Is that the tip of the white perspective?
The past few weeks have been an important moment for the race in America and for the rest of the world. The brutal and unjustified murder of George Floyd not only sparked a wave of global protests, but also mass reflection on the nature of the race and its role in society.
Books like White Fragility and Why I Stop Talking About Races With Whites have skyrocketed the bestseller list as people around the world take a moment to think about it. While blacks have been constantly alerted to their “blackness”, this is the first time for many whites to think about their “white”.
This moment did not come from nowhere, it has been building up slowly for decades. It represents the gradual erosion of the “white perspective”: the prevailing view of Western culture as long as it exists. Looking back at 2020, this can be seen as a turning point when a white view of the world really collapsed and turned into something more diverse.
If you are white, it may be easy not to see how much of the mainstream culture is represented with white eyes, but if you are black or brown, you have fought it all your life. The white perspective is a powerful, unconscious design of the world that is only now really being questioned. A world was created in which superheroes have pale skin, in which the 1960s are seen as a successful decade and in which music without guitars can easily be classified as “urban”.
REMOVE WHITE FILTER
Over the past ten years, more and more black and brown voices have fought their way into places with real cultural influence as writers, music moguls and sports coaches. When they did it, they managed to reshape popular culture and remove the white filter from the world we see.
Shows like Insecure have black writers in the driver's seat and lead to more differentiated representations of blacks. Black characters that are not primarily viewed through the eyes of their white counterpart and that are not necessarily defined by their blackness.
Issa Rae, the show's creator and star, felt she would not break the traditional path of industry. So she created Awkward Black Girl, a YouTube show that drove her to success and earned her an HBO deal. The show was praised for creating a more realistic and non-stereotypical view of black characters.
Black voices have fought their way into places with real cultural influence. When they did it, they managed to reshape popular culture and remove the white filter
Malorie Blackman is the black British writer who created Noughts and Crosses, now a BBC drama series that imagines a world in which Africa colonized Europe. It is part of a series of important works of art that more actively challenge the white perspective and encourage us to think actively about how they shape our views.
We are beginning to accept that there is no immutable law that says black actors have to be cast in “black” roles. The announcement that black actors would take on the roles of Ariel in the Little Mermaid and Hermione Granger in a theater adaptation of Harry Potter was outraged. Hermione was never actually listed as white in the books, most of us only assumed that it was she.
The incredible success of Black Panther (still from the film shown above) cannot be underestimated even as a moment of cultural importance. For the first time, we saw that black superheroes can be on a blockbuster scale. This will be the first generation of black children to grow up with a heroic version of themselves that they can look up to on the big screen. The “Wakanda” hand sign means so much more than just a comic story.
WRITING THE HISTORY BOOKS
One of the most basic ways we can observe this change is by looking at history, especially the age of the European empires. White culture has often viewed these periods unquestionably as periods of great national pride. We are increasingly facing an alternative perspective. While academics and historians play their part, it is often modern cultural voices and institutions that most influence the mainstream.
Here in the Netherlands, the Amsterdam Museum recently decided to end the use of the "golden age" in relation to the 17th century, which was dominated by the Netherlands. Prime Minister Mark Rutte dismissed this as "nonsense", but sparked an important debate in the country.
While academics and historians play their part, it is often modern cultural voices and institutions that most influence the mainstream
The Netherlands is not alone when it comes to revisiting its history books. Over the past few weeks, we've seen statues of slave traders torn down in Britain and Churchill's controversial labeling as racist, which has led to widespread debate and debate.
In the United States, Thomas Jefferson's legacy has undergone a major transition. The author of perhaps the most powerful words in the world on freedom and equality is finally seen as the slave owner that he was. Lin Manuel Mirandas Hamilton played an important role in rewriting this narrative and repositioning one of the most important people in American history.
TIME TO SEE THE WORLD AS IT IS
This moment is a turning point in the race. Here we rightly call for a new measure of measures to combat systemic racism. The culture, creative and media industries need to think about the white of our perspective and take concrete steps to address this.
We Are Pi is a black company (Alex has British-Jamaican heritage), so this has been a personal problem since the agency was founded. We made a documentary to educate people about the true black, gay origins of house music. We made a series that works for black women entrepreneurs, and we fought against racist casting standards. We have just released a new research report that examines the changing rules of society and the end of the white mainstream and perspective.
However, we have a lot more to do and it is important that the burden of these responsibilities is now shared by those of us who are white. It is time for us to really think about our white and the perspective that has given us. To lift the white filter out of our eyes and the work we create and to represent the world as it really is.
We Are Pi's research report, New Society Rules, can be read here. wearepi.com