Best Practices for Ethical Representation

Reflexivity (Planning): Reflexivity is recognizing how our own identity and understanding is embedded in the stories we tell, especially of others. Reflective periods help to make conscious the underlying power dynamics and are a two-fold process. In the timeline, reflexivity is the planning aspect of representation.

First, we need to start by exploring our own bias and unpacking misinformation, misrepresentations, and simplistic or outdated narratives we’ve internalize over time. Examining this can help to reveal larger structures of power within our society—structural racism, discrimination, cultural imperialism— that limit our understanding (or access to understanding) of a marginalized or underrepresented group.

Ask: Questions for Reflexive Representation

What are you wanting to say?
What brought you to this subject? Why do you want to tell this story?
Are you the person who should be telling this story?
What existing knowledge do you have of the topic/particular group?
Where did it come from?
Are you using direct or indirect sources?
How recent is your information?

Explore (Why ask these questions): If all stories are mediated through the lens of the storyteller, then the stories we are told of “others” reveals the level of understanding the storyteller actually possesses about the ‘other’. This understanding is directly influenced by power structures and socio-cultural hierarchies embedded within our society. This is illustrated by French Anthropologist Michel-Rolph Troulliet in his groundbreaking book, Silencing the Past: Power and Production of History. For him stories are the seed of power—whomever controls the narrative holds the power. He argues history is more than just the culmination of stories from the dominant or ‘winning’ side, but it is also the silencing of narratives from
marginalized and oppressed communities that allows power to stay uncontested and knowledge limited overtime. This concept is useful for exploring what information may be missing from our existing understanding because of these power imbalances. What narratives have been silenced and how does those historical erasures alter our current perspective?

An example of this is the HBO docuseries, Exterminate All the Brutes which explores historically silenced narratives from American Slavery and the Native American Genocide and their impacts on our contemporary moment. The link provided offers reading materials, interviews, and advocacy resources.

Secondly, understanding how power influences the stories we are told helps creators be more careful with the stories told of people who hold identities different then our own. Media representations can and do inform audiences’ imagination and perceptions of cultural, religious, and/or social ‘others’ they may be unfamiliar with and with whom they might not ever interact.

Ask: Questions for Power dynamics

As a multinational media conglomerate, what forms of capital and visibility do you have that the groups you are interested in do not have?
How will you represent their identity and story with dignity?
In what ways is harm reduction being incorporated into the overall approach?

Explore (Why Ask the Question): Another aspect of power is accessibility to speak against harmful stereotypes. If misrepresentations go uncontested, they could become resources for others to learn from, and in turn, further said misrepresentations. Because of this, media producers should consider the power and privilege they hold for directly shaping knowledge and public opinion, as well as the resources they have that the groups being representing do not.

“Power is the ability not just to tell the story of another person, but to make it the definitive story of
that person” (Adichie, 2009). Nigerian writer, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, illustrates this
beautifully in her TEDTalk, The Danger of a Single Story.
Religious representation of minority spirituality can be even more nuanced because Western understanding has been so limited and tends to cater to the Christian majority. Anything outside of that majority tends to be misrepresented and viewed as wrong, evil, or dark. An example is the tropes of voodoo: It was banned in Louisiana for being ‘sinister’; its most famous practitioner, Marie LaVeau whose humanitarian work is often erased from the narratives, is depicted in country songs as an evil, ugly woman. It’s most recent representation in Disney’s the Princess and the Frog associate it with bad magic. This becomes extremely harmful when these representations come to speak for the group to audiences. The best way to ensure we are not continuously reproducing harmful tropes is to assess where our information is coming from and learn directly from practitioners of the faith as much as possible. Being conscious of their experiences and inclusive of their perspective are vital components of representation.

Engage: Actions to take to facilitate reflexive approaches

Question your existing perspective of the group you are trying to represent.
Be mindful of the ways certain stories have been purposefully excluded over time and how that may
alter your knowledge.
- Where did this knowledge come from?
Understand the influence you will have on shaping public perception by checking your power and
privilege.
- What resources do you have that the groups your representing do not?
Be willing and open to different and unfamiliar perspectives.

Collaboration/Consultation (Intention): The most ethical way to tell another person’s story is to let them tell it themselves. In the event that you are helping share a narrative of an individual or group who hold identities different than your own, collaboration and consultation are vital to ensuring harm is not done, and representation is nuanced, accurate, and authentic to the multiplicity of lived experiences. It is within this process that your intentions for representation are established, and the intentions should be created and communicated in partnership with those you are representing.

Ask: Questions to ask when working in collaboration with an underrepresented or poorly represented community

What are the overrepresented stories and harmful stereotypes they encounter in the media?
What are the representations they would like to see more of about their community?
What self-representational creative work already exists?

Explore: Combating lack of representation requires dynamic partnerships built through collaboration and inclusive work prioritized throughout the production that is mindful of the lack of visibility that exists.

A helpful example for understanding the depth of collaboration needed to address issues of representation is the Missing and Maligned study of Muslim representation in film. The study examines the lack of visibility and consequential misrepresentations (What’s missing/the silenced narratives). While the study presents the problem, it also offers a Blueprint For Muslim Inclusion actions. This blueprint gives concrete solutions (long, short, and immediate) for improving representation. The blueprint is a great framework for considering practical steps to better representation through collaborative learning and inclusive efforts.

Explore: Understanding how a group has been overrepresented is also an important step for evaluating intentions and to avoid reproducing harmful narratives. An example to think about here is trauma porn—the exploitation of traumatic experiences faced by marginalized groups by others who do not hold that identity for entertainment purposes. Often, trauma porn caters to the majority, does little to nothing for the marginalized individuals whose trauma is being depicted, and tends to invoke savior complexes in the audience instead of celebrating the resilience of the marginalized.

“We need to be more conscious of trauma porn’s creation and consumption, because consistently seeing media where your intersection is being harmed just for people to “sad” or “care” react on Facebook is traumatic in and of itself. We are having to watch ourselves be murdered, raped and/or demonized all for a higher rating on Rotten Tomatoes or IMDB”-Brittany J, The Mighty.
The safest way to avoid falling into trauma porn is to center those whose identity you are representing—from the production process to the audiences you are producing for.
- Barry Jenkins’ The Underground Railroad is an example of media that understands how to portray traumatic experiences with dignity.
- HBOs Watchmen is another great example of portraying traumatic events without victimization and exploitation.

Explore: Building from the examples above, representation is deeper than what is visible on-screen. The presence and perspective of those whose identity is being portrayed should be visible in every element of the production including what happens Off-screen—inclusion in the writing, casting, hiring, technical, set design, public relations, etc.

Those who hold the identity you depicting should be prioritized in the casting selection, as illustrated by the issues of non-Jewish casting for Jewish Stories.
However, having a diverse cast doesn’t mean anything if their character’s identity is written by someone who doesn’t understand it fully or has never experienced it personally. The #WriteInclusion: Tips for Accurate Representation project is a good reference for understanding this. This lack of diversity in the writing stage often reproduces stereotypes by continuously showing an identity as one fixed thing.
- For example, only casting native people to play characters based on their ancestors from the imagination of non-natives continues the “vanishing Indian” paradigm because we don’t get to see them in any other roles that explore their contemporary existence. Native stories are being told by non-natives so often that as a child Cree filmmaker, Neil Diamond, would argue with other kids over who got to be the cowboys when playing cowboys and Indians, without realizing he was the ‘Indian’ being referenced. He explores the disconnect between the ‘Hollywood Indian’ and the experience of Native Americans and indigenous people in the Reel Injun.

Explore: The complex stories you are hoping to tell about a group, are most likely already being told in some medium by that group. Seek out partnerships that elevate community groups, independent filmmakers and media groups, as well as creatives who identify with the topic of interest.

An example of this in action is the award-winning video game Never Alone. It was produced through heavy collaboration and consultation with Iñupiat community elders, visual artists, musicians, and storytellers.

Explore: Facilitate Collaboration

Prioritize conversation and learning—make space for curiosity of differences.
Listen fully to any concerns or hesitations that may arise.
Include multiple perspectives to avoid the spokesperson syndrome—having one person speak on behalf of an entire group is problematic
Be transparent throughout the partnership.
Integrate space for criticism and feedback into the timeline.

Engage: Account for factors that may limit collaboration, feedback gathering, and overall full participation and plan accordingly

Some factors limiting collaboration could be:
- Modes of Communication—do they have access to reliable internet/communication technologies? Is there a language barrier?
- Economic privilege—do they have access to transportation? Do they have a strenuous work schedule that requires availability outside your working hours? Will childcare be provided?

Reciprocity Responsibility (Impact): If collaboration is a partnership, all should be benefiting from it. Reciprocity—giving back to those whose stories you are representing—should be a practice heavily implemented. It is a process to ensure the impact the representation has on those who are being portrayed postproduction is being evaluated thoroughly.

Ask: Questions for Reciprocity
- What ways are you ensuring all who participate in the production are benefiting?
- How is reciprocity being defined?
- How will the representation impact the group AFTER the production has ended?

Explore: Too often, minority groups are mined for their cultural resources (stories, aesthetics, knowledge, etc.) and nothing is attributed in return. In the social sciences, this is known as Scientific Colonialism and has long been critiqued for its lack of ethics. Applying those critiques to media production, we understand true collaboration must benefit all parties and ensure accountability. Reciprocity should be collectively established and the appropriate form agreed upon—gratitude looks different to different people!

Some examples of reciprocity efforts:
- Financial compensation and/or employment
- Investing into the community/supporting initiatives
- Neighborhood Story Project seeks to tell stories of Southern Louisiana by supporting,
  training, and publishing those who live there
- Advocacy efforts
  - The documentary In My Blood It Runs, is an example of an educational resource,and advocacy project aiming to change Australian public-school curricula to be inclusive of Aboriginal narratives and to evaluate the impacts of colonialism within the education system entirely.

Explore: Evaluating the impacts of representation is another step within reciprocity. While the production may have ended, the representation will continuously shape perceptions of those who hold the identity you have portrayed long after the media has been released. Moreover, what has been illustrated throughout this document is that media production is more than the final product, it is the social bonds, cultural nuances, and political undercurrents from which they are born. Ensuring all benefit from the partnership means accountability and acknowledgement of how the representation will affect those elements.

The Mulan Controversy is an example for the need to truly understand the impacts of representation of the experiences of those whose identities are intertwined with production. Having reflexive planning, collaborative intentions, practicing reciprocity and impact evaluation are actions that can be taken to ensure this is avoided.

Explore: A relevant case study for understanding the legacy of damage a media portrayal can do—especially for already marginalized groups—is the 1915 silent film, Birth of A Nation. It’s violent portrayal of freed slaves in the Reconstruction Era of the South was detrimental to Black Americans for generations to come. The film, praised for its technological innovations, was screened at the White House, sparked a nationwide resurgence of the KKK, inspired violent attacks on BIPOC, and established damaging stereotypes of Black Americans on screen. While there were Black filmmakers at the time producing films that spoke against these stereotypes, such as Oscar Micheaux’s The Symbol of the Unconquered (1920), their films lacked the resources and social capital (only shown in theatres catering to Black audiences) to reduce the damage done by Birth of a Nation.

Engage: Practice Reciprocity

Understand the importance of giving back to those whose stories you are telling.
Build trust, transparency, and respect by ensuring the collaborative efforts will be beneficial for all involved.
Have open and honest conversations about what is most valuable within the partnership.
Define collectively what forms of reciprocity are most appropriate.
- What is most needed?
  - Employment, financial compensation, community support, advocacy, all theabove?
Evaluate the impacts of the representation after production.
- Her Appalachia is a companion piece to the 2018 documentary hillbilly that seeks to evaluate media archetypes of Appalachian women and understand the film’s influence in alleviating them. It is a great example for evaluating how the representation will continue to shape public perception as well as how to create space for self-representation to be expressed after the production has ended.