racebending.com

RACEBENDING.COM

on Social Media, Activism, and Star Trek

racebending.com

our mission statement

Through organized boycott, education, and

communication with Hollywood representatives, we

encourage studios to create television and film that reflect the true richness of the American people.

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Overview

• Racebending.com: Impact of Media

• Using Social Media in Community Organizing

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What started all this?

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avatar: the last airbender

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children and the media

• meaningful conversations with parents (weekly):

38.5 minutes

• average time spent watching TV (weekly):

1,680 minutes

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children and the media

• prefer watching TV over being with dad (age 4-6):

54%• average time spent in school (per year):

900 hours• average time watching TV (per year):

1500 hours

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do children see race?

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a look at blackface

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what is yellowface?

1. The application of prostheses and/or paint to simulate a crude idea of what “Asians” look like

2. Non-Asian bodies controlling what it means to be Asian on screen and stage [also: whitewashing]

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yellowface: dr. lao

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yellowface: kung fu

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yellowface: rob schneider

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Awareness Test

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Representations in Media

• What are some positive examples you’ve observed of your identity in media? (race, gender, sexuality, etc.)

• What are some negative examples?

• What sort of portrayal have you never seen but would love to see on screen?

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Sometimes Aliens are Brown

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Other Campaigns

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Representations in Media

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Film Leads by the Big Six, 2000-2009

White males, 65.3%

White females,

21.1%

Black males,8.2%

White males

White females

Black males

Black females

Asian males

Asian females

Latino males

Latina females

Native American males

Hawaiian females

Persian males

Multiracial females

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Using Social Mediain Community Organizing

Translating online connections tooffline action

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Questions to Answer

• Why is social media important?• How can social media be used to:

o raise awareness?o foster dialogue about issues?o organize movements?

• How can you use social media?

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What is Social Media?

• Creation and exchange of user-generated content

• Interactive, wide-reaching dialogue• Decentralized, fluid, and immediate

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Examples of Social Media Uses

The basics:

• Sharing• Responding• Collaborating

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Importance of Social Media

Why is social media important?

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Pitfalls of Social Media

• Slacktivism – people with a false impression of activism

– Examples: Iran election on Twitter,

– Online does not translate offline

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Successes of Social Media

What are some examples of successful social media campaigns?

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Donald for Spider-Man

• Twitter campaign by actor Donald Glover.

• Far-reaching impact: Stan Lee gave his approval.

• Failed to get Donald Glover an audition.

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Donald for Spider-Man

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And of course...

Racebending.com!

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How we used Social Media

• Forming a community

o Creating a communal hub• Raising awareness

o Creating a informational hubo .. then sharing it

• Building connectionso Fostering dialogueo Networking

• Organizing a communityo Leveraging membership for mini-campaignso Taking the energy offline

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Birth on LiveJournal

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Inventing the term “Racebending”

• Intersection of race and pop culture

• Unique case where fandom became involved in a socially charged issue

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Formation of Racebending.com

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Awareness: Grassroots Education

• Began at media conventions, informally.

• Presented at college campuses.

• Began holding formal panels at media conventions.

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The Benefits of Fandom

• Reaches people who normally would not become involved in political issues

• Results in a very diverse membership base

• Teaching opportunity for people who are completely unfamiliar with ethnic studies

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Challenges of Fandom

• Entrenched individuals who resist all criticism of their passion

• Supporters often lack a deep understanding of the issues

• Easy to dismiss media as irrelevant

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• Being critical is part of being a fan.

• Thinking deeply about media is fun.

• Even pop culture meant to be mindless can have a social impact.

Fostering Dialogue with Fans

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Leveraging the Membership

• Coordinated followers on Twitter, Facebook, and Livejournal.

• Direct and indirect contact with news organizations got attention.

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Attracting the Press

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What Worked For Us

• Always keep the main message in mind.

• Have a list of talking points, backed by one or two hard-hitting numbers.

• Use transition phrases to avoid sound bytes that damage your message.

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Online to Offline Action

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Live Social Media at Events

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Social Media as an Organizer

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Connecting people

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