April 2020 Spotlight
Spotlights are where I'll be sharing incredible, interesting, or intriguing things I've seen this month.
Lockdown has of course given me a lot more time to watch, read, listen and discover what’s out there. Whilst I had the best intentions pre-pandemic, office hours and commuting on London Underground chewed away at my best hours, leaving me just enough energy to throw my bra off, whip up a stir fry and then pass out half way through a Netflix docu-series about serial killers. Let’s see how my new found wokeness holds up in the new normal.
A topic of conversation that’s been drawing me in lately is representation. Not just the importance of including diverse characters and lifestyles within mainstream media, but actually understanding how to do it properly. So that’s probably why it’s the reoccurring theme throughout all of the things that have grabbed my attention this month…
“Unorthodox”, Netflix series
This Netflix miniseries tells the stunning escape story of a young woman breaking out of her orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn to begin a new life in Berlin. After watching the “making of” the series, I have to say that I really admire the effort the producers made to represent the Hasidic community accurately and with so much sensitivity. It’s so rare - especially in mainstream media - to see authentic portrayals of other cultures that don’t play into stereotypes Western societies impose on them (I cannot tell you how many times I’ve rolled my eyes at Indian sidekicks in television series who have had to FAKE a thick accent - ruuuuude and racist.)
But with Unorthodox, you can see and feel the difference that having real representation behind the camera can make. So it’s really something that needs to happen more often if the advertising and film industries actually do want to “diversify" their casting.
Love Yo Shelf
Love Yo Shelf is a blog run by two college students - Lauren and Orianna - who are trying to encourage people to “love their shelves and themselves” by sharing reviews and recommendations on books that champion positive representation of traditionally marginalised folk.
Did you know only 4% of children’s books included characters from black, asian, or minority ethnic backgrounds in 2018? What is THAT about?! How can the next generation of badass brownies grow up to be strong, self-assured and proud of who they are if they’re not seeing their culture or their lives reflected in what they read and watch? And how do we expect children from white and privileged backgrounds to be more compassionate and understanding towards those from diverse backgrounds if we don’t normalise including them within books and television?
That’s why it’s so important for me to celebrate and share platforms like Love Yo Shelf. To help get the word out about all the incredible stories and amazing authors out there trying to change this.
“I Weigh with Jameela Jamil”
Jameela Jamil. What a woman. Whether it’s dragging celebs for promoting detox-teas, petitioning for Instagram to stop advertising diet supplements to minors, fighting anti-abortion legislations, or starting a body positivity movement on social media, Jameela Jamil is always up to something amazing. That movement - I Weigh - has recently turned into a podcast, and Jameela uses it to discuss and ask her guests where their value truly lies, AKA “what do they weigh?”.
One of my favourite episodes so far has been her conversation with Reese Witherspoon, where they talk about how little knowledge or discussion there is around hormones and how they can change a woman’s body, and why it’s imperative to have more female representation and leadership within science.
The premise for the entire I Weigh podcast series is so unique and the stories shared are so hilarious, vulnerable and most of all, relatable. It’s definitely worth the listen.
“A Handy Guide to Ramadan”, The Unmistakables
Last year, Proximity London hosted a week-long series of talks, workshops and training for “The Power of Different” - the agency’s platform to discuss and debate the importance of diversity within ad land culture and creative work. That’s where I was first introduced to The Unmistakables.
Everything they’re doing to “make diversity everyone’s business” is just… SO. FRIGGING. REFRESHING. I’ll admit, up until finding them, I used to gag whenever companies tried to boast about their half-arsed efforts to “celebrate diversity and be more approachable to those from B.A.M.E (say it with me now, baaaaaym-uh) backgrounds”. It was usually all talks and surveys. Never action or actual change.
But The Unmistakable’s team really do walk the walk. Like this handy little guide they’ve put together to help brands and agencies better understand Ramadan and what Muslims in Britain actually want from advertising. These are the communities, platform, reports and insights we NEED to be following if we want to create meaningful, diverse work.
I hope something from this list has taken your fancy or inspired you in some way.
In the meantime… Stay safe. Stay sane.