Our icons are falling as quickly as new ones emerge in this fastest-finger-first social media era. Here’s a survivor’s tool-kit.
A video of Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut surfaced recently in which she is laughing at a rape joke cracked by actor, Jim Sarbh. Of course, the internet was furious, not just because someone actually made a rape joke in 2018, but more so because a self-proclaimed feminist icon enabled it.
This is not an isolated incident. Our icons are falling as quickly as new ones emerge in this fastest-finger-first social media era.
Last week, an interview of Alia Bhatt surfaced where she virtually diluted a simple question on the #MeToo movement. A woman, who played bold female characters in movies like Raazi and Highway, wasn’t really expected to stay mum on an issue deep rooted in the industry she belongs to.
You know when self-proclaimed feminist artists like Kangana, Alia or even Aziz Ansari let you down, it’s unsettling. However, it’s even worse when the well-established feminist icons make statements that undermine their own movement – like when Nivedita Menon, Brinda Bose and Kavita Krishnan tried to stop new-age feminists like Raya Sarkar from publicly exposing sexual harassers in educational institutions.
But what do you do when you lose your favourite icon? Like much of Black America did this month after Kanye West decided to show support to Donald Trump.
You learn a valuable lesson. Draw a line between the cause and its icon. Such incidents teach you to be wary of band-wagoning an individual’s idea of a social movement. They urge you to start questioning its consequences because when a movement gains power, it demands responsibility.
A lot of present-day icons who represent social movements are also notorious for taking to social media and making spontaneous statements, or even going on a rant. For example, when Kanye West took to Twitter to show his support to Trump, his followers hoped it was all a big joke or a performance, until it became discomfortingly clear.
So how do you know whether to advocate your icon’s statements or not?
Deconstruct
First, you separate their argument from the sentiment. If there happens to be one, you deconstruct. You identify the premise of the argument- Why are they saying what they are saying, and why are they saying it now? Gain knowledge about the premise and acquire requisite background information. It helps to check up with trusted sources and news portals to get a full picture of the issue they are addressing. For example, Kanye’s support to Trump came at a time when racism is becoming a rampant phenomenon in America, and Donald Trump’s complicity is being critiqued around the globe.
Whose voice?
Second, are they making an argument as an individual or co-opting a collective voice? Are you included in the voice they are representing? Do you have the same concerns as them? For example, the statement by ‘feminists’ on the crowd-sourced “list” of sexual harassers, released by Kafila went against another group of new-age feminists. This excluded a chunk of feminists itself and defeated the point of calling their lobby ‘feminists’.
Who’s the target?
Third, you identify the stakeholders in their argument. Who is the statement or the rants targeted at, and who else does its impact include? When Alia Bhatt talked about the #MeToo movement and said that victim blaming is a “misconception”, she involved all the victims who have faced sexual assault and have ever been subjected to blame, in her argument.
Check the motive
Fourth, you identify the motive behind what they are saying. This is where the information you have gathered and your empathy for those involved come into play. Sometimes, your icons falter because their personal bias and stake colours their activism. The ‘Kafila feminists’ went against the list because it also carried the names of some of their fellow-activists and ideologues.
Read, read, read
Fifth, do not depend only your icons to gain knowledge about the movement. There is a plethora of literature accessible to our generation on the past and emerging social movements. Read up on the history, and the developing theory behind the movement. This will also guard you from falling into the trap of shadowing an icon that may go astray from the cause.
Luckily, we happen to live in a hyper-connected and over-sharing era where the reality changes every second. We have to make room for mistakes. And when we call them out, we must also allow the icons the space to reflect and retract. So if your icons let you down, don’t shy away from questioning them, debating with them, and finally forgiving them. Your cause is much bigger and you need all hands on board to take it forward.
Political class has lost all credibility. They are only spreading hatred in one form or the other just to win elections. Divide and rule, is their policy. Corruption is their hallmark.