Mod!Challenge Representing the Underrepresented: A Special Mod-Challenge

Oh @Lady_Misty that's a succinct wrap-up Bites, doesn't it? Your story ideas work well in this challenge.

 

My contribution to the challenge can be found here. It's mainly about how Jedi Master Tahl Uvain learns to live with her blindness after being blinded on the mission to Melida/Daan.

The story contains two chapters and since it's written for the challenge I chose to put both of them in the same post to simplify the reading.

 

My entry is
Keeping It Real

 

Discussion Question # 2: Some have touched on this topic, but let's do a bit more in depth.

Focusing on misrepresentation, what mainstream TV/movie/book/comic etc. totally got something wrong? Why? What media got something right? Specific examples are welcome.


You can still answer Discussion Question 1, and you can find it HERE.

 

Probably not what you are after, but one of the Bourne movies had British transport police using whistles to alert each other at a London train station.

One of my friends on here, used that scene to demonstrate his knowledge of English culture, and when I, with a bit of an unwitting frown, pointed out that our cops have radios, thanks, I never heard from him again.

In televised fiction, and for royal babies, all British female nurses wear uniform dresses; in RL, tunic and trousers are the majority.

 

Honestly, I've never seen an accurate depiction of organ transplantation. One of the worst offenders was Lost. There was a subplot where John Locke's scam artist father conned him out of a kidney. Locke wakes up in the hospital after donating his kidney to dear old dad, asks how dad is doing, and is told he's already been transferred out of the hospital. I have no idea what kind of reputable hospital would let an organ recipient leave the hospital within hours after surgery, when you're being very closely monitored for rejection and kept in isolation to minimize infection. He would have had to put some sort of agreement in place before surgery, because he would not be competent to give those instructions post-op. All in all, this episode made me want to throw things at the TV, as did an episode of Law and Order where Benson and Stabler went in to interview someone who'd just received an organ...yeah, I get that you can't have your actors wearing masks, but it still made me go "NO! You didn't even WASH YOUR HANDS before going into an isolation room!" And they told the organ recipient who her donor was-- a big no. Protocol is that donor families and recipients don't contact one another for a year post transplant (to allow time for grieving...and survivor's guilt, an issue rarely touched on in the media. It can kind of suck knowing the only reason you're alive is because someone else died.) Contact is also done through the transplant registry, because some donor families an recipients don't really want to know details, for the same reason.

 

I might have to do this challenge. There are two areas that I feel very strongly about; I've had two nieces now born with cleft lip/palate, and despite it being one of the most common birth defects, you never see anyone in the mainstream media with a cleft lip/palate. The other is people who are hard of hearing and/or deaf. My mother is hard of hearing but no one can tell because she learned to read lips from a young age. I'm just now teaching her sign language. Deaf/ HOH people are fairly well represented, but mostly it's member of the deaf community who have grown up deaf in a hearing world or deaf with deaf parents. You hardly see anyone gaining a disability later in life, or waiting until they're well into adulthood to pick up a new form of communication.

I hope I'm not too late, but I'd love to write an OC with either one of these for the challenge.

 

@Raissa Baiard - there was that infamous incident of a cop arresting a nurse for following hospital rules, so there are RL instances of law enforcement not particularly giving two ***** about medical exigencies.

Same with airport security requiring diabetic patients to take shoes and socks off to walk on filthy floors, regardless of the dangers.

 

Off the top of my head, I honestly can't think of very many specific examples of misrepresentations. I know there are MANY, MANY out there, but I'm drawing a blank. Possibly because often, when a work gets so it wrong I will just stop watching and forget about it (thus not giving it my viewership, for example, it was brought up during the last discussion but the premise of the show 13 Reasons totally angers me so I will not adding to the viewership numbers - maybe that means I'm prejudging it but that is a totally different discussion). And I think there's an overlap between misrepresenting and under-representing. Like, pregnancy/postpartum is misrepresented in that there are many aspects that are underrepresented, but we kinda talked that in the last discussion.

But, I want to focus on two positive examples of shows that got things right, I can go into depth about, because they are a series I love and a series I just finished.

The West Wing (you all knew this was coming!). Besides being praised as probably the most accurate representation of working in the White House, the show also tackled several things that are normally misrepresented, like PTSD, alcoholism/addiction (specifically being a recovering addict), and disabilities. They were all addressed in very accurate ways and without them overwhelming the storylines. I'll leave some stuff for Mav to touch on if she wants so this isn't to long, but I want to specifically address the two characters with physical disabilities: President Bartlet and Joey Lucas.

Bartlet, one of the main characters, had Relapsing/Remitting MS. This is a disease I'm a bit familiar with (my housemate's dad is about were Bartlet was during the show, and one of my best friend's mother passed away with Secondary-Progressive MS) and the portrayal is very accurate. One of the things I personally appreciate is the level in which it is used in the storyline. When Sorkin was writing the first few episodes, the character didn't have MS, but a few episodes in, Sorkin added it (for long reasons I won't go into), as a result, it actually is only sporadically addressed and it, in the first few seasons, is rarely used as a plot device to physically debilitate the character. When it is brought up as a plot device in the first few seasons, it is more surrounding the fact that he hid this during the campaign and should he run for a second term with a disease that could become progressive. In later seasons, after Sorkin left and the writers were desperate for material, it is brought up more (we see the character using a cane, relapsing) but I think it works since the stress of his job would of course make the disease worse. Themes of pride are brought up, which are very rare in other series with characters with disabilities, and not wanting to concede needing assistance when you are disabled. There's an amazingly acted scene where the character falls in the bathroom after pushing himself too hard and every time I watch it, I'm like, yup, been there. There's also a great scene where he is paralyzed and needs to get off of the plane but its going to be a while before they can get a ramp into place, so he basically says, "Screw this" and gets his bodyman to carry him.

Second (I'm trying not to blabber), Joey Lucas, pollster, one of the most trusted secondary characters, deaf, and just pure sass (and played by Marlee Matlin). She uses ASL and an interpreter (except for when she's pissed off) so her disability is every scene and is addressed but it is never really plays a part in the storyline.


Also, I just finished the 5th season of Brooklyn Nine-Nine and it's a show that doesn't take itself seriously, but it's representation of LGBQ+ characters is so refreshing. One of the main characters, Captain Holt, is gay, but completely throws all stereotypes out the window. His sexuality is addressed, but rarely as part of the plot, and when it is used, it is often the discrimination he has faced as a openly gay, black, police officer. His husband makes appearances but it is a really normal relationship with normal problems. Another character comes out as bi in the 5th season and it's addressed, and the confusion from her family is depicted, but the other characters just accept it, support her, and move on.

I can go into depictions of my own disability if people are interested, but I don't really have a ton of time to sit down and write a huge essay (though I could).

Deaf theatre and ASL movies are a decent sized industry, which is why, I think deafness/hard of hearing is fairly well represented in mainstream media (as compared to other disabilities). But your story makes me think of an example from Switched at Birth. (This is going to be short as my own disability is being exasperated) but the TV series, as over-the-top dramatic as it is (particularly in later seasons), does an excellent job showing aspects of deaf culture, including learning ASL later in life.

But you are not too late to submit something for the reading list. The due date is August 1.

This itself might be a bit of a misconception. This is only an issue when the person has peripheral neuropathy, which not all diabetics do. I agree it is a problem in real life and on TV when authorities disregard medical protocol to make their jobs easier.

 

While I certainly see misconceptions all the time, I’m going to focus on a few things that were done really well. Like Bri, I could go on and on, but I’ll try not to.

The first I want to address is from the show The Magicians. It does a LOT right, but two things in particular. The main character (in as much as you can have a main character in an ensemble) is bisexual. It’s never been discussed or been used as a plot device other than the character has been in relationships with women and men. It's just a part of him and they've not shyed away from it.

But the bigger thing they do right is a depiction of depression. The first time we meet that character, it’s at a hospital where he’d been admitted for depression. Soon in the first episode he learns he’s a magician and someone in charge tells him he never has to worry about depression again. I was thinking “great, it’s a plot device and they’ll never bring it up again”, but the guy that told him that (and consequently me) were wrong. It’s come up quite a few times, it didn’t just go away.

They used it as the best visual of depression I’ve ever seen. In the most recent season he gets a hold of a magical key they name the depression key because it basically causes that. Once he touched it he saw a vision of himself that was so disparaging and cruel. It was telling him he was awful at everything, he was ugly, he couldn’t help his friends, he’d never finish his quest, he was useless. It was unrelenting and no matter what he did or where he went, this version of himself was talking to him and no one else could see it. I wish I could put in a clip, but it’s got too many disallowed words. But it was haunting and beautiful in a way, because it made depression visual and in a way that maybe people could understand.



I’m also going to second Bri saying The West Wing. I was going to point out Joey Lucas because I love Marlee Matlin (who shows up on The Magicians, btw) and how they treat her character, but Bri did a great job, so I won't go into it.

But I agree with her that their depiction on PTSD (which never was a huge plot point out side of one episode, but it never went away either and was subtly played until the end) and of addiction. The character of Leo McGarry was an alcoholic and there were several times he talked about it in such a meaningful way but THIS is where I think he really explains it so that other people might understand. It's always a part of the character, even when it's not overtly stated.

I find with medical things, it's best to just not to expect things to be ultra realistic or you'll drive yourself nuts. Shows like ER and House didn't do too bad of a job, though there was certainly some creative license taken. But House did do an episode with a girl who had a heart transplant and really bad allergies and IIRC they did a decent job.

 

On the airport one, I am aware of only one real case, a British tourist "in danger of losing his feet" and "on the most powerful anti-biotics" in hospital in Spain or one of its' islands, because he had been forced to go bare foot, despite his tearful protests, flying out of the UK's Heathrow Airport.
I never saw a follow-up, so have no idea how he is doing, but it looked pretty dire.

On PTSD, while I have no idea on the accuracy, I did like how Iron Man 3 addressed some that Tony Stark suffered following his wormhole trip in Avengers.
At least one reviewer of Infinity War, thinks that the same feeds into his behaviour here, and an expectation that Thanos would be coming, and had been haunting his nightmares.

 

On what they got right: I read a book ( fiction) a few months back which looked at schizophrenia: “Challenger Deep” by Neal Schusterman. It was a fascinating story with very compelling character, and you really felt for the struggles of the character. The author’s own son was dealing with schizophrenia. I have read that it is a very accurate portrayal of the disoriented, untethered state that the schizophrenic person finds their self in.

 

I wanted to do something about dyslexia and Vader, but then then I had another idea when I stumbled upon an interview that Peter Dinklage gave a long time ago. Here is my fanfic for the challenge.

 

I hope it is also okay, when I stuck with my original plan: the dyslexic Vader.

 

Heaven help me:
http://boards.theforce.net/threads/force-a-wit-y’-under-represented-mod-challenge.50049558/

 

My entry has been delayed by an unrelated plot bunny that bit hard at the weekend.

I am torn between basing the Appalatian fic in the US, or inserting them into Infinity War.

Edit: @mavjade - reading through your presentation of the subject, does that mean that I can get away without using Appalachian English, but having characters from the area, or basing the fic in the area is enough?

 

Misinterpretation is a huge issue for me. I feel obliged to show the way it works and how much it hurts. And some things are just too much. I get so much poodoo whatever I do.

Thirty-one years ago, there was this controversial psychological thriller, where Glenn Close's character does a bunch of horrible things and one of them stands out. The character was misinterpreted as one from my tribe of misfits, while newer analyses mostly type her as a psychopath and/or an erotomaniac instead. Those are different conditions, people. Borderlines are more likely to harm themselves than others. I have not done anything since late July 2016 when a friend threatened to come to my home with her husband and beat me up...and I cried violently on the floor and cut about 10 cm of my hair. But I know people who do it every day.

Here are some good articles:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/...new-borderline-personality-disorder-in-cinema
http://www.mindingtherapy.com/another-look-fatal-attraction/

But does that make people change their minds? No, they will google BPD and "bunny boiler" will be a related term.

So, no matter how much I try to feel like a person with valid emotions, I cannot. It's over. If I need to be a misrepresentation of a bunch of us whose inner turmoil is consistent and being reduced to a psychopath in the making.

I guess I'll write about BPD + depression, in addition to the story about blaming an entire species for what a group of their leaders have done.

Life is hell sometimes. But some live in hell, we just change from one circle to another, up to 78789579978 times per day. O_O

 

Sorry, it didn't alert me and I missed this.
You certainly could. I'm from Appalachia and most people don't know it because I don't sound like it. I had a teacher in high school argue with me about being from West Virginia, he was convinced that I wasn't. But that was a conscious effort on my part to not speak that way, though every now and then I say something and people look at me like I've lost it and I know I've said something that was from that area no one else says. (Example: The time at work I said " Woah, it's pourin' the rain out there." everyone stopped and gave me quite the look.)

 

My goodness, that is judgmental as heck!

A nice response, though, as the rain example helps me out.

 

Quick question. I'm brand new here (well, had a login to these forums before, but it's been so long ago I don't even have the email address I that I used to sign up back then, not even sure which one it was, but it's not my current one that I've had for 13 years, lol)

I have a story that fits this topic, but it's an already written story. However, I've never posted it anywhere, and it's by no means a multi-chapter epic, only 7k words. Will it be ok to submit?

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

Have you reda the 'Silver John' stories by Manly Wade Wellman? If so, what did you think? If not, I would suggest taking a look at them.

Most of the above mentioned series is written in Appalachian dialect and it is suposed to be a rather good representation, if probobly old fashion by now, of that way of speaking. TMU

 

Welcome (back)!!
If it's not been posted anywhere then I think it's fine to be used for this challenge.

I haven't, but I'll have to check them out. They sound interesting!

 

My submission:
http://boards.theforce.net/threads/...eventually-will-be-part-of-a-series.50049635/

Destiny / Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, OC / (eventually will be part of a series)

The story contains an underrepresented culture (which in Star Wars becomes an underrepresented race) and their life experiences.

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Okay-dokey, so I am researching the Appalachian area, as well as West Virginia, in an effort to make it feel familiar to mavjade.

For several days, I was wondering if there were mountains visible from the area, and have now ID'd the Allegheny Mountain range, that goes down the entire eastern border of the state, and holds the Monongahela National Forest.