There are 2 ways of being inclusive: making minorities feel welcome and showing toxic positivity. When it’s the former, it’s absolutely necessary. Being able to view media like Everything Everywhere All At Once and Patriot Act has genuinely filled a hole left by sitcoms like iCarly and Full House. It’s not easy for me to describe this “older TV” experience to someone who hasn’t experienced it, but it may be a tiny bit like moving suddenly from the US to the UK and being forced to become fully British. Characters always have some trait that makes them completely unrelatable.
The latter mostly manifests in censorship. While it’s fine for people to give small corrections (e.g. using ‘they’ instead of (s)he), being rude about it or not letting people talk just fosters hate. A rough example is racial jokes. While it’s not okay for a random stranger to say them to another stranger, it’s perfectly acceptable (and IMO should be encouraged) to use them to strengthen relationships. Policing jokes that me and my South Indian friend make to each other is not only unnecessary but also less inclusive. If I was on the receiving end of racial remarks and ignorance, I should be able to say those exact things in a joking or mocking manner with the intent of having fun
EDIT: Pavitr Prabhakar is genuinely one of my favorite characters, and I’m so glad they included him in Spiderverse 2.
There are 2 ways of being inclusive: making minorities feel welcome and showing toxic positivity. When it’s the former, it’s absolutely necessary. Being able to view media like Everything Everywhere All At Once and Patriot Act has genuinely filled a hole left by sitcoms like iCarly and Full House. It’s not easy for me to describe this “older TV” experience to someone who hasn’t experienced it, but it may be a tiny bit like moving suddenly from the US to the UK and being forced to become fully British. Characters always have some trait that makes them completely unrelatable.
The latter mostly manifests in censorship. While it’s fine for people to give small corrections (e.g. using ‘they’ instead of (s)he), being rude about it or not letting people talk just fosters hate. A rough example is racial jokes. While it’s not okay for a random stranger to say them to another stranger, it’s perfectly acceptable (and IMO should be encouraged) to use them to strengthen relationships. Policing jokes that me and my South Indian friend make to each other is not only unnecessary but also less inclusive. If I was on the receiving end of racial remarks and ignorance, I should be able to say those exact things in a joking or mocking manner with the intent of having fun
EDIT: Pavitr Prabhakar is genuinely one of my favorite characters, and I’m so glad they included him in Spiderverse 2.