overheard two guys talking about annihilation very loudly in a cafe today. they were discussing how tessa thompson tweeted about paying attention to the film poster and who was featured on it, how she was suggesting you don’t get that kind of cast often. they proceeded to proclaim how that’s not true, and the idea of supporting it opening weekend (which we can’t even do in the uk) just because of its cast, is stupid. they were only gonna support a film if it’s good...
i get it, i really do, i don’t want to watch a crappy film either and we should have that choice, but writing the whole thing, and the conversation around it, off like that is a bit ignorant.
their conversation made me think about privilege, about the privilege they have as young english speaking white men to pick up almost any film in existence and see themselves reflected on screen. they have the privilege to choose, to be really picky about what film they’re going to support and it’s still gonna be something they can relate to, because there they are again on screen. i’m not saying we can’t, as people in general, relate to different stories of different people living different lives because of course we can, but there’s something so special and potentially life changing about really seeing yourself in media.
people of colour, lgbtqai+ people, people with disabilities, older women, people with body types not considered the ‘norm’, they don’t have the luxury of being able to choose at random, because it’s no fun if you never get to see yourself on screen. we spend hours scouring streaming sites for a movie that might not be offensive; maybe we don’t want to be the punchline or the sidekick today, but we most likely can’t find one.
maybe gay men don’t want to watch movies that sexualise them again and again, maybe queer women don’t want to watch themselves die, maybe people who are trans want to see themselves reflected authentically (actually played by someone who understands), and maybe people of colour just want to see themselves presented as something more than a stereotype, and especially ones that can do so much harm.
maybe the fact that it’s absolutely not true that an almost all female cast, and one with multiple women of colour, is something that happens often could sway their reasoning. why do you think those men make such a fuss over films like ghostbusters and oceans 8 if it is. i saw people on twitter who have already seen annihilation talking about how much of a big deal it was to them to see people wearing hijabs just in the background. the background, just seeing themselves exist in the background was that groundbreaking to them.
these people that don’t get to see themselves reflected everywhere, they support a lot of “crappy” movies, tv shows, books, any kind of media, because we don’t have anything else.
so, think before you speak, or maybe try talking to the person who is being reflected, that the film is about, or that’s saying ‘go support this’, and get some clarity before you even think about speaking.
then, maybe let someone else speak anyway.
(and I’ll be supporting annihilation the second it goes on netflix here, no matter what, because it matters to me.)
