This workshop will be a combination of theory exploration, interactive activities, and group discussions.

Media theory, the theory of invisibility, and misrepresentation of people of color are the base of the theory exploration portion of our workshop. We will discuss dominant narratives: what dominant narratives are, how they function in society, how they present themselves in popular media, and the problems they present/represent. With this, we’ll discuss two types of representation that cause harm: a lack of representation, and negative representation (either playing on stereotypes, only talking about a certain subgroup of a community, etc.).

For the interactive portion of the presentation, we will pose questions for the participants to reflect on the topics, encouraging them to think critically of the media we consume as we talk about the possible issues with specific works. We also will encourage participants to share their own experiences with media representation if they so choose. Participants will have the opportunity to share and reflect on the media we all consume as we create an empathic and safe space to do so.

The central activity we have planned uses the Bechdel Test, using race instead of gender, to look critically at a work of personal choice. We will discuss which works of popular media have POC representation at all and, of the ones that do, what kind of representation (positive, negative, stereotyping, etc.). We’ll challenge participants to think critically of their creative works: are they equitable for communities involved/not involved?