Here we go again. People are getting offended over some little TV series and even threatening to boycott not only the show, but Netflix, the platform that serves it.
But it’s not the usual suspects getting “triggered” over slights to their perceived notions of political correctness. It’s not the “social justice warriors” outraged over lack of diversity, cultural appropriation or past crimes of the director.
No, it’s white conservatives. The same people who mock and deride political correctness. The same people who claim that broad labels like sexist and racist hamper the free speech of creators of entertainment to explore controversial ideas. Now they are the ones peddling their own rightwing version of political correctness to shut down a TV show they do not fully understand.
Netflix’s upcoming series Dear White People has created a furor online among some right wingers, even spawning the hashtag “BoycottNetflix.” Some on Twitter are even claiming they will cancel their subscriptions based on this slight to the white race.
https://twitter.com/HalleyBorderCol/status/829418886412042248
Rightwing influencers like Mark Dice and Paul Joseph Watson are calling the show “anti-white” and praising the massive amounts of dislikes the promo trailer is receiving on YouTube.
The trailer is certainly transgressive, almost like it was designed to offend some on the right. Does that sound familiar? These are the same people who say that provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos’ speech, which is also designed to offend, should not be silenced by the left. But by encouraging this boycott they are essentially doing the same thing to this Netflix series.
Part of being against political correctness is having a thick skin. It’s not allowing broad, knee-jerk labels to influence your thinking on pop culture. To encourage controversial art that may offend. To promote free speech in the face of those who wish to silence it. These right wingers don’t believe in free speech, only free speech they find politically correct.
The hilarious part of Dear White People, is that it’s not even as controversial or “anti-white” as these boycotters think it is.
The series is based on a 2014 film of the same name. The longer trailer for the movie paints a completely different picture than the Netflix promo.
In the trailer, it’s clear the film is a satirical take on race relations in America. It takes on white people’s lack of empathy for the experiences of black people, but also seeks to challenge the protagonist’s anger and bitterness over racial injustice, which only hampers her personal relationships with both black and white people.
And spoiler alert: the film ends with the main character, Samantha, entering into an interracial relationship with a white guy and learning to put aside her resentment of white people as a whole. That’s not controversial, that’s just a movie taking on controversial subjects.
But even if the film or series did not have such a universalist message, and perhaps kept its edginess right to the end, should people be trying to silence it? Hell no. Least of all those who claim to be fighting against political correctness and censorship.
All these people are doing is fighting back against identity politics with more identity politics. The identity politics of white men. This should be a sinister sign to anyone in the free speech, anti-political correctness camp, who dreams of a post-racial world where everyone can be seen simply as humans. These people are not working towards that goal, they are simply propping up a special interest group for white people.
Follow me on Twitter @William__Hicks
