Unsee Media? Alternative Media!

2016, 2016… What did you do to us? Crazy times… but with the recent women’s marches in the U.S. I can see that united intersectional feminists around the world have the power to get their message(s) across, shift perspectives and hopefully educate some white orange men in the future.

Without strong, unapologetic womxn, a peaceful world will remain the the unachievable utopian dream many people believe it to be. In my opinion a peaceful world is an achievable reality that comes into existence with every new conversation, every meaningful encounter we have with the aim to focus on positive change. We just have to be patient…

This is not going to be another article about all the things that went wrong last year. Let’s rather look at what we’ve learned and how to do better in 2017!

I learned a lot about interectionality with the help of my friends in the South African student protests against inequality, racism and rape culture at universities around the country. Following Native American movements, learning about #BlackLivesMatter in the U.S. on the internet, connections become evident. In November, my Venezuelan sister came to Germany to continue her studies in Europe, because in her home country the education system collapsed together with the economy.

I am certainly privileged to be able to make use of certain media and to even have means to travel to learn directly from others, but we do live in a time, in which many of us can exchange ideas, create global movements to make this world a better place. Let’s make use of this possibility if we can and educate each other!

I am tired of hearing the same stories repeated again and again, news that only frighten us, but do not offer solutions or do not show positive change once in a while so we could watch and learn. I am tired of mainstream media feeding us with images, words and tunes that make the world look like a colorless place – where is representation?

Let’s not surrender to this force, but rather celebrate the media that gives us meaning and joy. Interesting characters, fresh stories. We have to chose which images will shape our personal worlds!

Now, a list with colorful media I discovered lately (to be extended!):

The Foxy Five

These womxn are fantastic. They will make South Africa great again. An all Black female crew, interesting characters, stories that show challenges young feminist women in South Africa face every day, lots of humor and the most beautiful clothing I’ve ever seen on screen mixed with a cool 60s retro aesthetic. No big media company does the job, so they had to create the content they want to see by themselves. Amazing!

Princess Nokia

You really love rap, but have a battle raging within you whenever you hear the sexist slurs some rappers like to use? Your feminist soul becomes angry, while at the same time your body is moving with the rhythm?

Princess Nokia is different… She will fill your heart with all the right feminist energy to conquer the world while dropping some great beats for you to enjoy! A wonderful artist I really like listening to especially when I feel down.

Sense8

Some mainstream media can be cool, too! The Netflix series Sense8 is made by the Wachowski sisters (once brothers!) who are well known for the movie trilogy The Matrix. Sense8 tells the story of eight strangers from different cultures living in different locations around the world who are connected mentally with a very special bond. They can exchange thoughts and share their skills! Before they discover this bond, they have never met in person, but suddenly their lives are interwined and they have to rely on each other’s strengths…

What I find truely special besides the thrilling story and beautiful cinematography are the complex characters and the cast from all over the world. There is a transwoman from the U.S.A., a ‘macho’ actor from Mexico who is secretly gay, a Kenyan bus driver, a boxer and businesswoman from South Korea, a German criminal… It filled my heart with joy to see actors from different countries together on screen creating a story everybody can relate to! A powerful story about unity.

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