Resetting the Table

Show the real divides shaping people’s lives – race, ideology, religion, class, power, identity, belonging – and let characters openly disagree about things that matter right now.

Don't avoid real social, political, or cultural divides because they feel too charged or risky.

Portray people across divides as full, complex human beings, shaped by their lived experiences and genuine concerns. Audiences who share their views should recognize themselves, even when the story pushes them.

Don't flatten people on one side of a societal divide into stereotypes, stand-ins, or moral lessons.

Write multiple perspectives at their best – each coherent, strong, and thoughtful enough that the audience can understand why millions hold it.

Don't depict opposing groups only through their worst actors, most sinister views, or most extreme behavior.

Recognize there are gaps in your understanding – and close them through listening, research, and consultation so portrayals across differences feel accurate and authentic.

Don't assume you understand the fears, values, or motivations of groups you mostly know through media, social feeds, or conflict.

Hold opposing worldviews in tension. Let more than one side make sense at the same time, reflecting the real moral and emotional complexity of a polarized society.

Don't reduce social conflict into simple heroes and villains, or resolve it by casting one side as fully right and the other as fully wrong.

Let catharsis come from recognition: people being seen, their pain acknowledged, their perspectives considered, their misjudgments discovered – even when profound disagreement remains.

Don't offer catharsis through the humiliation, erasure, or total defeat of “the other side.

Allow characters to evolve without discarding their worldview. Show growth as increased understanding, self-awareness, or moral complexity – not necessarily agreement.

Don't “fix” or resolve a character by converting them to the creator’s worldview.