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By: Moussa Yarori It’s 1991 and a young, black girl is sprawled out on her living room couch, attentively watching “Beauty & the Beast”. Although she is deeply excited to see a brand new Disney princess in action, she begins to wonder why people who look like her are never portrayed on screen. As she watches Belle embrace the newly transformed prince, her subconscious notes the absence of 4C kinky hair and deep bronze skin. Eventually, these notes turn into self-conscious, limiting questions she doesn’t necessarily know the answer to.
“Where’s the princess that looks like me? Will a black girl ever get the prince? What’s wrong with me? Why are people that look like me never associated with class, beauty, and happy endings”. In that moment, she imagines what it would be like to turn on the TV and see a reflection of herself embodying pure perfection. A shiny, piercing crown and captivating ball gown. Lovely, brown skin glowing in the light. But unfortunately, she’s already deemed that dream impossible. And, as she stares into that unapologetic screen and all it showcases, she sees the opposite of everything that makes her who she is.
During the early stages of development, children associate the small glimpses of the world they’re shown, with what’s possible. A child surrounded by lack and misfortune is likely to slowly believe those properties are all life may every amount to. For that very reason, representation is crucial. Proper representation in the media allows those not belonging to the majority to uplift and praise themselves. Not only that, but it allows the minority to see that they too can occupy roles, positions, and spaces they formerly believed weren’t for them. Princess, model, pop-star, doctor, actor, etc. Representation can often serve as a source of assurance and inspiration. And, when done correctly, representation in the media affirms for children all around the world that there’s indeed somewhere they belong. However, it simply isn’t enough to draw the line at seeking out representation. We must fight for accurate representation. For decades, minority groups were excluded from large facets of the media. And, when they were finally included, they were misrepresented and depicted using harmful, mistaken beliefs about their existence. Misrepresentation can alter the way in which society perceives a certain group of people, for the worst, often prompting people to see “the misrepresented” as less than, dangerous, and/or individuals not worthy of being shown human decency and respect. Or, in other cases, misrepresentation produces expectations for how certain groups of people should act, speak, interact, and think. These expectations are often projected onto those groups in real life, creating long-lasting, detrimental standards.
Accurate representation helps deconstruct and disprove stereotypes about minority groups, ones that often serve as justification for discrimination, bias, and sometimes even hate crimes. Alternatively, accurate representation can aid in the healing of trauma felt by individuals within those misrepresented groups, who for an extremely long time, have felt belittled and disrespected by invalid pictures painted about their communities. When minority groups are represented accurately, the truth about who we are and what we stand for are often revealed. For decades, minority groups dealt with constantly doing the viewing and never being the ones viewed. For generations, we were pushed out of the modeling industry and never given opportunity, unfairly denied roles and parts we rightfully deserved, and pushed to the back of line. And, when we were finally accepted into those once exclusive spaces, we were under-appreciated, mistreated, and portrayed incorrectly. But, when we were finally accurately represented, a light was shone on the most pleasant, beautiful aspects of our beings. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.pbs.org/newshour/amp/arts/why-on-screen-representation-matters-according-to-these-teens https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Representation_of_African_Americans_in_media http://www.medialit.org/reading-room/long-way-go-minorities-and-media