Recently, many television shows and movies have featured racist, entitled, and rude Karens. These individuals often made it appear as though they were out to get their way without giving others a chance.
One example is a movie called Karen, which follows Taryn Manning as an anti-racist neighbor. The trailer for this movie went viral and caused many social media uproars.
Television Shows
Karen has been featured in several television shows and films. Generally, it is used to refer to racist, entitled, and rude individuals.
Many TV series, such as Showboat and A League of Their Own, have featured racist Karens. In Showboat, Taryn Manning plays Karen who harasses a Black family moving into their neighborhood. Over time in the show, Karen gets more aggressive, demanding that the Blacks obey her demands or she will call the manager.
In A League of Their Own, Edna Ferber plays Karen (played by Karen), a wealthy white woman who struggles to comprehend her new neighbors’ racial identities. Furthermore, she lacks an appreciation for the subtleties of race relations in America.
Though some of these television and movie references may be humorous, there remains a serious issue that needs to be addressed. The term Karen has often been misused as an insulting label to label white middle-aged women who are both angry and privileged.
Many of the most popular Karens online are middle-aged white women with a history of showing entitlement. They frequently make unnecessary 911 calls to report innocuous activities, like a young man selling water without a permit or some Black men barbecuing in Central Park.
Karens are not only sexual predators, but they are also racist, entitled and rude – indicative of a larger issue with classism and racism in this country. By exploiting their privilege they seek to reinforce the inequalities experienced by white upper-middle class Americans.
This issue has existed for decades, yet only recently has been widely recognized on the internet. It speaks to a larger issue of systemic sexism and racism that will not go away anytime soon.
In addition to the racist, entitled and rude Karens depicted in TV and movies, there have been numerous examples of other types of people using the term Karen. Examples include a woman complaining about a young water-seller; a white woman calling the police on Black people at a barbecue; and another young woman telling a bikini-wearing woman she should cover up.
Movies
Karen is an archetype that has been depicted in television and movies for decades. They typically depict a middle-aged white woman who displays entitlement and snobbishness in equal measures, often making solutions to other people’s problems their own personal issue. Karens are known for their assertive, dramatic nature.
The most famous Karen is from the 1990 movie Goodfellas. It’s based on real-life mafia-involved New Yorkers Henry and Karen Hill, their daughter Lisa (who later becomes an associate in her own right) and other family members. The film chronicles their dealings with crime through various perspectives – including one violent death.
Another example is Karen in the film Edward Scissorhands. She plays an important role as a sexually charged, entitled, and judgmental woman who spreads gossip about her neighbor Edward to everyone she can find–even her own husband!
Though she may seem like a harmless character at first glance, she quickly transforms into more of a villain than hero. In the movie, she serves as the primary reason why several neighbors drive a stranger out of their neighborhood.
She takes the initiative in breaking into Imani and Malik’s housewarming party and making several inappropriate comments about them. Additionally, she makes a big deal out of not taking out the trash until right before garbage day.
Karens often lack an open mind towards the world outside their social circle, preferring instead to stay isolated within it. Furthermore, they often harbor deep-seated fears and hatred towards other races or ethnicities which stifles any attempts at dialogue or understanding.
Aside from being racist, they’re also very snobbish. They will snort and make jokes at others – especially people of different races – without cause, and in extreme cases may even act out against them without warning.
The most recent version of Karen is Karen from the new horror movie, Karen, directed by Coke Daniels and set for release in July 2018. Although it looks cheesy on the outside, the content is actually quite serious. As such, this could be a useful movie to watch with your children as an opportunity to discuss racism and police brutality issues in America.
Online Forums
Karen has become a ubiquitous term in the 21st century, often used as an insulting term to denote an entitled white middle-aged woman who tends to act out in public spaces with excessive anger and disruption.
Karen has gained notoriety due to a number of viral incidents. One such instance occurred in Central Park when a white woman called the police on an unarmed Black man walking his dog peacefully. She was ultimately found guilty of making an unnecessary 911 call and could potentially spend up to one year in jail for it.
One recent example of Karen was Janene Hoskovec, a white middle-aged woman caught on video harassing other shoppers at a grocery store by coughing into their masks as they waited for food. After the video went viral, she was fired from her job.
This type of behavior is discrimination and racist harassment that should never be accepted. That is why San Francisco politician Shamann Walton has introduced the CAREN Act – or Caution Against Racially Exploitative Non-Emergency Act.
On online forums such as Reddit’s r/FuckYouKaren, users can discuss and engage with racist, entitled, and rude Karens they encounter daily. These forums offer an opportunity to share experiences with someone who shares these traits and gain insight into how others have dealt with these situations.
The r/FuckYouKaren subreddit is dedicated to discussing racist, entitled, and rude Karens both in real life and online. Here you’ll find videos of these individuals discussing their actions as well as information on where they live and why they act this way.
This forum serves as a hub to discuss original streaming movies, theater films, and everything else related to cinema. Users can share suggestions on what to watch, rate and recommend films, as well as discuss classic favorites.
Other online forums also cater to this crowd, such as the Home Theater Forum on Reddit. Here, members discuss movies and their equipment, discuss films currently in theaters or coming soon, and write reviews on blockbusters from time-to-time.
Social Media
Social media is an indispensable tool that empowers individuals to share information, photos and videos with family, friends and the wider world. It plays an integral role in many people’s lives while companies use it to market their goods and services and reach new clients.
It’s also a platform where people can express their opinions, feelings and insights. Those who are affected by racism, discrimination and violence have an outlet to voice their concerns and share their stories.
When we reflect on our own lives, it can be tempting to become angry and upset when things don’t go our way. We might feel frustrated and irritated due to work issues, family problems or the state of the country as a whole. When things don’t go our way, however, it doesn’t have to mean we have no rights or are suffering because of them.
Anger often leads us to make poor decisions and act in irresponsible or harmful ways, leading to financial and professional repercussions as well as damage to our reputation.
That is why it is so essential to take a step back from social media and assess our usage of it. While there can be merit in using it as an outlet for self-gratification and mood modification, too much exposure may lead to poor decisions that affect both physical health and psychological well-being.
One prominent example is the Karen phenomenon, which has been growing in popularity online since 2020. Originally started as a joke about an entitled white woman wanting to speak with the manager at retail or service industry establishments, it has since evolved into an expression of racist microaggressions and anti-science views.
Karen’s meaning shifted dramatically during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic and protests over police brutality. She became a symbol of white supremacy and an emblem for what was becoming an ongoing national conversation about human rights.
In addition to underscoring class tensions caused by white privilege, the Karen phenomenon exposed the role of social policing during the coronavirus pandemic. This strategy could increase vigilance against those who may have been carrying the virus and also reinforced the notion of white middle class entitlement over working class individuals that was already at the core of the original Karen meme.
