What is Representation?
When a group of people is talked about or focused on in media, it's called representation. It could be in any type of media, whether it be movies, magazines, TV shows, books, or whatever else, and it could come in any form. Many touch on the topics of race, age, gender, or anything else that could make the audience relate to whatever they see.
Examples:
I chose this show because it's a teen show. This represents me because I am also a teenager. It's mostly just funny and definitely dramatized to accomplish that. Because of that, it's not entirely accurate, but it does a good job at giving the characters a more or less normal life. Heather Wordham is the creator of the show. She is not too similar to her characters or me since she is in her 50's and the show is about highschoolers.
I chose this book because it represents LGBTQ+ youth. This represents me because I am a queer teenager. Obviously, the graphic novel is not entirely accurate and is animated to make it more lighthearted, but it does a good job of showing the struggles of queer people in a homophobic environment. It also shows one character struggling to find out his sexuality and how he felt along the way, which I thought were pretty accurate. The author of the books, Alice Oseman, is aromantic and asexual and made sure to include characters like her in the books. Unlike her characters, she is not a teenager, but she is still young.
This series tries to show the life of a teenage girl. This represents me because I am also a teenage girl. A big part of why the show is so funny is its inaccuracies. The most accurate part of the show is the fact that they go to school at all. With a cast of almost all adults, one being in his 30s, and the creators also being over 30, they have no idea what to do, so they are not like me or their characters.
Importance
The reason representation in media is so important is because it makes viewers not feel so alone. Accurate, genuine representation can help to make role strong models, and serve as an inspiration as well as helping to promote self-confidence and high self-esteem in children. Representation can also shape how minorities are viewed by society and how they view themselves.
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