Can texts ever be truly representative of groups of people?
Who gets to represent a group and who doesn’t? (Who gets to tell what?)
Is the act of representation problematic?
Our planet is a unique environment and is home to more than 1000 ethnic groups and 4000 religions. Representation has an important role in such a diverse society. However, there are some aspects of representation, which should be considered in order to objectively portray a group of people.
Modern texts and media tend to include cultural elements more often. With movies like Roma and Green Book getting international recognition, it is obvious that cultural context is present in texts. I think that texts can correctly represent a group of people if they are written by a person that belongs to a specific group and has a broad experience of its culture. Moreover, cultural texts should include a biased opinion. A movie called “Isle Of Dogs” can serve as an example of an unsuccessful representation attempt. This movie doesn’t picture Japan objectively but gives the audience a distorted image of the nation.
https://twitter.com/inkookang/status/977236779257376768
The act of representation definitely needs to be approached carefully. Incorrect representation may lead to conflicts, arguments and misunderstanding. Additionally, various stereotypes may be formed because of a certain text. Stereotypes have an impact on how we perceive information and react to a situation. While stereotyped vision leads to conflicts, broader vision creates a better understanding of the world.