Representation Is Important. Here’s Why. – Alvira Salman, The Tiffin Girls’ School

Since when was having a black female in a TV show ‘woke’ or an asian superhero in a movie ‘propaganda’? Today’s world is incredibly diverse, yet the films and TV shows that we watch rarely ever reflect the true scale of the cultures and people that make up our society. Here is why it is important for those people to see themselves more on the big screen.

Previously, the media has played a huge role in creating negative stereotypes of different minority groups, such as portraying asians as nerdy and undesirable to date, muslim and black communities as dangerous and violent and reducing latinos to one-dimensional love interests or illegal immigrants. 

Over the years, the constant depiction of people in certain ways has built up both conscious and unconscious biases towards people of colour that affect their lives every day and can even cause more extreme harm such as hate crimes and wrongful arrests. The effect of media cannot be overlooked; many people are unaware of how much news they consume daily through scrolling mindlessly on social media apps, having the TV or radio play in the background, or even the ads that play whilst waiting to watch a video or play a game. This constant noise and information digs itself into the back of our minds and makes up our opinions on people and places from an extremely young age. 

When I spoke to a British friend of mine, she told me that “when I was very little, I shamefully admit that I was scared of women in hijabs until I actually met one and realised how harmless and kind she was. She was just another regular human being like me and my family.” Children are not born with any biases but they are certainly taught them through what they watch on-screen.

This explains why positively diverse films and TV shows such as ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ and ‘Ms Marvel’ are so important in today’s society. They show the other side, the truth about people around the world, and break the boundaries of malicious stereotypes and one dimensional stories that previous generations were fed with. Furthermore, portrayals of minorities in the media not only affect how others see them, but it also affects how they see themselves.

The media is well known for causing self esteem issues. The effect of this is amplified for people of colour who rarely see themselves and their culture and experiences on the screen, creating a sense of isolation and insignificance. Even worse, when they see themselves as the bad guy or the uneducated or weird side character, feelings of low self-esteem are created and people are made to think that they are unlikeable, uncapable and not conventionally attractive or pleasant. Examples of self-esteem issues caused to people of colour by the media are accents, ethnic names, body hair, personality and much more. 

The good news is that from what we’ve seen so far in the last couple of years, the film industry has a long way to go but the right steps are being taken. A lot more people are seeing themselves and their cultures represented correctly and fairly on the screen, increasing their self-esteem and self-belief, making them feel seen, validated and educating audiences from around the world about the experiences and obstacles faced by people of colour everyday. 

The children of tomorrow will see people from other countries on TV and hopefully look at them in respect and awe, and will not have the same negative opinions built unconsciously into their minds from a young age due to the media they are surrounded by. Positive media representation is a huge step to helping end racist, harmful stereotypes and creating a more equal world for all.