I thought this podcast was really interesting and last semester in LDST 101 we touched on the representation in Hollywood for a bit. We watched Just Mercy and talked about how Hidden Figures was considered to be a “niche” movie yet had to be upgraded to the larger movie theatres because everybody loved it. I never knew this before last semester because I just assumed that everyone loved Hidden Figures from when it first premiered. However this gave me hope that audiences put biases or grudges aside in terms of seeing black women in science fields on the big screen and actually fell in love with the story. I think this says a lot about where our society is currently headed that even though the systemic things in place- Hollywood, Google, Facebook, Pandora, etc- who are trying to cater to white audiences are being persuaded by the people themselves to change their ways and to be better. It is pretty cool when you really think about it.
Further, I found the end part of the podcast super interesting about people increasing exposure to change their implicit biases by trying new foods and listening or watching to different types of things. This made me reflect on how I basically eat and listen to the same types of stimuli on a daily bases and that I want to and definitely should start branching out more and trying new things. I sometimes branch out and listen to older styles of music, however I really want to start expanding my palate and watching international movies or TV shows. I used to watch this German show called Dark and I absolutely loved it so maybe I will go back to watching it! I can’t wait to explore more of this when I go abroad in Copenhagen next fall!!
I never knew that Hidden Figures was originally considered to be a “niche” movie. I am glad it had the success that it did and was able to combat that assumption, but it is definitely frustrating to see how the use of racial biases diminished what people thought the movie was worth, or how popular it had the potential to be.
It is really sad to hear that a movie that I thought was made for big box offices and showed powerful, diverse women was originally meant as a movie in a “niche” category, especially since Hidden Figures is such an influential and important storyline. It’s also great to hear that you want to try to branch out and”expanding your palette”. I have a very diverse family from around the world which led me to try a certain amount of new things/exposed me to new cultures, and also because of the diverse high school I went to, I was exposed to so many different cultures that I did not know much about, so Dr.Bezios point about exposure leading to less implicit bias is a point I completley agree with.
Exposing yourself to different cultures is honestly a life skill. For example, food is something we don’t really think about at all, but it is one of the most important qualities that is connected with culture. Just trying new foods, not only physically forces you to experience a different culture, but it reveals to you a new and different perspective of the world.