Representation in our Film

While our group didn't necessarily start this project with the intention of making it super representational, our film actually turned out to have a lot of good representation. All three of our main characters are part of at least one minority group and live normal lives in the suburbs.

I should start with our actress, Tori, who plays Betty in the film. While when you first hear the name Betty, you might picture a caucasian girl from a rural town, Tori completely changed this idea, bringing Betty to life as an African-American teenage girl. This places a black female character as our main protagonist, something that wasn't too common just a few years ago. It also shows a different side to the black experience, placing Betty in a middle-class, suburban family with common teenage girl problems. It is very important to see different black stories, especially when so many films just choose to show the stereotypical qualities and situations. These stories need to be shown more often because they could inspire other young black girls who can look at Betty and see themselves represented. 

James and August, are played by Hispanic actors, Daniel and Ashley. Similar to Betty, we need to see more people from the Hispanic and Latino cultures represented in different ways on the big screen. Often we see the funny Mexican gardener or housekeeper, or the Colombian narcos, or even the Central American illegal immigrant, but we need to see less stereotypes and actual representation. James and August provide this because they live normal lives, as any other teenager would. It is refreshing to see Hispanics represented in a different way that is not super stereotypical because there are so many Latinos that can see themselves in August and James nowadays. 

Finally, I think it can be said that we have a lot of powerful female representation in this film. For example, while August might be a little egotistical, she is definitely very confident and strong. Instead of waiting around for James to come to her, she pursues him. She also drives herself around and doesn't take any stupid behavior from anybody, which is really cool to see. The same can be said about Betty. She is very strong and independent, which can be seen by how she stands by her decision to reject James and not be taking as a fool by any man. This is very respectable and can be inspiring to young girls today, who, as of now, might only see princesses who wait around for a man to save them.

The only change I would make to the characters is allow August and James to speak Spanish. Maybe this is something that could be explored later in the film as more of their character is explored. However, I feel that at least one of the Hispanic characters in the film should be shown speaking in their ancestral language.