Representation and social transformation

The Artdog Quotes of the Week

How does representation play a role in social transformation? Last week's Monday post explored stereotypes and the power of portrayal. Now let's tackle social transformation.

Make no mistake. Society is always transforming. Social change happens, whether we want it to or not. And individually we can't control how it changes.

No, the creators of content can't change basic facts of human existence. But we can affect how people think about those facts, for well or ill. (This quote-image featuring Ellen DeGeneres is courtesy of FCKH8 on Twitter).

One person's efforts rarely provide a huge pivot point, unless that one person speaks for thousands, and society was ripe for the change. Case in point: #MeToo. That one was way overdue!

What kind of future do you want?

We can't control the changes. But we can affect how things change. 

What kind of future do you want? As creative people, we make art that comments on how things are and how things could be. If you think a more broadly representative world would be more fair and interesting, reflect that in your art.

Subverting the stereotypes

If you think harmful stereotypes should be questioned, treat them like the clichés they are. Turn them inside out. Subvert them. Transform them into something fresh and unexpected and better.

It can take guts to "call people on their stuff" and challenge stereotypes. But artistic integrity demands it. (This quote-image from Rosie Perez is courtesy of The Huffington Post).

That's just basic sound practice--but you're also making a statement by the way you make the transformation.

Please note that this approach requires awareness. Creative people fall into tropes, clichés and stereotyped thinking when they don't recognize them for what they are. We all have unconscious biases. But we owe it to ourselves, our work, and our fans to learn about them and challenge them.

Representation and social transformation

Wider and more diverse representation is essential to the social transformations that I would love to see come about. I have my own ways to portray that, particularly in the stories I write.

Artists need to seize the power of portrayal. (This quote-image from Gina Rodriguez is courtesy of The Huffington Post).

There are as many possible approaches as there are artists. Some, such as those in the Solarpunk movement, seek to portray the benefits of positive future change.

Writers, artists, filmmakers and others with a more dystopic bent often dramatize how badly things can go wrong. Perhaps as a cautionary tale. Or because they're pessimists. Or because conflict is inherent in a dystopic plotline.

Everyone takes an individual path, because each of us has our own unique voice. We must let the world hear our visions, presented from our own perspectives, in our own voices.

What values do you seek to embrace? What negative outcomes do you hope we avoid?

IMAGE CREDITS:

Many thanks to  FCKH8 on Twitter and The Huffington Post for the quote-images in this post.

Design fiction and science fiction

Have you ever heard of design fiction? WALDENLABS' John Robb explains it this way: "Design fiction is a way for designers and artists to visually depict the future in inspiring ways. Typically, design fiction is associated with how technology will change our future." But in my opinion he misses an important aspect of design fiction with this definition.

Robb offers examples of companies that are developing products, and have put together videos to show how those products might be used in the future. He suggested that one by Corning, "A Day Made of Glass," is an excellent example. Check it out here:



It was made in 2011, but it still looks pretty futuristic (except in a few of the ways that women are portrayed--did you catch them? Some are subtle, others quite blatant). What struck me most forcibly however, was how old that "art form" of design fiction by companies making products really is, and how it actually misses the mark if you want to think of it as "art."

Robb conflates corporate "design fiction" with science fiction, pointing to Star Trek's best-known innovations, communicators (leading to the development of cell phones), and glass computers (later realized as touchscreens). SF readers need not look far to point out other innovations first portrayed in science fiction.

Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and his shipmates used an inspiring computer unlike anything the 1960s had seen before. Star Trek wasn't created to sell computers (or cell phones), however.

But corporate design fiction is created for different reasons from those that give birth to science fiction. If you followed my October Images of Interest, you saw several examples of corporate design fiction, especially in regard to kitchens, cars, and houses. They present fascinating glimpses, but they were made primarily as marketing tools, to create brand identity and to sell the companies' products of that day, by association with their futuristic visions.

Science fiction offers a viewpoint, too, of course. Each individual science fiction writer has developed his or her own unique viewpoints (yes, often more than one). But science fiction is not primarily designed to preach, teach, or sell products.

Our wheelhouse, we must always remember, is to shine a light on new thoughts, ideas, and potential problems . . . and also always to entertain, beguile, and if possible, enrich our readers' lives. If those technological wonders we invent in the course of doing that become real someday, well, that's icing on the cake.

IMAGES: Many thanks to Corning via YouTube, for the "A Day Made of Glass" video, and to Subspace Communique for the photo of Mr. Spock and his computer.