Currently, we live in a world where robots are able to replace human beings, we have power in the palm of our hands, digital billboards, built-in WiFi transportation, scan-and-pay systems, treating ailments even before it begins to spread to the masses. Not too long ago, all of this was just an imagination, written in science-fiction novels and shown in movies as entertainment. Despite the tremendous developments by humans, we're not really achieving anything because there's one thing that's remaining constant: our attitude and perception to others.
The media plays a huge role in providing such types of thinking about the people outside of our homes. We're familiar with the formula the media has concocted and indirectly teaches everyone:
Brown Crime= Terrorist
Black Crime= Thug
White Crime= Nice kid, but has mental health issues. Athlete with strong grades in school, has a girlfriend, lots of scholarships to Ivy League schools
As a result, Muslims have to disobey their dress code by dressing up in Western clothing* and ditching the hijab. In addition, Muslims can't wear their clothing (such as the niqab) without any insults. The only two times a head covering is acceptable for a Muslim in public would be if the scarf is fashionable, or if someone non-Muslim is wearing it to look more attractive. The original purpose of the head coverings wasn't even for fashion, it was prescribed for women because of modesty. But apparently, 'modesty' by covering up in the context of a Muslim is dirty. It's a crime and shouldn't be allowed in public.
Indian immigrants have to work hard to lose their accent, otherwise, employees either mock them, or no service is given to them. (My friend's mom, who's Bangladeshi, had this experience: she went to a county fair, wanted to purchase something from a stand. The lady behind the counter was White, but refused to sell the item to her. The next customer was White, and she was given the item instead. The worst part? Her mother witnessed the entire moment.) Black children are being taught to defend themselves from the police, and it's sad to hear these young children being trained on what to say and how to walk around in public to avoid conflicts.
Indians can't wear their traditional henna without people making fun of them. I remember wearing henna to school one time, and someone asked me it was a terrorist mark. A friend of mine in high school wore henna to school, and someone asked her "Is that poop on our arm? If so, you forgot the tissue." (The guy was a douche in general, but that's when he took it over the line.) Yet, when non-Indian people get henna on their arms, no judgments are made, just admirations. The similar effect occurs when Indians wear their traditional dresses; no one notices, until a non-Indian wears the exact same garb. The bindi is another issue: if Katy Perry wears it, everyone praises her. If an Indian dons the bindi, oh my God, let the mocking begin!
Or, how about this? If a woman shows her sexuality, she is immediately thrown into the 'Slut' category, but if she is treated as a sexual object by the media, then there is no problem. If a man shows his sexuality, then people cheer him on, and girls write the creepiest things in the comments. If he is viewed as a sex object in the media, then it's creepy and unattractive.
Speaking of the media, I'm going to bring movies into this issue, though this happens more often in Bollywood than Hollywood. The lighter skinned actors are often the leaders, since they are seen as 'more appealing' and 'desirable', while the darker skinned people are either back-up dancers or extras. Does this not sound familiar? I feel like a similar treatment has happened in the past in the American film industry.
I'm not going to let Hollywood walk away, though; this film industry has had their own fair share of unfairly conditions. The most recent incident is when news came out about Scarlett Johansson trying to look more Asian. Johansson's looks are nowhere near Asian, so what's the problem with casting actual Asian people? There's no shortage of any race in the world, so why try 'converting' the ethnicity of one actor into the character they are about to play? If you haven't heard, a similar incident happened with The Hunger Games trilogy. Katniss Everdeen, the main protagonist of the novels, is described as 'straight black hair, olive skin, and grey eyes.' Now, look at who played the role: a pale-skinned, blonde with blue eyes. Do they match in any way? No, of course not. Moreover, 'olive' skin and 'white' skin are two totally different shades. Not much effort is taken into doing a bit of research, neither is just casting someone with the same features. Simply dying a person's hair, or throwing a certain wig color onto an actor's head isn't going to make them the specific race/ethnicity of the character. This is just like the black face period of Hollywood, when non-Black actors painted themselves black in order to portray a black person, and contributed to stereotypes.
*As for the comment about Western clothing, I'm not saying wearing jeans and T-shirts are a bad thing. I wear them, too, but there are Muslims out there who want to wear hijabs, burqas, and niqabs. There shouldn't be problems with the other person if a female Muslim is covering herself in public. if a nun is able to freely wear her coverings, then so should Muslim females.
Unfortunately, the above issues are only the tip of the iceberg. We've still got the issue of breastfeeding in public, inequality pay for people of two different races, cultural appropriation (for the wrong reasons, like sexualizing the Indian bindi and saree), the mentality of the government, acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community, and the biggest of them all: the media. The media is the biggest culprit of delivering false messages (*cough cough FOX News cough cough*) and providing false images to the public about people of different races.
This isn't the modern-day thinking, yet it's happening in front of our eyes. We think human advancements are based on materialistic items, but that sort of thinking is absolutely useless. The electronics created and sold to the public are immortal; technology won't ever be dead (unless if there's a massive natural destruction or just the end of the world, really). Humans, though, are given one life, and reincarnation hasn't exactly been verified as an actual phenomenon. So, instead of treating immaterial objects as the most precious things on Earth, let's focus on educating our people, and repairing the world. The day we all truly accept each other as humans, and humans only, and we get rid of the division mentality, the negative stereotypes, put money where it truly belongs (such as education and better facilities, not war), is the day we can all truly declare that we live in the present.
