Library Subject Guides
Competency: Community Empowerment Duration: 50 minutes approx.
MODULE OVERVIEW
In the context of the Screen Industries, community empowerment refers to the actions and attitudes that help create an environment where individuals of diverse identities are welcome, involved, integrated and able to develop. In a truly inclusive environment, all individuals can safely and enthusiastically engage in the production process, from decision-making to final Film and TV postproduction stages. Building an inclusive working environment ensures that the industry reflects the richness of society and provides equal opportunities for all its members, both in front of and behind the camera. Not only do inclusive practices contribute to healthier, and safer workplace environments and relationships, but they also reflect in the quality and fair representation of the stories on screen.
In the game, the scenario Out of your comfort zone showed Hazar (Sound Assistant Trainee) being asked to stand in and read a bit of the script out loud for a tech check. As a recap, you (the player) had three choices: 1) give it a go despite being out of your comfort zone, 2) ask another member nearby to step in, and 3) say you’re not confident to do it. What option did you choose while playing the game? You might be wondering what this scenario has to do with Community Empowerment as it’s related to taking up challenges. However, it does present various angles to inclusion that are worth unpicking.
For the purposes of this module, let’s imagine that Hazar has dyslexia, a learning difficulty that affects their ability to fluently read and spell words - amongst other things - so this task meant putting them on the spot. Giving it a go despite being out of their comfort zone might seem the correct option to choose. However, asking another member nearby to step in could also be incredibly valuable as Hazar’s condition may prevent them from doing it, but they are still making sure to offer an alternative to get the job done and support Erica. Chances are, Erica would be grateful for the tech check to be done, even if it wasn’t Hazar who read the script and she probably wouldn’t even ask why they didn’t step in given that the objective here is the tech check, not Hazar reading a script!
In real life, because of ongoing stigma and discrimination towards disabled people, it is quite common that workers do not feel comfortable embracing a disability or condition in the workplace and also that many people - especially those in senior positions - do not even stop to think that others might struggle with “basic” things. This puts a lot of stress on individuals, impacting their wellbeing, affecting workflows, overall team performance, and even the final product. For this reason, it is necessary to collectively learn about and accept different identities, abilities, and backgrounds to be able to see one another, not judge, and be open to other ways of working together towards a shared vision.
The reflection above hypothetically exemplifies an inclusive workplace, where Hazar confidently owns their disability whilst being proactive and reaching out to someone else to support the tech check and getting the job done, no questions asked (by Erica).
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this module, learners will have reflected and gained understanding and awareness of values such as diversity, inclusion, equality and equity. Through provoking discussions, learners will have the opportunity of learning useful strategies to implement these frameworks within the context of the Screen Industries. Furthermore, they will be able to identify and challenge their own conscious and unconscious biases through empathy and self-compassion. Finally, learners will have had the chance to explore practical ways to improve and nourish their relationship and communication with themselves and others.
OUTLINE
Section 1: Equ(al)ity, Diversity and Inclusion? (20 min)
Are you familiar with the term EDI? It stands for Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion – which you have very likely heard before. Even though the idea of it has a positive connotation, many companies and organisations attempt to implement strategies to achieve these values whilst still feeding into unequal, non-diverse and non-inclusive practices. A good starting point to understand the real meaning of these values is talking about Equity, rather than Equality. Even though both terms are linked, they are not the same. Whilst Equality refers to providing the same resources or treatment to all individuals, Equity focuses on ensuring that everyone has fair access to the same opportunities, and thus accounts for and makes up for latent systemic inequalities. In short, Equality relates to sameness, and Equity relates to fairness. Figure 1 is a popular example that helps illustrate the differences between Equality and Equity.
Figure 1. Illustration of differences between Equality and Equity. Image sourced from John Hopkins Medicine.
Now we have a grasp of the difference between those two, let’s unpack what diversity and inclusion are and how they present in practice. Diversity relates to variety, i.e., people with different backgrounds, ethnicities, races, genders, sexual orientations, faiths, ages, abilities, and disabilities. Inclusion is how people from all these different identities are fairly involved, integrated, respected, accepted and empowered within a specific setting. Diversity is in itself a passive state of being diverse: if we take as an example that all humans are neurodiverse because there are a variety of neurotypes across humanity; some of them are neurodivergent and others are neurotypical. Inclusion, on the other hand, in our example would be an active, intentional approach to integrate and involve neurodivergent and neurotypical people where both groups can equally thrive – which means providing whatever it is that each group needs to have a sense of belonging and to succeed. In short, Diversity is the what, and Inclusion is the how.
Activity: Watch Aduke Onafowokan’s inspiring TEDx talk 3 ways to be more inclusive by clicking on the image below, and propose your own real-life example or creative analogy that represents diversity and inclusion like Vernon Myers’s “diversity is being invited to the party, inclusion is being asked to dance”.
Figure 2. A still image of Aduke Onafowokan’s TEDx talk on 3 ways to be more inclusive.
Section 2: Power to the Players! (15 mins)
Power to the Players, is GameStop’s adaptation of the famous social justice movement slogan, Power to the People, which has been used for decades by different working class and marginalised communities across the globe to protest against the ruling, dominant classes in society. Back in 2021, hundreds of young adults on the internet from all corners of the world showcased the massive potential of community empowerment when they, collectively, started buying shares of GameStop; a video game store that was at the verge of bankruptcy. This group of gamers outsmarted billionaire, transnational companies in the stock market “just for the lulz” (for the sake of personal comic enjoyment), causing significant losses of capital in these corporations. Certainly, their strategy was not sustainable given that the world’s financial structures are not designed to distribute wealth evenly across society. However, this event made history by showing how younger generations are determined to collectively dismantle injustice and oppressive systems so people (and the planet, really) have a chance to live a healthier, fairer, more dignified life.
The million-dollar question here (no pun intended) is, how do we empower ourselves and our community? There are numerous ways of doing it, from practising self-care and random acts of kindness to knowledge-building, transforming how we communicate and relate with one another, and engaging in creative, meaningful activities. This is not only about personal gain but also about uplifting those around you. By actively participating, advocating for positive change, and contributing your skills and perspectives, you can play a pivotal role in your own empowerment as well as in the development of an inclusive and thriving community within the screen industries. Here are a few tips:
Activity: Many people have come across someone, at some point in their life, who said something that was reassuring and life-changing, boosting their self-confidence or purpose. Equally, many people have encountered unfortunate comments – sometimes even unintentionally - that had a negative impact on their self-esteem.
Reflect on and discuss an occasion where a stranger’s random act of kindness, comment or action made your day or even inspired you to embark on a new project. How did this make you feel? Why?
Reflecting on your relationships, identify a time when you said or did something that diminished another person’s effort or unvalidated their experience – even if it was not intentional. If you could go back in time, what would you do or say differently to express your view with all honesty, whilst empowering one another?
CALL TO ACTION! (5 min)
Your inner script.
“When I dare to be powerful — to use my strength in the service of my vision — then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid” - Audre Lorde, 1976.
Creative people are usually their hardest self-critics, which can ignite further learning and quality performance but can also lead to poor self-esteem and self-doubt, impacting yourself and those around you. Transforming self-talk from negative to positive can be quite challenging yet it is a powerful way to cultivate a more confident and constructive mindset.
If you could say something inspiring to your younger self, what would it be? Write it down!
Think of something you are struggling with at the moment and write a short message of empowerment to yourself as if you were showing up for/supporting your best friend.
EXTERNAL RESOURCES
Transforming Film is an organisation led by Cat Marshall and Nim Ralph that supports trans professionals and provides training and consultation around gender identity in the Screen Industries.
Check out the work of The Nap Ministry, founded by Tricia Hersey, to learn about the rest as resistance and rest as reparations frameworks for collective liberation.
Check out Channel 4’s Access Rider template, designed to formally request accessibility adjustments to a production so you can offer your best self at work.
Action for Happiness is “a movement of people taking action to create a happier and kinder world, together.” Join their free 10 Days of Happiness online programme to boost your wellbeing and sense of belonging, and help you rethink your priorities in life – it just takes a few minutes per day.
