Taking things apart - The dangers of cultural approbation, perceived white privilege and the Aryan myth

I have thought this topic through many times, over and over again and decided to write about it here. It is not TV related strictly but it's related to culture and racism. The opinions expressed here belong solely to me and are 100% my own.

I am a Nordic and one of the things I love about it is my the culture that comes with it, especially the Nordic Mythology. The mythology is an integral part of the societal fabric here, it permeates every part of my society and culture and it is very important to us, historically and culturally. It is heritage that we are proud of and work hard to cherish and teach children about as a part of our national identity and culture.
That is why, simply put, a movie like Thor annoys me to the ends of earth.

I mean, isn't a good idea to take a god from Nordic mythology, which has been written about preserved and is a very important cultural icon, and do a little Hollywood magic and Americanizing him in order to serve him to the public? I mean why go for the original sources, when Marvel has provided an "excellent" source of historically inaccurate and demeaning information and misrepresenting and entire Northern-European culture? The answer should be pretty clear!

That's why, Scandinavia raised its collective eyebrow while we stood by and watched Hollywood eagerly taking Thor apart and putting it together - making sure it was as sickly American stereotypical as possible. I mean of course, a Nordic God will return to America, right, speak English, wear metallic clothes and be an American? Assuming that somehow overnight a Nordic god that has 'existed' (been written about) for thousands of years and comes from a very influential mythology will somehow become American overnight of course.

So, yeah - I was pretty annoyed by the movie and I have yet to meet a Nordic person that took it seriously. It felt like an approbation and diminishing view of our culture. Nordic Mythology provides many beautiful and extraordinary things to work with in a creative manner. It is absolute dream material to work with if it is done right. Going for the Marvel version therefore just seemed awfully naive to me. To somehow make the entire mythology a Hollywood glamour package, entirely ignoring the cultural factors beneath it and the fact that this mythology is extremely important to Northern-Europeans is just so bad.

But what scared me most about this was one thing. I found news online that a conservative white supremacist group was boycotting the movie and making a fuss as a British black actor was playing Heimdallr. Heimdallr is described as having been 'the whitest of white' among the gods and in the middle-ages it would have meant he was white. Nordics are by origin ethnically white. As simple as that, much as any god in an Ethiopia for example would have had black skin. But that is not the point.
The point is at that the white supremacist group was working under an extremely dangerous assumption which originated with Hitler. That somehow white people were above other races, Nordic people were seen to be a prime example of the perfect Aryan. It is ironic and terrible at that was what saved the Nordic countries from suffering too much loss. This highly dangerous assumption that we were somehow above others because of our heritage and skin. That our culture was better and more prestigious. This is a legend that still haunts us to day, it makes people queasy just thinking about it. This thinking is what caused the terrorist attack in Utoya in 2011.
Nordic people are no better or worse than anyone else and our skin color should never make us privy to others or above them. To assume otherwise is extremely dangerous.

What I want to say is this: Nordic mythology does not belong to Hollywood or Marvel. That much is certain. But more importantly, Nordic mythology does not belong to white supremacist group that want to claim is as their own, claim as cut above other cultures and inaccessible to people based on their skin color and race. Because it is not theirs. Nordic mythology and culture is open to the interpretation and love of anyone, anywhere in the world  irrespective of race or origin- as long as the person approaches it with respect and care, just like one should approach any culture. Nordic mythology originated in the Nordic countries and is our heritage, culture and history. But anyone can fall in love with it and anyone should.
Just not the Hollywood/Marvel version and not the dangerous perceived idea that wrecked Europe.

European stereotypes on TV - reflection on being European

This has been on my mind somewhat for the past few days. I have been doing a lot of thinking about stereotypes and racism in media and how it intersects with racial issues and prejudice in general. I might be wrong but the conclusion I have arrived at is at that when people of racial minority (other races than white in American/European media) are mocked in media it is a case of racism, when minority groups such as women, LGBT, Muslim, Jewish, single parents, immigrants are mocked it is a case of prejudice. In both cases, stereotypes are generously involved. But in these two groups racial issues and minority issues intersect.

But it got me thinking, in cases of white people being mocked in media, what is then used? Because that does happen - there are times when I watch TV when I feel like grinding my teeth which the stereotypes that are being used. In such cases, the focus of the mockery often becomes perceived stereotypical notions of people based on their nationality and background.

Before I am going to have someone throw torches at me for writing about this, I'd like to point out this is something that does happen. As I focus on American media here, my specific annoyance arises from the way in which Europeans are often portrayed on TV. Yes, I am aware that Europeans are generally perceived to be the most economically advantaged people in the world and they do have certain racial privileges based on the fact that they are Caucasian and the culture is considered 'better' than culture in other parts of the world. But that has not stopped great poverty from arising, economical disasters from happening Europeans from hating each other and employing genocide as a vehicle to get rid of people that are in some way 'wrong' (concentrated within Europe) and attempting to take over the world with disastrous results. European history and communication is in short, a complete and utter mess. I am proud to be European but at the same time, it feels conflicting. I love where I come from but at the same time I get so angry when I realize how badly people have been treated here and the incredible extent of the damage Europeans have done throughout the world. The continent is a royal mess. But despite the complicated mess there are some incredible and delightful things in between and little secrets to discover and respect. Europe is a mess but there are jewels hidden in between. Not to mention one important thing - Europe is an entire continent with 48 countries and millions of people; that naturally leads to great diversity of culture and religions so there is no one European identity, instead there are many. My Nordic view is but one of millions.

Therefore, I so much dislike it when I see all the stereotypes that are being used of Europeans, especially in regards to sensitive cultural matters, behavior and history. There is no middle ground. Either, Western-Europeans are portrayed as being the cream of the crop and the world's coolest people that come from a superb culture and speak with  British aceent. Or the other way, all Europeans (no matter where they come from) are portrayed as being mad hooligans. In both cases in terms of stereotypes. Not all Europeans are mad hooligans and in no way are Western-Europeans the cream of the crop. I especially as people to take notice of the fact that I refer specifically to Western European countries, namely U.K., Ireland, France, Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland. The rest of Europeans are represented by employing offensive stereotypes. Northern-Europeans are either superbly sexy Vikings or serious country bumpkins with no knowledge of the world, Southern-Europeans are all sexy and exotic and ride on scooters saying 'ciao' and Eastern-Europeans are just plain mad with thick and heavy accents and are all communists. Oh, and either all Europeans speak with a British accent, with an Eastern-European accent or speak no English at all. I find that hilarious.

So why am I covering this? I am looking at you NCIS:Los Angeles and your senseless use of the 'mad' Russian stereotype, along with some French and German thrown in just for the heck of it. NCIS and Castle have largely escaped employing those stereotypes but NCIS:LA seems to have the personal agenda of employing as many stereotypes as possible of Europeans (I have covered this in some detail). As I have stated in another blog-post, NCIS:LA has blessedly so far restrained itself from employing Northern/Southern European stereotypes and will hopefully continue to do so. But it sure keeps the material coming and keeps my teeth grinding with annoyance. But NCIS:LA is not the only show to blame, tons of shows employ stereotypes with glee.

I know many will argue that using stereotypes of white people is not bad as they are not a minority in any way and I am fretting over little things. And in a way I am. But as someone that dislikes stereotypes more than anything this is something I want to bring attention to.

And to end this - I have just complained of how American media uses stereotypes of Europeans. We have tons of stereotypes of Americans here in Europe which we employ with glee pretty much every day. So it goes both ways. 

Exploring racism on TV - the challenges of approaching the subject as a Caucasian European

As I have made abundantly clear here I am a Scandinavian through and through. And what does that mean? It means I am of Nordic descent, am lucky enough to live in this beautiful and eccentric place, am a proud and conflicted European, live and breathe Nordic culture on a daily basis and am an ardent Nordic girl; and I am white. I have a very fair skin-tone, blue eyes and light brown hair. I am pretty much the epitome of a Scandinavian woman - except for the sexy factor (I fail miserably in that degree). As far as I know, my family hails from some of the most isolated places in Scandinavia so the possibility of me having any other race than white in my family is pretty much non-existent. I am about as white as they come. Ethnically and culturally speaking.

This places me in a very privileged group of people in terms of many things. While my own experience, as well as the experience of other people in my country, the history of my country and my ancestors does not necessarily always reflect that advantage, white privilege is a fact and it exists. As someone that has grown up in a predominantly white society and comes from a country which was steeped in poverty until into the 20th century - it took me some time to discover white privilege and recognize it within my own scope of experience. I could see it within the scope of experience of other people - particularly in America and Britain but it did not apply to my own experience. I have spent much time studying and reading about racial relations, racial stereotypes, racism, racial history - you name it, I have looked into it. I consider myself to be fairly enlightened on the subject but that does not mean I know it all or that I am perfect - my views and opinions are challenged every day and I am continually discovering how limited my own view of the subject still is. I study racism from outside. I study as someone that comes from a privileged race but because of historical background and culture, white privilege and racism are concepts I approach differently. In my country, there is racism but its roots do not lie so deep or are of such historical significance as they are in America. When studying my own history, I study the history of white people that lived and made their lives in dire poverty.

So as I approach the subject of racism in TV and view it through my lens - I find it challenges me. I need to be on my toes and learn more and more in order to approach the subject with respect and sensitivity. I will be looking into racism in TV over the course of September. This explanation here is to show the approach I naturally bring to the subject and how it influences me.

Sympathy and empathy have nothing to do with race - an angry outburst about racism

One of the things media and news outlets are horrifyingly good at is deciding what people are worthy to be written about and who not. One of the most tragic things about media is the fact that when a Caucasian person dies, is kidnapped, has an accident, survives, has a heroic story; the media is careful to report on it and give it much coverage. Whenever something happens to a Caucasian person the media is all over it When the same happens to a person of other races the media does not care nearly as much. The coverage is much less and interest in reporting on the case fades quickly.

This makes me want to scream. The way the media reports on people based on their skin color. The lighter the better. The darker you are, the less you matter. Sorry, but the media only cares about the white. It is hypocrisy at its worst and I HATE it.

But there is one thing I also hate. When people decide not to care about news or what has happen abroad in the world or bad accidents based on skin color. Because many people are guilty of the same hypocrisy. They do not care about others unless the people are the same race as themselves. This can apply anywhere.
BUT, that does not mean everyone reacts to news like that. It is not as if all Caucasian people care only about Caucasians, All black people care only about black, all Hispanic people care only about Hispanics, All Asians care only about Asians and all native/indigenous people care only about indigenous people. So we have created a nice stereotype that states that people only care about others that are of their same race, the rest does not matter one bit.

The world is more complicated than that and human nature is as well. People all over the world love, respect and have sympathy for other people irregardless of their skin color and ethnicity. They react to sad news from all over the world with sympathy and respect and express condolences and offer support. They are aware of the media bias and fight back.

So it makes my blood boil when I read blogs from people that state they don't care or will not offer their sympathy for other accidents or terror attacks where white people are involved. They will not do it because the media/people do not care about when people of other races die.

It makes me wonder whether people watched the terrorist events in Norway in 2011 and decided 'Nah, Norwegians are mostly white so I don't care'. Or whether people watched the collapse of the factory building in Bangladesh and decided 'Nah, they're brown, I do not care'. Because, people's death only matters based on their skin color.

Can I just scream?!

First of all, all shootings, terrorist attacks, accidents, natural disasters warrant our sympathy no matter where they happen or who was involved. A persons life is worth so much and they are so loved no matter where in the world you go. When a person is shot or killed it is always a tragic, horrifying event. The same applies for any person that inhabits this planet. Race has nothing to do with the tragedy of losing a human life. Every human death that is unnecessary and uncalled for is tragic and deserves our sympathy. Every human life is worth the same, irrespective of what the media blasts out.

You see, I am white so I shouldn't care. I should only care about white people and what happens to them.  Because some stereotype has decided that I, because I am white, care only about people that share the same skin color. And I should not notice the media bias because of course white people matter more than brown or black. Except I do not. So excuse me if the Bangladesh victims are on my mind. Excuse that I cannot forget Rehtaeh Parsons or Audrey Potts. Excuse if the death of Trayvon Martin still affects me.

People all over the world are sorry that they do not apply to that neat little stereotype. They are sorry that they see beyond skin color and race and care about people because they exist, because they are alive and have the same right as everyone else.

Except, no one is ever going to apologize. Because this is a fundamental step towards reaching a more equal world. Loving and caring for others is what makes us human.

Racial problems and racial tension is very prevalent and affect our society. But if we are going to continue this charade we are never going to get anywhere. We will never reach a world where races can live together in harmony and respect if we continue deciding that our sympathy only lies with people of our race. Sympathy, empathy, respect, outreach and love are the tools we need to care for and about each other and reach a better world without racism.

When media manages to point out racial problems with humor

Racial matters are something that concerns both me and those I know and we try our best to navigate racial issues with sensitivity and respect. Racial issues are not a very big where I live and in general, racial integration has generally gone well here in Scandinavia, Scandinavian countries now have multicultural and ethnic societies that work peacefully and people live together in harmony. It is one of our greatest source of pride. I am not saying that there aren't problems because there certainly are. Racism exists everywhere and it's a challenge to battle it. Scandinavia is no exception when it comes to racism. I regularly feel like hitting my head against a wall about the things that go on here. But on the whole things have been positive here and people are accepted.

But that does not change the fact that racial matters need to be discussed, pointed out and people need to be aware of how they influence our daily lives and society. And most importantly, how we can battle against racism. One of my personal favorite ways of pointing out and dealing with racial matters is through humor. Humor can manage to be socially aware and point out racial issues without being disrespectful or insensitive. It is a fine balance and requires great care but it can be managed. It provides not only humor but shows also valid concern.

My personal favorite videos that deal with racial matters are the following

Key and Peele - I LOVE them! They are so funny and always make me laugh. I appreciate how their comedy deals with sensitive issues in a humorous but socially criticizing manner. They provide both laughter and food for thought. They are just so incredible and their humor is spot on.
My personal favorite video from them is 'Suburban Zombies'. It made me laugh so hard when I first saw it. I´ve shown it to some friends and we all love it. Watching it leads to discussion about racial matters every time. It is a video that both makes me laugh and reminds me of the absurdity and seriousness that is going on.

Another absolute favorite is the Funny or die video dealing with the immigrant regulation laws in Arkansas and the view toward Hispanics. It also pokes some much needed fun at the need for 'nannies'. It is satire, irony, social criticism all rolled into one delightful package filled with subtext and poking fun at stereotypes. My favorite is America, South-America = Mexico, Africa = Mexico, Asia and Europe = Not Mexico. I laugh every time I watch it but I am also reminded of what people are up against. And it is terrible.

I cannot display the video so CLICK HERE!

Reckless Tortuga has this awesome video which I discovered recently. It is direct in it's criticism and very sarcastic but it makes some excellent points. It's necessary to watch and contemplate.

Racism in Media - Why in the effing does skin color matter?!

Now this post is not strictly TV related but it is media related so I´m letting it pass.

As I have already stated earlier I am a Scandinavian Caucasian with the whole shebang, formerly blond hair which mysteriously turned light brown a few years back, blue eyes and the skin color of a vampire. And because of that, the color of my skin, my race, I am save from racial slurs. Never, ever have I in my entire life encountered racial slurs based on my skin color. Not once.

But if the tables were turned and I was actually African, Hispanic or Asian I would have encountered a lot of racial slurs at my age. I would have been subjected to stereotypial remarks, racial slurs, prejudice and gross conjectures. All because of the color of my skin.

The only difference between me and girls my age that are of different races is the skin color and our looks. Nothing else. Yet, because of my ivory skin color I am safe from racial slurs, from predjudice.
It makes me want to hit my head against the wall that things work like that. Why on earth am I safer just because my skin color is pale? It is obviously not my fault I am white. I am an ethnic Scandinavian so it comes with the territory. But I am no more deserving than others of being safe from racism just because I sport a white skin. It is just my skin color and looks, nothing else.

I hate the fact that because of being  pale/Caucasian/looking like a vampire/having skin that always burns in the sunlight, people enjoy more rights, they are more safe, they get more chances.

The media offers an excellent look at just how prevalent racism is still today. Quvenzhané Wallis was subjected to the c-word. It´d not have happened had she been Caucasian
Amandla Stenberg was subjected to racism as well because of her skin color. People actually tweeted they were turned off by the fact that Rue was meant to be black. It says so in the bloody book! Unless people are color blind and read the word 'white' everywhere instead of 'black'.
Malia Obama was subjected to racism because of a t-shirt she was wearing

This article here on Rookie explains it all Rookie Magazine (click on it!)

Had those girls been white they would not have been subjected to those atrocities  Their skin color determined people's belief of whether they could be talked badly about and subjected to prejudice or not. Because they had dark skin it was deemed okay.

I am flabbergasted and furious that it is our skin color that determines whether it is okay to slander people or not. We all deserve respect and sensitivity IRREGARDLESS OF OUR SKIN COLOR.
I am worth no more and am a no better person because I look like a vampire. What determines my worth and how I should be treated in media (were I a public figure which I am thankfully not) is that I am a person, I am alive. The same goes for those beautiful girls and every single person that is subjected to racism in media. They all deserve it.

Every person deserves to be treated with respect and sensitivity. It is that simple.It is a no-brainer and it is something we all need to be aware of

You cast a minority - you go scott free

One of the things I have noticed about American television shows is that each and everyone of them has exactly, at least one actor of another race than Caucasian. Now that´s a pretty obvious thins, seeing that America is a country with every possible ethnicity and race in the world. And naturally media should reflect that.

But the thing is, that it seems it´s enough for producers to cast only 1 (maybe 2) actors that are of other races than white. If they do so, they are obviously not racist and therefore are hardly (if ever) criticized for the way they handle racial matters. So they go scott-free. However, dare cast a series that has only white actors and you open up a can of worms and suddenly, everyone is allowed to criticize you all the time.

Case in point - Lena Dunham. In her series Girls, there are only white actresses. I have never seen the show (and will not, seeing I am too hooked on police dramas). I am however aware of the controversy and criticizm concerning her casting choices. I am not defending Lena Dunham´s choice of having white actresses only. I strongly favour multi-national/multi-racial media and TV shows should reflect the diversity in the society around us. So yeah, Dunham would have made a wise choice by casting an actress of another race but she didn´t. And that´s her choice.

However, just because she didn´t cast a character of racial minority does not make her a bad person. And it does not give the rest of us permission to slander her in media or criticize her every move. Because, we have no idea of knowing her own opinions or thoughts/ideas on race and racial matters. I am not saying her choice was wise but I despise the fact that this choice of hers suddenly makes people feel like they can talk down everything she does.

I never see the producers of my favourite TV shows (that all have actors of multiple races) being slandered or criticized in media for their choice in how they deal with racial/international ideas. No matter how they treat them (which is 99% of the time very well) they are never criticized. Dunham doesn´t do anything and still she is slandered. And the one case where she doesn´t comment, people automatically assume she is a racist and happily begin ripping her to shreds.

Jezebel - Lena Dunham

The photo was not her fault and she had no idea that the terrible n-word would be used. Yet people start picking a fight with her on twitter (so adult) and when she doesn´t reply people happily assume all sorts of racist and bad ideas about her. Only because she didn´t comment. And to her credit, when she replies, she does it very eloquently.

This frustrates me. People are happy to pick on a person because of her casting choices for her show but no one ever criticizes those producers whose show has at least one person of another race. Never mind the fact that in most TV shows, racial minorities are vastly unrepresented and often harmful stereotypes are used. Casting a character of racial minority doesn´t mean people automatically treat racial matters sensitively and with respects. It doesn´t make them innocent. Just like, not casting a person of racial minority, doesn´t necessarily mean that a person is racist and that everything said person does can be interpreted as predjudice and racism. 

Racism pops up anywhere, irrespective of casting choices. 

So can people just lay off Dunham and actually start concentrating on the racial things that really matter. Dunham is not perfect but neither does she deserve the treatment she gets.

I am 100% Caucasian. My family, my ancestors, all my friends are Caucasian. I live in a country which was, until the 1980´s predominantly Caucasian. That does NOT make me a racist. My thoughts and opinions are influenced my race but they are also my own, irrespective of my race.

Shades - how brown/white are you exactly?

One of the things I have become a lot more educated about this past year is racial issues, particularly in media. It´s quite a complicated and sensitive thing but, it´s also one of the most interesting things I have ever researched and educated myself about. I am a big believer in doing research and forming one´s own opinions of things and investigating things has not only given me a lot to think about but also encouraged me to view things differently.

My own race is Caucasian. I am an ethnic Scandinavian, and as far as I know, I only have white people as ancestors. If you find that strange, allow me to explain. As far back as I know my ancestors all came from extremely isolated areas of Scandinavia and in all cases their family had been there for decades. You don´t exactly get much racial mixing in such circumstances. So my own skin color resembles that of a Vampire and I am never ever underrepresented in media. So when I look at racial matters in media I look at them as a white Scandinavian. And I find each and everyday that my views are challenged and I need to rethink things.

One of the things that has been on my mind lately is the frustrating difficulty of defining people by skin color. I honestly use the simple method of white, black and brown to refer to skin colors. It doesn´t matter one bit to me how dark/light people are although I of course notice it. So I feel my head spinning when I see people judging others on the exact shade of their skintone.

Recently I read articles in which people were complaining that Obama wasn´t outspoken enough about the white side of his family. It´s common knowledge that Obama is mixed race and in 2008 when he was running for president he was outspoken about his past and background and had nothing but good things to say about his mother´s side of the family (I read his biography!). After he became president, his focus obviously shifted to the difficult task of running the country. And now, 5 years later, people are apparently mad that he´s "too much concerned with his African-American" heritage. I mean, for crying out loud. The man is African-American and has a beautiful African-American family. It´s obvious to anyone that racism is still rampant in USA and that there is still a long way to go for black and white people to be equal. So naturally, the first black president, will be outspoken about his race and racial matters. It´s because it´s needed. We can´t tackle the problem unless it´s talked about and acknowledged. And that is what Obama is doing.

And then I found this article (I adore the blog by the way) Balancing Jane - Racism is alive and well. Apparently, people were angry because the actress that was cast to play Rue in the Hunger Games film was black! I mean talking about outrage, seriously. The character is described as having a dark skin tone (not a vampire one like mine) so the choice seems obvious. Yet people find the time to tweet and moan about the fact that they are angry because a)the actress is African-american or b)her skin tone isn´t dark enough.

Here you have a beautiful, incredibly talented actress (I loved her in the movie) that happens to be mixed-race. In fact the actress is half American, half-Danish (Scandinavia for the win!). But apparently people see a great deal wrong with her skin tone. They judge her, point-blank, based on nothing but the color of her skin. And there is no middle ground, it´s either too light or too dark. And I am outraged that people allow themselves to say such things about a minor.

Things like this make me want to hit my head against a wall.

Because, racism is rampant when we judge people based on nothing but their skin tone. And this happens in the media where everyone can see. What a wonderful message to send to people:"You are nothing but your skin tone and we will judge you according to that, not the character of your heart".