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What GangLand demonstrated about the British Media and the power of representation.

Last night channel 5, showed the first part of a two part documentary called “Gangland: Turf wars”. The “ground breaking” documentary gave insight into the lives of London’s most notorious street gangs by showing their real life events. I use the words ground breaking in quotation as for a lot of Black and ethnic people in London, this documentary is old news for us. We already knew this was a reality in London. However In as much as it may have educated the public of how bad gang culture still is in 2016, this documentary displayed another issue that Black people have in Britain; our representation in the Media. Why do Black brits still see the same narrative within the media?

The main aim of a documentary is to inform and that’s exactly what GangLand did. The issue with this documentary isn’t that what was being said in the documentary was false, it’s that WE DON’T HAVE ANOTHER NARRATIVE BEING TOLD WITHIN THE BRITISH MEDIA. As Viola Davis said when she won her Emmy award “The thing that separates a woman of colour from anyone else is opportunity”. We need more Black people within the media to have these opportunities to change our narratives. What I found interesting about this documentary is that Channel 5 stated at the beginning of the documentary, that those in the gangs featured in this documentary only signed up to do this documentary if it was filmed & told by them. Making it seem as if this is a narrative that all Black people are proud to tell. This is a narrative that some Black people can relate to, not all. What I also found problematic about Gangland is the fact it didn’t show the progress that a lot of ex gang members have made and how they're using their experiences to help younger black men.

Documentaries like these are destructive to the Black diaspora as it makes us look one dimensional. If we’re only represented in one way , it makes it merely impossible for those in the British public to see us in another light. In addition to making us appear to being one dimensional, it also put us in a box. How can the Black youth aspire for anything greater when they’re only being represented in the media with the same narrative? This documentary also demonstrates how the Black diaspora are seen within society. Linking this back to Carnival, a weekend that celebrates Caribbean culture and resistance to racism in the 60’s. The British public are still able to find issues with a celebration that is ours. Which adds to seeing us as being seen as one dimensional. Why is carnival seen as violent when there’s only a few individuals compared to the mass that are committing crimes at Carnival? Why is it that festivals like Glastonbury aren’t seen as violent even though, theres a higher percentage of people, committing crimes and violence at Glastonbury than at Carnival. Documentaries like GangLand fit into this narrative that our society are teaching the British public about the Black diaspora.

In all honesty, the documentary didn’t anger or shock me but I can understand why it did to so many. You can say that I live in a bubble but I genuinely didn’t know gang culture in London was still that BAD in 2016. So it informed me that this is still a very large issue within London and within our community. Something that did cause irritation to me is that this documentary didn't deal with the Whys. “Why are Black youths involved in gangs?” “Why are so many Black and non Black families still living in poverty?”. It failed to acknowledge the decline and funding of youth clubs and lack of government action within these communities. But this is where we as the Black diaspora come in. As someone who wants to get into the media industry this has fuelled more motivation to change the narrative we see within the media. We as Black Brits need to stop expecting the mainstream media to tell our narratives the way we would like to and start creating narratives that are diverse and that are our own. This doesn’t mean that we can’t display narratives that are “negative” it just means we need to be the ones telling the story. We can’t continually look to the mainstream media to represent us. We forget how much power we as Black people hold within social media today. We’re the ones who make trending topics, we’re the one who make the memes we’re the ones who get our voices heard. So it’s time we use these platforms to start telling our stories. In as much as I have mixed reviews on GangLand, I look forward to the second part of GangLand and hopefully all the concerns and questions we have regarding GangLand will be answered.

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Straight Outta Compton review.

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After months of much hype, finally Straight Outta Compton was released and I made sure that I was one of the first people to watch it. The trailer was gripping enough to persuade you to see the film but it didn't give you the full scope of what the film would entail, which made it more enjoyable to watch. Considering I had little knowledge of N.W.A prior to the film, the film gave a really good depiction of the history of the group, the struggles they faced and the socioeconomic problems faced in Compton at the time. This movie is combined with history, music and comedy and is a definite must see.

The film starts off in Compton, California where group member Eazy E is seen at a crack house which is soon raided by the police. It swiftly moves on to highlight Dr Dre's love for music and how that affected the relationship with his mother. Following from this we take a look at the life of Ice cube as he's writing, rap lyrics at the back of the school bus. What was very interesting about this scene is that it showed a glimpse of the power of the blood & crips at that time. What I like about the film is that you see different perspectives of the story through the eyes of Eazy E, Dr Dre and Ice cube. I really enjoyed the musical aspect of the film too and there was one line in N.W.A's songs that stuck with me. "They have the authority to kill a minority" (F*** the police). This film highlights that hip hop isn't glamorising a lifestyle, it's merely telling it's audience about the truths of living in the ghetto which may be why N.W.A's music was so popular with non-black people. N.W.A we're seen as radical which is focused on in the film.In one scene in the film Ice cube says "our art is a reflection of our reality" a lot of working class black people we're living in radical conditions and N.W.A were the first group to give the people a voice.

The timing of the film couldn't be more relevant. With all the police brutality that has occurred in the U.S.A in the last year, it was very surreal to watch the scenes in the film of police brutality because it emphasises that this is still happening today. It briefly touched on the Rodney King case (an American taxi driver who was brutally attacked by the police). After the verdict was found not guilty it led to the 1992 riots in L.A which lasted for four days. It was really fascinating how it mirrored the Fegurson riots...

One critique I will give the film is the representation and objectification of women in the film. I observed the women in the film and the relationship the men had with the women and I found that many of the women in the film were seen and not heard. However this could be and possibly is a reflection of how the women were treated. On top of this, the film used a large amount of lightskinned women to play the "groupies". A couple weeks before the film was released a picture surfaced the internet which revealed the N.W.A casting call for females. It ranked the Women from A-D, A being the more attractive and D the unattractive. It showed that the girls in the "A" and "B"category had to have great bodies, real hair, and be lightskin, etc. Whereas in the "C" to "D" category they wanted African American girls with "poor" bodies with medium to dark skin tone. Could it be the case that the group members were attracted only to light skin women or did they only see light skin women as only capable of playing those roles?

Nevertheless the film is still a must see (even though the violence is too much for my 19 year old eyes). It evokes a lot of emotions from Anger, to happiness, to sadness and it definitely takes you back to 1980/1990 California. So, If you haven't seen the film already..what are you waiting for?

10:24
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"Why do you speak so White?"

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From a tender age, people have repeatedly told me that I “speak like a white girl” or that I had a “white music taste” as annoying as those comments were I didn’t think too much of it, since I was pretty much used to hearing comments like that. It’s not until I read about microaggression that I realised that all those little comments were microaggression. microaggression can be defined as subtle racism that’s based on stereotypes or unintended discrimination.

Personally I think microaggressions are dangerous to a persons identity because that person’s knowledge of what they should be in terms or race, gender and even class is based on a stereotype. What makes it even worse is the microaggression that I experienced was mainly from Black people. To take it a little bit deeper, we even experience micr aggression based on our ethnicity. EVERY single time I tell someone I’m Congolese, I can guarantee you, the first question, they’ll ask me, is if I can dance or if I wear pointy leather shoes (ha ha). Most of the time people are joking but it can have you questioning your identity. For a long time I didn’t feel that I fit in with Black people. I felt too “White” for the Black kids and too “Black” for the White kids. This was mainly based on my interests.

My music taste has always been very diverse and when I was younger I didn’t listen to a lot of what was seen as “Black” music which made me feel like an outcast. A lot of people called me a “white girl” or an “Emo” because I listened to a lot of Alternative/Pop music. Phrases like these are very damaging especially when you’re still trying to figure out you’re identity. It makes you feel like you’re a sell out because you don’t listen to or do the things that you as a black person are “supposed” to do.

This is why I place SO much importance on representation because microaggressions are based on stereotypes and these stereotypes are mainly perpetuated by the media. Let’s take the depiction of Africa for example. So many of my non black peers used to ask me questions such as “So is there internet in Africa?” or “Did you have a rough childhood because you grew up in Africa”. The ignorance used to boil my blood but it got to a point where I couldn’t blame them. If you’ve seen the same image of something for the majority of your life, of course you’re going to believe that, that image is true.

So try this for a day: see how many times you experience or see someone else experiencing micro aggressions daily and see how you (or they) react to it…

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Exploring Black British Identity

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During the Easter holidays I attended a Vanguard event which was called “Lectures and Poetry”. It was a night filled with poetry and a talk by Tony Warner who focused on Black British civil rights. He explored topics such as racism on local transport, protest marches and the way in which Black Brits were treated by indigenous people. These are topics that we usually associate with Black American history. It was only then that it dawned on me that normally when people think of “Black history” they associate it with the likes of Martin Luther King, Malcom X, Rosa parks etc. Not to say that these people didn’t leave a legacy but what we don’t often realise or remember is that while Black Americans were fighting the forces of oppression, Black British people we’re doing the exact same thing. But how many of us were actually taught about Black British history? For example how many of us knew that there was a group called the “Black British Panthers” in the UK? They were doing the exact same thing as the Black Panthers in America but on British soil.

This then led me to reflect on British black identity as a whole. I think a lot of us Black brits forgot that we have our own culture because we’re always looking at the Black American culture instead of our own. We base a lot of our narrative and identity on Black American culture. I mean, It’s easy for us to focus on Black American culture because let’s face is Black Culture is Pop Culture but I won’t go into too much cultural appropriation today. This is not to say that we don’t have our own culture. Let’s take grime for example. That’s something that we claim as our own and not only has it become influential in the Black British culture it made it’s way to mainstream culture. The fact that Kanye West shared the stage with some of the most influential Grime artists show us that not only is Black British culture influential but it’s also seen as influential by our Black peers in the States. What makes Kanye West's performance of "All day" at the Brit awards more interesting is the fact, that he said he based his performance on the London riots in 2011.

Following on from this we also have our own Television shows, Movies, even slang but yet a lot associate our Black identity with an African American Identity. The fact that us Black Brits are only taught the struggles of African American history, I believe is used as a distraction. It’s used as a way to distract us firstly from the oppression faced in history and today secondly, how influential Black British culture is on British culture. The stories of the Black diaspora are scatted all over the world, this isn’t to say our stories are exactly the same. The experiences and the history of a French African will not be the same as an African American. The struggles of the Black diaspora vary but maybe we need to start looking closer to home before trying to identify ourselves with the African American “other”.

07:13
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What GangLand demonstrated about the British Media and the power of representation.

11 things you face when you're "woke"

1. When your potential Bae isn't woke

2. Having to explain to people who aren't woke what being "woke" means

3.Having to ignore everyday microaggressions

4. Trying not to enjoy those rap songs full of misogyny..

5. The excitement you feel when you meet other people who are woke

6. Constantly being told you're overreacting about social issues by people who aren't woke

7. The joy you feel when one of your essays touches on social issues and white privilege

8. When your problematic friend finally becomes woke

9. Constantly realising all the thing you have to unlearn

10. Always managing to find something problematic in everything..

11. Continually noticing the inequalities in the world but educating yourself, so you'll be able to change the world one day.

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Pretty in Pink

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Straight Outta Compton review.

"Why do you speak so White?"

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Outfit one

Outfit Two

Exploring Black British Identity

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