Representation

 Representation

"Diversity is not about how we differ. Diversity is about embracing one another's uniqueness"- Ola Joseph

 

Out of the many things I am proud of in regards to the opening for the film, the representation in the film makes me beyond happy and proud. In the movie industry representation can be lacking not only in ethnicity or race but also in certain topics, religions, or viewpoints. Our film opening challenges representation on various levels.

Although our film opening does meet the criteria for stereotypical teenage drama movies it does manage to challenge normalcy within typical and cliche movies. Our drama meets the standard for a teenage drama as you have the typical "popular girl" and boyfriend drama as you would see in almost any drama directed at teenagers. Moreover, you also have the typical pink color to represent higher hierarchal status and femininity as you would see in movies such as High School Musical (Sharpay), Mean girls, legally blonde, etc. Our movie further's in being stereotypical as you have the pool, party, fun, and summer ambiance that is apparent in many teenage dramas. The drama itself is even stereotypical, I mean how many times have you heard of the cheating boyfriend! Although these things are stereotypical they are aspects included in dramas as they are effective ("if something isn't broken don't fix it"). Our Drama wouldn't be a true teenage drama if we didn't include some stereotypical elements!

Moreover, our film opening challenges representation as our cast was full of varying ethnicities and colors! Oftentimes in films, audiences have gotten used to seeing films of one race dominating more than others, but my film opening is inclusive as I was lucky enough to have a cast ranging from Hispanic to Indian! Although a majority of the cast is from a Spanish-speaking county, this aspect brings a level of culture to the film making it different from other films lacking Hispanic actors. If I were to try and improve the characters and the film opening in general I would have tried to incorporate more of the Hispanic culture, or just the culture of the characters in general, into the film. Exploring how ethnicity can affect the lives of teenagers or just embracing culture in films would have been ideal. Representing culture and varying cultures is lacking in the film world, but I'm glad that at least my film represents varying cultures and physical appearances. 

Above is my beautiful cast straight from south Florida but all with unique and differing backgrounds!

The background includes but is not limited to black, white middle eastern, Indian, Chinese, Colombian/, Cuban etc.

We not only challenged representation in regard to looks, appearances, and races/ethnicities, but we also offered representation for a group underrepresented in film, those who suffer from mental illness. When mental illness is covered in the film, likely they are the antagonist, portrayed as a serial killer or aggressive alcoholic, or as the unliked "weird" depressed high schooler. My group wanted to avoid this misrepresentation in film and showcase the part of mental illness that involved a human simply in pain and suffering. Mental illness is something many people struggle with yet it isn't given the proper representation it deserves if it gets any at all. We decided to challenge this poor representation in our film by giving the main character her own challenges with mental illness and depression. Unfortunately, the opening is only two minutes so the viewer is able to properly depict or understand the true and deep nature of the main character's struggles, but at least viewers are able to see a girl struggling and in pain. Many girls can probably see the opening and relate to the main character and this can allow those girls to feel safe in knowing other people are going through the same issues and that they will be okay. The lack of mental illness representation or misrepresentation can make groups of people feel alone, outcasted, crazy, misunderstood, or inferior. 

My group's film opening challenges misrepresentation and lack of representation entirely. Every group including minorities deserved to be heard and represented properly. People of color shouldn't be represented as criminals and aggressors and people with mental disorders shouldn't be viewed as less than or inferior. We have come a long way in terms of representation in film and I hope we continue to grow and further improve representation.

"Let's stop believing that our differences make us superior or inferior to one another"

- Con Miguel Ruiz