Have you ever been reading a book or watching a film where they touch on a topic that makes you feel uncomfortable? How did you respond? I’m here to tell you, keep consuming the content. This may sound crazy, and of course, there are definitely cases where I believe you should stop: trauma and mental harm. But to us, everything, at one point, has been new and made us feel weird.Â
In Diane Ravitch’s novel “Language Police“, she says, “Good literature is supposed to make readers uncomfortable,” and I think that highlights the argument I am about to present to you. Media and literature’s goals are to bring you into someone’s argument and make you feel or react to what is being presented. When we are confronted with uncomfortable topics, it’s so easy to shy away because we don’t feel ready to understand or educated enough to have interactions with those forms of media. But you don’t begin to learn without knowing what the uncomfortable topic is. Your mind begins to explore and take in new information, which is essential to learning.
One aspect of learning is understanding, especially when you feel discomfort. Why do you feel discomfort? You can begin to correlate your own reaction to guide your learning. Usually, discomfort comes from not feeling educated enough to engage or due to the offensiveness of the text, but that should not hinder those from engaging with those forms of media. This is the chance to become more educated and understand the discourse surrounding difficult topics or at least have the basic understanding to make it through conversations. For the offensive aspect, you can understand the satirical aspects or understand the other side of the coin.
If you are comfortable in every conversation you have, you are not having the right conversations. Every argument worth having will make you uncomfortable, because no side is ever truly correct if they do not acknowledge and educate themselves on the opposing discourse. Nothing is black and white, and sometimes the answer lies within the uncomfortable middle. Being open enough to expose yourself to the difficult discussions of the opposing side is the true challenge.
It challenges our assumptions about debates and people. Even your worst enemy will have at least one thing you mutually agree with. Some questions that Judy Ringer brings up, though these are for uncomfortable conversations, what is the purpose? What buttons of yours are being pushed, and are you more emotional than the situation warrants? How does your attitude towards the topic adjust your perception? You have a lot to do with how and what you learn; finding uncomfortable things that challenge your world view helps you to acknowledge the things that are important to you.Â
So next time you are watching a movie and that one scene comes on that makes your stomach turn, don’t turn it off. Challenge your emotions, dig deeper, and find out why.