http://www.equaljusticesociety.org/2009/12/share-your-unconscious-bias-stories-with-us/ The Equal Justice Society is a national legal organization focused on restoring Constitutional safeguards against discrimination. Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:25:12 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://www.equaljusticesociety.org/2009/12/share-your-unconscious-bias-stories-with-us/comment-page-1/#comment-1250 Bruce Sun, 14 Feb 2010 04:27:17 +0000 http://www.equaljusticesociety.org/?p=919#comment-1250 The only thing that comes to mind is the extreme media coverage which the case of the Duke lacrosse team received, where similar cases of white strippers (instead of black) being abused by black or white people, received far less attention. That has more to do with how the media treats such events, however. The only thing that comes to mind is the extreme media coverage which the case of the Duke lacrosse team received, where similar cases of white strippers (instead of black) being abused by black or white people, received far less attention. That has more to do with how the media treats such events, however.

]]> http://www.equaljusticesociety.org/2009/12/share-your-unconscious-bias-stories-with-us/comment-page-1/#comment-1175 Kathleen Antonia Fri, 11 Dec 2009 23:21:12 +0000 http://www.equaljusticesociety.org/?p=919#comment-1175 I have been working on this issue for years and like many others who have tried to address bias in The Biz, advances are severely limited by the failure and absence of legal challenges to discriminatory Industry practices. That said, although admirable, I am not certain to what end this project proposal is unique. I think it would be of great benefit for EJS to consult with people actually working and struggling in the Industry to determine where best to expend resources. I.e., there is not an absence of scripts that already address unconscious bias and situations like those listed. For example, the mission of Participant Media - producer of The Kite Runner, The Visitor, The Soloist - is: "to entertain audiences first, then to invite them to participate in making a difference. To facilitate this, Participant creates specific social action campaigns for each film and documentary designed to give a voice to issues that resonate in the films." Participant has developed such scripts, and there is a plethora of media already out there as has been for decades. I guess my question is, by adding more to an already rich supply, "Then what?" I presume the goal is to break down the masses' unconscious biases. If so, I think it is more powerful to create media images of equality than to add more images of discrimination. The choir will enjoy the latter vignettes, but those who need evolution will not be moved. When the greenlighting of projects is regulated by the same employment laws as every other business, then a real dent can be made into perceptions of "other". Otherwise, people will continue to choose -- and have no other choice but -- to be entertained by shows/movies whose characters don't represent the diaspora. I have been working on this issue for years and like many others who have tried to address bias in The Biz, advances are severely limited by the failure and absence of legal challenges to discriminatory Industry practices. That said, although admirable, I am not certain to what end this project proposal is unique. I think it would be of great benefit for EJS to consult with people actually working and struggling in the Industry to determine where best to expend resources. I.e., there is not an absence of scripts that already address unconscious bias and situations like those listed. For example, the mission of Participant Media – producer of The Kite Runner, The Visitor, The Soloist – is: “to entertain audiences first, then to invite them to participate in making a difference. To facilitate this, Participant creates specific social action campaigns for each film and documentary designed to give a voice to issues that resonate in the films.” Participant has developed such scripts, and there is a plethora of media already out there as has been for decades. I guess my question is, by adding more to an already rich supply, “Then what?” I presume the goal is to break down the masses’ unconscious biases. If so, I think it is more powerful to create media images of equality than to add more images of discrimination. The choir will enjoy the latter vignettes, but those who need evolution will not be moved. When the greenlighting of projects is regulated by the same employment laws as every other business, then a real dent can be made into perceptions of “other”. Otherwise, people will continue to choose — and have no other choice but — to be entertained by shows/movies whose characters don’t represent the diaspora.

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