Authenticity, Representation and Why They Matter
The story:
Representation matters. It matters because the media we consume can shape how we understand the people around us, our cultures, the world, and ourselves. The messages conveyed in media can be subliminal or explicit, but it’s important to understand the influence they have on our own ways of thinking.
What does authenticity have to do with it?
Very recently, there has been a push in Hollywood (the 2021 Academy Awards, as just one example) towards uplifting the voices of historically underrepresented groups of people. This includes women, BIPOC (black, indigenous, and people of color), and the LGBTQ community. This is wonderful, it’s a step in the right direction, and it gives agency back to not only individuals but groups of people who have long been marginalized, and long been deserving of accolades. This is only the beginning of a more inclusive and accepting film industry, but there have been some questionable missteps along the way. At times, a focus on representation alone can feel thin and hollow, as if certain actors or actresses were chosen to fit a quota, a numbers game instead of something truly authentic, which could represent people as they deserve to be represented. Authenticity can come in many forms, but at its core it is honest. It is making sure that details are correct, that the people shown on-screen are connected to their characters, that stories are being told not only for monetary gain but also have a social conscience, and that the many diverse subsets of people living in the U.S. can expect faithful representations of themselves instead of the mischaracterizations they have been subject to in the past.
What was that, about culture?
Media can shape culture and the ways we remember certain events in our own cultures. It can reinforce stereotypes or break them down, by showing the many sides of many different individual people. Not allowing authentic stories to be told can effectively erase certain parts of our cultural memory, but promoting real stories and having them proliferated can expose us to different ways of thinking, leading us to acquire different kinds of knowledge about people that we don’t relate to, on the surface. Really good movies can expand our understanding of what it might feel like to walk in someone else’s shoes. A really, really good movie can show an under-represented minority living in the United States that they matter, that they have a figure to look up to, and that they are not forgotten. Media can remind us of our shared histories while also expanding our ability to have empathy for each other.
