Representation in Our Film

 To be honest, my group and I didn't really have representation in the front of our minds when we were brainstorming for this film opening. We were just super focused on finding actors at all! However, it turns out that all of the characters are from minority groups that live pretty standard lives.

Let's talk about Betty. She is the absolute main character in this film. Tori, a Black teenage girl, is the one who plays Betty, who is also a Black teenage girl. This means that my group has a Black female main character, which was not at all common decades ago. The fact that the story in The Hope of it All is not centered on death or life-threatening hardship, a narrative that is often common with Black protagonists, is important. Rather, the story is about a typical love triangle including teenagers with normal teenage problems. And that's perfectly okay. Showing that Black people's lives exist beyond the stereotypes is crucial, especially since this can make young Black girls feel like they are represented and understood for their complexity.

 

Moving on to James and August, we can see that their actors, Daniel and Ashley, are both Hispanic. This shows that this culture is represented with our film opening's cast. Rather than playing into the stereotype of Hispanics being maids or criminals or gardeners, our film shows that there is much more than a stereotype that can be represented with Hispanics. James and August are just like any other high schoolers in their town, with similar interests and hobbies as anyone else. Again, we are able to see how Hispanics can live beyond the stereotype and have "normal" lives, and this is great to see. Other Hispanics and Latinos viewing this film should feel much more represented than a film that merely showed a stereotype, and they may even relate to these typical high school drama-related scenes. 

Regarding female representation, our two female characters, August and Betty, provide good representation of brave and persistent women. August shows confidence and courage, traits that are certainly positive. Even despite her sometimes mischievous behavior, she does not play into the obedient and submissive stereotype that women often get. She knows what she wants (James), and will not wait for it to just be handed to her. So, she pursues what she wants, and this shows her persistence. Similarly, Betty also knows what she wants (peace and separation), and will not back down when James knocks on her door. This also shows Betty's strength and persistence. All of these positive traits about women defy the traits that this male-dominated society attempts to plant on women.

If I could make any changes for representation's sake, I would definitely try to make the film opening longer. That way, we could go more in depth into August's backstory and personality. She doesn't get much dialogue, and I feel like her true complexity could be explored more with more screen time. Also, the individual cultures of all three characters could be explored more, such as having August or James speak Spanish. Unfortunately, this is just a two minute film opening, so this cannot happen. If we were making an actual film, we would definitely incorporate more cultural elements.