There is definitely a lot of discourse surrounding representation in TV and film. Are there enough women? Are there enough people of color? Disabled people? Body types? There are countless perspectives to consider. I think that most people hold the general opinion that we have seen vast improvement since the start of media, but there is definitely room for improvement.
The NPR article that I found cites a study by the Nielson company that claims representation on TV is not reflective of the diversity of real life. They found that women, Native American people, and Latinx people are the most underrepresented groups in television and film. For example, women, and especially women over 50, are not on screen anywhere close to the same amount that they are present in society. Native American people are only shown on screen .4% of the time. These statistics reflect the idea that representation has increased but is still not where it should be.
The second article questions not just percentage of representation, but the quality of it. A lot of people may disagree with a lack of representation, saying they see minority groups represented in media all the time. What this article brings to light is misrepresentation, “under the guise of creating diversity”. Tokenism, for example the gay best friend in a movie who is simply a symbolic stab at diversity, and stereotyping/typecasting do not actually count towards diversity. For example, casting an Arabic man as a terrorist is not beneficial to underrepresented groups.
Why is this important? Representation in TV and film that goes that is actually quality representation can be key in breaking down harmful stereotypes. It can open up opportunities to minority people. More than anything, it is important to consider how we are affecting people of a certain group by the type of representation, or lack thereof, shown of them in media. I believe what we see in our media greatly affects the young people of our society as to their dreams for the future. It is important that we show people the possibility of doing anything.
I think the shows that I watch are pretty diverse, at least for more recent ones. I definitely notice a difference in shows that were made in the ’90s or early 2000s compared to ones made in recent years as far as diversity. One of my favorite shows is Jane the Virgin which has a lot of diversity, and they speak in Spanish a lot and show a lot of different culture. I think that all the shows I watch have good representation of strong female characters because I wouldn’t watch a show that made me feel badly by showing women as weak or stupid.
Overall, I really agree with the content of these articles and the need to really consider the quality of the representation we’re seeing. Some questions to consider are:
To what extent should a “token” character actually be considered representation?
How do your viewing habits reflect how you feel about yourself?
1- https://www.npr.org/2020/12/04/942574850/more-evidence-tv-doesnt-reflect-real-life-diversity
2-
It is painfully obvious that groups such as women and native americas are vastly underrepresented within media. I enjoyed reading your take on this situation as i too hold these same thoughts.
I agree with the statement about tokenism. Characters that could be described as “tokens” usually feel forced and aren’t usually written too well. No characters from shows that I have watched immediately come to mind, but I am near certain that there are characters like that in shows I have watched.