ideas. Fiction can change minds and save lives, but it can also destroy lives.
Never, ever underestimate the power of fiction
Yup. We are the stories we tell ourselves. The good news for writers is that fiction DOES matter. But that good news comes with the responsibility to be thoughtful, ethical, and progressive with the characters and narratives we put forth into the world. Let’s not reinforce the same old shit!
Sidenote: I think the whole “It’s just a story” argument is a weak excuse made by people that want a blank check to write whatever-the-fuck-they-want. Then, when confronted about how they’re perpetuating racist/sexist/etc. bullshit, they come back with “It doesn’t matter.” Ironically, those are usually the same people who freak out when they do an all-female Ghostbusters reboot or something, but whatever…
Reblogging again because I need to pull this up for some TikTok videos about “The Pawn and the Puppet” aka a super ableist and transphobic book written by a popular indie BookTok user.
A lot of trans people, including myself, have called out this book but we keep getting told “it’s just fiction!”
The problem is that this argument exists in two forms on Tumblr.
One form says “fiction affects reality” and what they mean is, representation matters. Accurate portrayals of other cultures matters. Exactly the argument made above. And they’re talking about mass media, Disney and Warner Bros and Paramount and all them, the movies, the TV we all watch. Netflix, HBO. The books we tell our children are important to read, the books we find for ourselves that speak to us. This is an argument for better representation, better research, more roles for a greater variety of people and plots that let different kinds of characters shine.
The other form says “fiction affects reality” and what they mean is, portrayals of bad things will normalize those bad things, even if it’s clear from the portrayal that it’s bad. And they’re talking about fanfic. Fanfic, where if you get an audience of 100 people you’re doing great. This is an argument for censoring fanfic and demanding that no one write pedophilic relationships… or age gaps… or age gaps of 1 year if they’re 17 and 18… or a short cute woman and a tall man because that’s “coded” as pedophilia… you get the idea. And it’s not enough to properly tag those materials to keep them out of the hands of people who take responsibility for curating their own experience, and choose not to read those things. They have to not exist.
It’s a good idea to clarify which argument you’re making, or arguing against, when you’re talking about fiction affecting reality. Because one of those arguments is about pushing back against mass media’s tendency to amplify stereotypes, and the other is about censoring a form of expression that’s created mostly by young women and afab people to express sexual and romantic feelings that women (and anyone society thinks is a woman) are told they should not have.
I do absolutely agree with the points made above. But I have to admit, I’m so much more used to the second argument, at first I didn’t recognize that the posts above are arguing the first argument.
here’s the thing about “fiction affects reality” – the effects of fiction are 1) cumulative, 2) not universal, and 3) not direct.
it’s not “you read one story about a black person who’s a gang member and immediately you assume all black people are gang members.” it’s “90% of black characters you see are gang members and so over time you associate the two with each other because it’s just so common.” it’s “you never see a single bisexual character or hear the word ‘bisexual’ so you don’t even have the vocabulary to describe your own experiences.” it’s “you and a friend read the same story, but come away with two completely different interpretations of it because you are different people with different experiences.”
and finding nemo is actually a great example of something being actively opposite to the intended message of the movie. like, the reason they need to find nemo is because nemo was kidnapped by an evil tropical fish hunter and sold as a pet to live in an aquarium, which is portrayed as a horrific prison that slowly turns you insane and at any time you could be shaken to death by a kid with headgear. and a bunch of people watched it and went “ooh! clownfish as pets! sounds neat!”
when people say “fiction affects reality” in the context of fanfic they don’t like, it’s never articulated like this. it’s “you write one story about a 30-year-old dating a 50-year-old and everyone who reads it will immediately start thinking pedophilia is okay, and also, that was your deliberate intention when you wrote the story, fic writer.”
