Looking back, going forward
By Bill Roberts
BANFF – When a wonderful, record-breaking gathering like the Banff World Media Festival 2022 folds the tent, there’s frequently risk of returning to the world of emails and routine that hauls one unwillingly back to “normal”.
But often, as Bruce Cockburn warned, “the trouble with normal is it only gets worse!”
Looking back at this year’s festival, it’s understandable, but still a shame, that there’s no award or popular recognition for the panel or workshop that most resonates with the change imperatives and aspirations of today’s Canadian media sector.
If there was, Being Counted: Canada’s First Race-based Audience Survey Signals Market Opportunities & Data Collection Gaps, would get my vote for serious consideration.
Because the old “normal” just mustn’t persist.
In a very short time, the Black Screen Office has produced not one, but two foundational research documents (with a third on the way this fall) presenting a sweeping canvas of Canada’s screen industries and the imperatives required to detour from what has been unfortunately “normal”, and truly “ensure greater equity, inclusion and authenticity,” which was the underlying zeitgeist of this pivotal BWMF edition.
Let’s review: Being Seen: Directives for Creating Authentic & Inclusive Content, which shared the perspectives of 400 screen professionals and members of the community who are Black, people of colour, 2SLGBTQIA+, and/or people with disabilities regarding representation, and which the BSO produced as six reports released between February and June of this year; then Being Counted, our focus at BWMF panel; and Being Heard, coming this autumn, which “examines the professional experiences education, interests, needs, pathways to access, and participation” in our business of Black creators.
Okay, the Being… label troika can be a bit confusing and prone to conflating, but these are genuine, synergistic data accelerators for our entertainment industry.
Take just two examples from BWMF’s Being Counted.
1) Black survey participants agreed with the statement: “Children would benefit from having role models that better reflect their racial and cultural backgrounds in the content they watch” at more than twice the frequency of the other two survey groups (people of colour and Indigenous) and the general population.”
This is a clarion call to broadcasters and producers to reassess the portrayal of Black characters on screen.
2) Also notable in Being Counted was 70% of people of colour participants reported watching content from their own, or their parents’, countries of origin… a strong suggestion that a vast majority see gaps in what’s being provided from “normal” Canadian content.
In the search for a better world, and better outcomes from our screen industries, these three BSO works are an adamant prompt to live fully, care deeply, challenge actively, and seek beauty everywhere. Now that deserves honours, even if just quietly, from each and every one of us.
See you next year in the Rockies!
Bill Roberts is a contributing editor Cartt.ca
