Diversity and Representation in Media: The One Game Changer

Introduction

Diversity in media has been something people have been fighting for for years. Growing up being able to see people who look like you or are in similar situations to you can inspire yourself to do great things. Most recently, the new movie Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has drawn a lot of attention to the topic of representation in media. A movie with a predominantly black cast in something that has never particularly been seen in media, especially not in media as large as a Marvel movie produced by Disney. This opens up the conversation of just how important representation in media and what we can do to ensure that there is more diversity in the film industry in the near future.

Why is diversity important?

Were you ever watching a movie a noticed just how little diversity the cast had? Maybe the cast was mostly white with a token black character sprinkled in. Or maybe you noticed that not a single one of the cast members were a person of color or minority? This is a lack of diversity, which is a problem that has been in the film industry for years. Without proper diversity, a show or film can often fall short and lose audiences because of its lack of relatability. People want to see themselves on screen, and the world isn't just filled with just one kind of person. People come in many different ways but narrowing down a movie to be limited with a cast only a single type of person can relate to discourages people from wanting to watch said film. And not even just in the cast, but having people of color as directors and people on set cna make a giant difference. These changes can inspire children to want to get into the film industry because they believe that someone like them can become something. This leads to even more diversity in the film industry as the cycle continues. I'd like you to ask yourself, how can the film industry work together to better house an environment to create diversity in film?