Media Reflection #4

 

Generally, I believe that there is a responsibility to represent groups of people "correctly," although it depends on the goal of the writer. If they wish to portray a group that might be underrepresented in media, then it would be beneficial to make it as accurate as possible so the members of the group feel included and like the film genuinely represents their experiences, and also so those who might be unaware or have misconceptions about the group can be informed. If that is the intention, then they have an obligation to research the group they are trying to represent and write them in an authentic way. However, there might be circumstances where an inaccurate or stereotypical portrayal might serve a purpose, such as to make a mockery of films or media that do this unintentionally. This would have to be done in a deliberate and obvious way though, so people understand that it is not actually portraying reality, so it might be difficult to always pull this off successfully. 

Overall, there is definitely a responsibility, but it should be acknowledged that any representation, no matter how accurate the writer may attempt to make it, is not going to reflect the experiences of every person within that group. Of course, that is not an excuse to not put effort into making it accurate, but the point is that there is not always a "correct" way to represent a group.

Films in the past have typically utilized stereotypes because they are not written by members of the group that is being portrayed and because the actual writers may be uninformed or in some unfortunate cases, relatively careless. Although representation has significantly improved in recent years, it is still flawed. An example of a recent film with bad representation is Music (2021). One of the main issues with it is that the portrayal of autism feels like mockery, with the actress, who is not autistic, playing the character with overly exaggerated expressions/gestures. Additionally, the character is often infantilized in the film, and also is mistreated in general. A film that is considered to have good autistic representation is Mozart and the Whale (2005). The reason why the portrayal of autism is more accurate in this film is because multiple characters are autistic, so they are able to showcase each of their experiences, instead of only one individual's, which makes the movie more representative. They were also able to show the challenges of having autism while also showing the positives of it and the deep connections that can be made between those who have it. 

I think good representation can be achieved similar to how Mozart and the Whale did it. There should be multiple characters in the film who are apart of the group that is being represented, and I would go as far as to say that they should all be the main characters. That way, they can all be written with their own unique pasts and personalities, but have common experiences that can lead to them understanding each other and connecting, which is similar to what would happen in real life. Writers should also collaborate with members of the group they wish to represent, and use their knowledge and advice to create characters. If they see the significance in what they are writing, then they should be able to do this without issue.