the whole “fiction doesn’t affect reality” argument is actually kinda racist…

people talk about like how finding nemo and jaws are great examples but nobody ever talks about how fiction has shaped our perceptions of different racial and ethnic groups

like do you think the media has no hand in why alot of ignorant white people think africa is a desertland and not a continent of different countries, full of rich and diverse cultures, beautiful buildings and riches? or why they think asia is only japan, korea and china? when asia is also india, bhutan, the Philippines, nepal, etc?

do you think that media and fiction hasnt allowed whites to view black people as ignorant and lazy thru cartoons and minstrel shows?

like if you really think what youre seeing on tv doesnt affect reality and how people think then like. you must be fuckin stupid.

there are several studies which prove this by the way. like how black children (and white girls) self esteem is negatively impacted by media.  

studies show our perception about asian americans, and their perceptions of themselves are impacted by media.

there are harmful psychological effects on native americans thanks to sports mascots. 

stereotypes of latino/latina/latines in media have - you guessed it - harmful effects - including political ones 

how about how inaccurate race and poverty images in the news effect our views on welfare?

positive images of disability effect disabled people positively, where as negative images effect them negatively 

the availability of GLB roles on TV positively impacts the gay community

and i honestly i could go on and on and on and on 

i know i know water is wet, all these studies to tell you what common sense could. but like … there is very real research out there that shows fiction has a very real harmful impact on minority communities. and that positive representation has a positive effect on these communities. 

so no. fiction is never just fiction. and frankly people who think fiction is just fiction can fuck off.  

Wait this version is better.

i’m sick of western media. sick of indian characters only being portrayed as geeky. sick of pakistani characters being portrayed as terrorists. sick of there being absolutely no nepalese, sri lankan or bangladeshi characters at all. sick of brown people, especially women, being constantly overlooked and trivialised by western media. we matter too.