Mass Media Injustice

I was thinking the other day, "Kendra, you've come so far.  Give this topic a rest. Maybe some people are just sick and tired of hearing it. Everyone suffers.  Go about your business and just be." And I went about my day.  People have their misperceptions about the healing process and misperceptions of domestic abuse and...blah, blah, blah.  I'm in a good place right now, so why not just let the whole subject rest for a while?  Anywho.  It was late in the afternoon 2 days ago.  I sat down with Tot and we watched some YouTube videos.  The boy is plum addicted to King Kong.  He also shows some love for Batman and Superman and Spiderman.  We hunkered down and watched a newer digital cartoon version of Batman. 

It was predictable, as I expected it to be.  Nothing out of the ordinary.  Then a scene of the Joker and a modernized version of Cat Woman appeared.  She was nothing like the original version of Cat Woman.  She had a high-pitched, childish voice which annoyed me.  I kept watching just to see where the creators of this cartoon were taking this character.  I wasn't even interested in the storyline.  I was busy making mental comparisons.  In this particular scene, she follows Joker around, vying for his attention.  He responds in an abrupt voice to leave him alone so he can focus on getting Batman.  She grabs his hand, kneels in front of him, and he back-hands her and calls her a "Stupid girl".  It was like watching a train wreck.  I was shocked.  Tot was upset.  I clicked out of that cartoon and diverted Tot's attention to a more appropriate YouTube video but I could not get that scene out of my head.  Thank God Tot's attention was not completely captured by that scene.  He never re-enacted it.  I say that because he acts out scenes from the 2010 King Kong movie, which he's seen too many times to keep count.  This little clip from the modern version of Batman did not hold any merit in his mind.  It did and still does in my mind, however.

That YouTube video would have lasted for another 30 minutes if I would've let it and who knows what other scenes we would have stumbled upon.  I find it odd that the short clips leading up to the scene I'm referring to; the scenes where Batman and Joker face off briefly, are all depicted with respect for each other.  Two male rivals but not going so far as to show any outward violence against each other when they briefly meet on accident.  The scene with the female and Joker?  Complete disrespect for women is blatantly depicted.  The girl is submissive.  Joker is dominant.  She kneels in front of him begging for his attention.  He backhands her in the face and she stumbles away apologizing in her high-pitch, childish voice. 

There was no rating for this particular cartoon.  No parental warning of violence.  The heading was fun in a cartoonish sort of way.  This is what is mass-produced for our children to see - boys and girls.  I loved watching Batman and Spiderman when I was growing up.  I'm sure there are a lot of little girls now that do the same thing - play with dolls and watch superhero cartoons. This scene and many others like it, I'm sure, are out there now.  Spread across the world in all different languages for everyone to see.  The original Cat Woman had a growling, purring voice.  She was dominant in her own independent way.  She was a villain but I loved her when I was growing up.  There was nothing submissive about her.  The fight scenes were just enough to let you know there was a fight scene but nothing extreme.  In fact, it was a parody.  Comical.  A true cartoon later made into the T.V. series many people still enjoy to this day.   This modern version takes it all to the next level and makes it more "real."  Real in the eyes of the producer, director, artists, and writers.

Is this the "real" version of females we want to depict?  The creators of this cartoon I'm passionately discussing sure think so.  Over a thousand 'hits' on YouTube the day Tot and I watched what we watched.  The obscene fascination of submissive vs dominant roll-play is running rampant on the internet and in our world.  Don't get me wrong, all relationships have a submissive / dominant quality to them that each partner blends into and trades off rather eloquently.  That's my belief.  It isn't about power or control.  It's simply how the human mind works and we simply do this naturally.  The mass media runs wild with this idea, however.  Now dominance is about control, power, abuse, and violence.  Now submission is about low self esteem and pandering to a partner and accepting the abuse.  This is the perception that mass media has incorporated willingly. 

The makers of this cartoon did not stop to think how this might portray women and how such a negative light is now cast on women in their final cut of the cartoon.  The writers did not stop and demand editing.  The graphic artist and screen designers did not raise a hand and demand any different.  And if they did, it didn't matter.  The scene would be produced.  The final result is millions of children and some die-hard adult fans watching.  And it's portrayed as "ok" because it's produced in a cartoon, fun sort of way.  The violence and dehumanizing of women is a mass production now and it's disgusting.  What's even more disgusting is that it gains the producers of said cartoons and movies money and new viewers.  A new generation taught to disrespect.  A new generation of women led to believe that it's "ok" to have a low self-esteem because at least they'll have a relationship, if nothing else.  A new generation taught to disrespect the very meaning of love and stamp it down to the point it holds no merit or meaning.

So in light of "letting this subject go," I say no.  I will not just "let it go."  I'm more fired up about it now than I ever was.  It's a problem.  A huge problem.  I don't care if anyone gets tired of hearing about it.  You know what?  The people that don't want to hear and learn about domestic violence are the problem, in the first place.  I'm going to keep discussing it.  It's a damn ugly subject that needs to be discussed.  Until the misperceptions fall away; until the acceptance and blind-eye mentality falls away - it's a subject that simply won't go away.  Our very own mass media is making sure it remains a powerful subject.  Even glorifying it.  If no one else is going to call "bullshit" on this crappy card game in our society, than I will. 

**Note to fellow survivors:  You get your happy ass out there and speak up against this ugly subject.  Got me? It won't go away by staying silent.  It's very healing to open this subject up and let people know what we struggle with emotionally on a daily basis.  Speaking up and being honest about this beautiful process is the only way the misperceptions and glorifications will end. 

**Note to mass media:  Virtual reality and technology are great things but word-of-mouth is still very powerful.  If you're going to be stupid, I'm going to call you on it.  There's a difference between stupidity and ignorance. Dehumanizing women is stupid.  You want your gitchy, little cartoons and movies and sitcoms to gain more viewers? Straighten your stupid asses up and treat women with respect.  Period.  There is simply no excuse for stupidity.  Not in this day and age.  What would your mother say?  Or your daughter?  Or niece? You spent money on a high-quality education. Start acting like it.  Be intelligent.