Last week, the local mainstream media were awash with news that actress Emma Watson would only return to the Harry Potter franchise if its author, J.K. Rowling, was not involved in any way. The local media focused on the fallout, fans’ disappointment and how Watson was called an “ungrateful woke brat” by Internet users.
All of these media outlets drew their reports from giantfreakinrobot.com, a Web site focused on providing content on technology, gossip and entertainment.
Although the site claimed that it “got word from our trusted and proven sources” and provided a hyperlink, visitors would find that the link only leads to other gossip and news on the same Web site, creating an infinite loop. It is incredulous that Taiwanese mainstream media would use such a dubious story as their source.
What is even more interesting is that after giantfreakinrobot published the article, many Internet users launched personal attacks against Watson, who is known to be an active campaigner for women’s rights and gender equality.
The Web site then published another article, “Emma Watson Is Trending and It’s Our Fault,” saying that she should not be attacked for standing up for her beliefs, while ignoring the fact that all of the commotion stemmed from an unreliable news source.
Watson’s fallout with Rowling came from their opposing views on transgender issues. Rowling has more than once spoken out on sex, gender identity and transgender issues, but her ideas have been vehemently criticized by the LGBTQ community.
As Watson stands on the side of LGBTQ people, attacks against the actress have been regarded as a counterattack on people advocating gender equality, diversity and inclusion. The pair’s rift has turned into a war of gender politics.
Those who oppose equality movements like to give extreme examples by turning equality ideas into ridiculous jokes. Pulled out of the context of race, gender and religion, political correctness has become a negative term for the blind pursuit of ideals.
Over the past few years, Hollywood has been accused of taking political correctness too far and changing original works in pursuit of diversity. However, this does not mean that those who seek race, gender and religious equality should be treated as angry, overly emotional and over-reactive people, prone to making a big deal out of trivial issues.
The push for equality in different fields is the result of oppression of certain groups. As mainstream groups have vested interests, they might not be able to see oppression, or maybe we should say they could not see it under most circumstances. Equality movements are an opportunity for these oppressions to be heard and seen.
Some people might find certain equality movements hard to swallow, but if they could see that these movements are the results of long-term oppression, they would find that the structural oppression behind these movements are worth addressing and solving, instead of casting blame on ideology, belittling their supporters as buffoons or labeling them with derogatory terms such as “trannies.”
They should also refrain from using unreliable news sources to mock oppressed groups who are fighting for equality.
Chang Yueh-han is an adjunct assistant professor at Shih Hsin University’s Department of Journalism.
Translated by Rita Wang
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