Counterview: Elon Musk, Wokeness is Not a Virus, Rich White Male Privilege is

Elon Musk has a habit of tilting at windmills so it is no surprise that he believes the “woke mind virus” is making Netflix unwatchable. The woke mind virus is making Netflix unwatchable— Elon Musk April 20, 2022 He is just one of several Rich White Males who have been mansplaining about Hollywood and ascribing its decline to the rise of wokeness, which for those who don’t know means being aware of social issues such as gender inequality, racism, absence of LGBTQIA representation, among other things. When screens were full of white people, writer rooms had only men, big stars like Rock Hudson had to suppress their sexuality in order to become leading men, women like Merle Oberon had to erase their Anglo-Indian identity to be accepted by Hollywood, and donning blackface to play people of colour on screen like Robert Downey Jr. in Tropic Thunder was considered funny. Wokeness in Indian entertainment stops at the door of Hindu nationalism, as one saw in the outcry against movies such as Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmaavat and series such as Amazon Prime Video’s Tandav. By 2024, no film will be considered for best picture without meeting two of the four standards for the representation of ‘underrepresented groups’, which include women, people of colour, LGBTQ people, and people with disabilities.