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What do you think of the argument that Ebony Elizabeth Thomas is making here?
Fantasy Theory
17 responses to “Fantasy Theory”
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Ebony Elizabeth Thomas makes a valid point that I believe many within Black and other minority communities have come to realize. Their is, and always have been a lack of diversity in children’s media. And just like certain media content can influence its audience, it is the same way a lack of certain content can be influential. Children are impressionable. They tend to become engulfed in that whole pop culture phenomenon- making them vulnerable to certain influences. Children need to see themselves in literature and film. A lack of diversity within children’s literature only serves to foster low self-esteem in minority children and the belief that they are not worthy because they do not see themselves being represented in the books that they read or shows they watch. And when they are represented, they are seldomly depicted in a positive and non-stereotypical way. Improvements have been made, but not enough, and more needs to be done to ensure that minority children see themselves in children’s media in specific. It’s great that individuals like Thomas recognizes this void, and is actually working towards doing something about it.
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Hey Denise, I agree with the points you made in your response. I appreciated the way you highlighted how representation in media really affects children’s self esteem. As you said, when children don’t see themselves in books and TV shows it spreads the message that they don’t matter as much as others. Children want to see people that look them and their familes. I also agree with the fact there has been some progress made, but there needs to be more. Diversity needs to be portrayed positively which is why it’s important that people like Ebony Thomas continue this fight.
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Denise, I think you are right about children being very impressionable. When they are taught something early, it does instill in them which is why we need to make sure they understand simple rules of respect of others, etc.
It is important that children see their race represented well in the media and in books. As a child, I know that my background, being Guyanese Indian, has never come about in a book ever. I think I would have really liked to see it in children’s books when I was younger. Guyanese Indians are not directly Indians either, and there’s a bit of extra history regarding how Indians arrived in Guyana as well which is not always taught. I’ve seen something online about people not even knowing that Indians/Indians of descent live in South America. This can go for a lot of other races I think.
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Ebony Elizabeth Thomas is saying that many books and shows for kids don’t have enough characters from Black and other minority groups. This is a problem because kids need to see people who look like them in stories. If they don’t, they might feel like they don’t matter or aren’t important. Kids are easily affected by what they see and read, so not seeing themselves can make them feel bad. Even when they are shown, the characters are not always shown in a good way.
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I agree the lack of minority representation in all media can really affect children. I like seeing more representation now because as you said children need to see themselves represented. I rememeber seeing this as a child and felt bad about myself because I felt like I was different, even if I didn’t know why.
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Ebony Elizabeth Taylor is bringing up the very valid point that there is a lack of representation in the media we consume. She’s right in asking where the representation is for black viewers because they are watching things like Harry Potter and Twilight yet all these shows have prominently white European casts. Times are changing now where we have Disney remakes coming out such as an updated The Little Mermaid featuring a black actress as Ariel. I remember seeing so many videos of little girls being so excited that a Disney princess looked like them and it was so cute. The Snow White remake also features a Hispanic actress as Belle. We are making strides in the right direction but we have a very long way to to go before we can say that we truly appeal to the truest form of representation in our media.
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I think the argument that Ebony is trying to make is that Children’s literature is not attended for children of Black Culture. It does not include our story or the “Truth” and only portrays us to be perceived the way they want. It is almost as if we only come from Slavery and are only resonated with depression, fighting for our lives, dealing with gangs and teenage pregnancy or drugs and etc or we are just not included. On the other hand white individuals are those with the adventures and dealing with the magic and the good lives and have happy endings. It’s like we are reminded of our reality and have to stay focus or don’t deserve to believe in fairytales as they are not meant for us or we will never be able to experience one. Growing up into young adults we are drilled into what we are used to reading and watching no matter what we are actually going through, which then influences the way we act towards the world and ourselves. When she states that there is an “imagination gap” in children’s literature I never thought about that.
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The argument that I feel Ebony is making is how there’s a lack of diversity and representation in children’s books of black as well as other minority groups. That’s gonna ruin children’s identity of themselves because when they’re picking up books and they’re not seeing people like them in the story, they are reading it and beginning to feel bad about themselves. In my experience, I’ve had a student say I wanna be her skin color talking about one of the lighter skinned girls in the classroom. Hearing that really sat with me because the student is four years old and the fact that she’s saying stuff like this so early made me really sad.
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I agree with your argument. It makes children question themselves when they don’t see people that look like them in films and books, especially in a good light.
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As sad as it is that this is our reality, I agree with Thomas’s claim. She speaks to the reality that even in magical stories like Harry Potter, Black and Brown characters are kind of pushed to the side and not in spotlights that showcase the idea that these minorities can be powerful and magical too. I agree with her urge that there must be a change and an increase in diversity for the representation of these minorities for the children interacting with these stories so they feel represented and good about themselves.
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I think the points that Ebony Elizabeth Thomas is making here are a tough reality. There are many historical fiction books that shows the struggle of slavery from Jim Crow to now, but I agree that there aren’t that many books that just show the narrative of exploring magic or if it is a storyline, it’s just stereotypes of the 5 types of Black narratives that are the most prominent. There isn’t a shift away from that to have Black and Brown books that follow the characters imagination. I do agree that all children should have a balance of books, such as imaginative as well historical fiction and realism. Books with a variety of characters and narratives benefit all children because it’s very limiting to just have one perspective that can tend to dominate other stories.
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Ebony Elizabeth Thomas is saying that Black girls deserve to see themselves in cool, magical stories too, not just as side characters, but as heroes. She thinks fantasy and sci-fi should include more voices and stories from people of color, especially Black girls. Her point is that everyone should feel like they belong in these magical worlds, not just the usual types we always see. And yeah, that makes a lot of sense.
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Ebony Elizabeth Thomas is shedding light on the harsh reality of the lack of representation throughout popular media. There is a harsh reality of how these people are truly depicted which is often in forms of belittlement.
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I think Ebony Elizabeth Thomas makes a strong point about how kids’ books and movies often leave out Black and Brown characters, especially in fun or magical stories. Growing up, I loved fantasy like Harry Potter, but I never really saw characters who looked like me. It didn’t seem strange back then because it was so normal to only see white characters, but looking back, it’s clear how that can make kids feel invisible.
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We need more representation in these books of people of color. We need more Black Girl Magic. I remember seeing a young black girl in a picture book and I could not stop reading that book. it’s very important to be able to see yourself in these stories.
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The point she is making is about the lac of representation for black people In media and I definitely agree. I’m only 20 years old and when I was growing up, there were pretty much no black girls like me in the shows I watched. I did notice that has changed drastically in the last couple years and I’m glad the young black girls in my family are growing up with representation.
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I believe the point that ebony was trying to get through to us was that there aren’t that many books from before that were diverse and well represented a community.In this new generation along with new authors we have seen more often that there is more perspectives on cultures and representation.
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