Character development of diverse characters.
This post was written by a student. It has not been fact checked or edited.
Diversity in my opinion means representing humans of different races , regions and religions. Showing their cultural values and respecting them.
IMPORTANCE OF DIVERSITY
Showing diversity in movies is important because we all see movies from a very young age and our favorite characters have a role in molding our own character. We all look up to our favorite heroes relate to them and learn valuable lessons from them.
My fellow topical talkers have explained the importance of diversity in movies very well and I agree to them .
amazing_computer said:
"Diversity in films is important because it helps to portray an accurate show of society both the over and under-represented groups of society. Having diversity in the film industry is therefore a better representation of the different members of society. It is not only films that need to be diverse. Magazines and adverts too, need to be diverse. We as a global community are diverse hence all our affairs ought also to be diverse.
Diversity in films is also important because it helps people to be open-minded it will open up people's minds to new ways of thinking. Films influence people a lot and having a good representation in films can help people to develop a good mindset toward other people."
breathtaking_meteor said:
"I think it is important to see diversity in films because not only that it tells people to respect other races but it also develops confidence in people of all the different races . I my self remember how happy I was this year when I saw the first Pakistani super hero( ms marvel ) it gives all the people the courage that they can be a part of something big and gives them a sense of belonging that they are not less than anyone. Black panther was the first black lead solo super hero movie so it was a big step against racism. And I think it is also important because all the children who see the movie develop a healthy mindset that all humans are equal and a black person can also lead us. Also seeing shuri becoming the new black panther shows that a woman can also be a leader defying the concept of that only men are strong enough to lead.
So , I think that it's important to see diversity in films because it eliminates the complex about a race or religion and also creates an environment in which we are all equally human."
So, representation and diversity is important to keep a healthy environment in the world. May be we can't eliminate prejudices but we can reduce them . It is important to see diversity in movies for the people who are from a different region or culture, surrounded by people to whom they don't relate.
When you see someone in a movie facing the same problem as you, you can relate to them and by seeing them overcoming their fears and fixing their flaws it encourages you to do it yourself.
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT AND CORRECT REPRESENTATION OF DIVERSE CHARACTERS
I often see that people of a race are given limited roles . For example:
I was listening to a young Asian girl on TEDx talks she said that she had only see Asians as sushi chefs and math genius which she wasn't. She needed to see someone she could relate to.
We have to make diverse characters whole and give them interesting character.
Diversity isn't just showing people of different color or gender , its about giving them a character that feels real ,faces difficulties,has emotions and thinks differently like we all do.
For example : people had their differences about the movie "captain marvel" a few people didn't like it much it's not because they can't see a strong woman, maybe for some it was but not for everyone . People said that because they thought her story line wasn't good and her character didn't develop much.
In comparison to that "Black widow" a female Russian character is loved by everyone because her character is strong, interesting and relatable to all girls and her character has developed a lot.
When we make a diverse character we have to make it the way it is, give it an interesting story line, make it reflect its culture and make it relatable to the audience. In a movie you can't just make the protagonist diverse you have to give it a plot.
For example: "Spiderman into the spider verse" showed the black spiderman beautifully it showed the life of a black teenager and his relation to his parents. He was a boy trying his best to be a spiderman and struggling with teenage emotions. It celebrated diversity and had character development.
The actors playing the character should be allowed to be more creative. They must understand the characters they play like a part of themselves.
To celebrate diversity we must mold the character with creativity and depth. So that on one is offended.
What I mean is that when we are showing diversity in characters we need to give them a strong yet flawed and a whole character making them just black or yellow shouldn't be the plot we must represent all the people with good stories like black panther. There are many characters that show diversity and we relate to them because we develop with them . So 'character development of diverse characters' is very important in my view.
I would love to hears my fellow topical talker's opinions on importance of character development of diverse characters and what are their suggestions to improve it??
Comments (3)
I'm not sure about what you said here: "To celebrate diversity we must mold the character with creativity and depth. So that on one is offended."
Creating something new doesn't mean that we should change everything and ignore all of the previously loved and valued literature. Change isn't always a good thing. We need to have a range of characters with different points of view or else we don't have anything to challenge our minds and create discussions. We can't always worry about offending people, of course we should respect everyone but also people need to be challenged and that includes challenging the people who disagree with more diverse characters by adding more of them. But also not changing the way past characters were, we should just invent new ones.
I think you didn't properly get my point.
I am not saying that we should not make new characters.
I love seeing new characters from different places. What I am trying to say is that when we create a new character we have to give it a good story so that more people are interested in it and more people can understand the value of diversity and support it.
What I mean by "no one is offended" is that the people who are shown in the movie must be represented in the right way we must respect their values.
"Not changing the way past characters were we should invent new ones"
I think by that you mean that if a character is originally white it shouldn't be just changed into a black character. I agree because that character was written for a white person for example: If we just make black panther white people wouldn't be happy. Like many people aren't happy about the "new little mermaid " because she was originally white.
So, I have just suggested a solution that instead of remaking the original characters ( because that disturbs their story line) new diverse characters should be made with an interesting plot so that people are introduce to them and build a connection with them . If they have an interesting character which has depth people will love it more.
Making something new doesn't mean that we should change everything, ignore all of the previously loved and valued literature. Change isn't always a good thing. We need to have a range of characters with different points of view. or else we don't have anything to challenge our minds and create discussions. We can't always worry about offending people. of course we should respect everyone, but also people need to be challenged and that includes challenging the people who disagree with more diverse characters as well.
I think with representation of diversity there is a huge problem with recent media. Digressing from marvel in general if we take a look at the characters in modern media we can find a lot of diversity. However I think the problem starts when they start to ignore the real world. In most the shows now the non binary community is so heavily represented that it begins to feel they are the majority. Now I have nothing against them and by no means am I anti-LGBTQ, but i think the real world stats should be kept in mind. The same goes with female leads or leads of colors. Basically if the lead is in any way non American and the movie/show fails it makes the viewers racist ,sexist etc...If we look at marvel itself the new show "she-hulk" was widely criticized. Now the fans say its because we don't like seeing a strong female lead. However this not the case and writers cant hide behind the mask of pro feminism or anti racism. Ultimately its the plot that matters. In Black Panther 2 I think is one of the times I think they got it right. The mix of African, Mexican and American cultures felt natural and not forced. The black scientist Riri Williams was the only character that i found dumb other than that great portrayal of different cultures.