The screen industries have been mostly dominated by men and whiteness; this means that male characters are considered to be the relatable ones and that whiteness is assumed to be the universal experience. Everyone in the audience who is not a man (and by “man” I mean, ordinarily, a white, cis, able-bodied, straight man) is meant to project themselves onto the screen, to find an entry point to connect to the story, all at the expense of their own experience. While flawed male characters have been rewarded and praised, entering the pantheon of cultural immortality, female characters plagued with
...more