We have a big issue when it comes to representation in the media. It seems that when it comes to people of color, us being represented in ways outside of our stereotypes is an issue for large media outlets--whether it be the news, TV shows, movies, or even books. But the question is why must we fall into this hole? Why can't we venture from this and show all races equally and in ways that uplift, teaches, and shows a better future in the entertainment industry for all children who look up to these celebrities?
When I was a child, I always noticed that my parents and other family members took great pride in getting me any (and I used to think all) Barbie dolls that were black and looked like me--no matter if they were dressed like princesses, athletes (even ones that were gold medal Olympians), or just liked to have fun with her "Barbie friends". I remember they tried hard to get me babies, t-shirts, and more that looked like me. And I can tell you that it made me so ecstatic. But for everything that I had, that looked like me; I also had more that were white and looked nothing like them.
Don't get me wrong as a child, I didn't fully grasp the concept of race until I had a very strong, and defining moment with a classmate about how I would never be pretty because I was black and a darker-skinned one at that. I had never felt so ashamed to be black and hated being black so much then in the moment and onwards until I found more ways to accept that black is beautiful too. Honestly, that moment crushed me and had a profound impact on how I thought of being a minority, specifically black, and how I think it is so, so very important for girls of all shades of color have accurate and promising representations to look up to.
I also distinctly remember when I was younger that there were very few movies and TV shows about people of color and if they were in them, their roles were small and not the focus. The focus was always about a white, middle-class family or even a white, upper-class family. Either way, the focus was on white families. And I never found myself truly agreeing with the things they went through--at least not one hundred percent of the time.
I found myself assimilating to their storylines so I could find parallels in my own. I continue to do that very thing because the focus hasn't changed much in the last 20 years much less the last 100 years. And that brings me to the thing that I most excited for during the wonderful month of Black History. "Black Panther" comes out this week and it truly sparks a change how people of color are represented in the entertainment and media business.
When I see movies with black people, or honestly any movies with POCs, we are the help, slaves, or we fitted to our stereotypes so well that the characters wouldn't be "who they were" without them. And that in my personal opinion is sad. But "Black Panther" and "A Wrinkle In Time", as well as some other movies that came out this past year and in the future showcase people of color as more than that. It showcases them as people who can and will do it all no matter what it takes or who stands in their way.
"Black Panther" is more than just another addition to Marvel's universe. For me and for many others, it opens a lot of doors for people of color as actors, directors, designers, producers, and more. It in a way is doing what Hamilton strived to do and successfully showed is that people of color can do any and everything that white people can do and sometimes we will even do it better than them.
We are more than our stereotypes and what the media tries to paint us as. This movie gives strong, independent, and game-changing. I am excited to see what this film will do for the future. Why? IT IS BECAUSE REPRESENTATION MATTERS.
