It’s 2018: you would expect by now that all or most minorities in America would be represented in various genres of film, playing different types of characters. This is not the case. I, just like many other little girls my age, grew up with a favorite Disney princess that resembles our own physical appearance or personality. Most of my friends would choose princesses that looked like them, but I was very limited to which princesses resembled my own physical appearance.
My favorite princess growing up was Jasmine. She had the same long, black hair, medium-toned skin, and dark brown eyes. There was no other princess during the early 2000s other than Pocahontas that had similar features. She made me feel like I belonged, even though I had darker features. Little girls of color all over America were not being represented in films available to them. They were never the princesses, heroes, queens, leaders, or the girls men could fall in love with. They were not supposed to be seen as beautiful nor strong, but mere side characters for the beautiful light skinned main characters.
As I grew older, the lack of representation of people of color, especially Latinx and African American communities, continued. Whenever I turned on the TV, people of hispanic descent were always casted in stereotypical roles: as housekeepers, gardeners, criminals, or the oversexualized “Latin Lover.” Our roles reflected how America viewed the potential of those of hispanic descent and the jobs that were expected of us to do. Never once, as I watched those movies, did I believe that I could be anything else but those roles within the eyes of American society.
Minorities tend to have the pressure of having to fulfill the stereotypes that are expected of us and when we do, we are seen as less. Unless we fulfill what is expected of us, we do not belong to our community because we do not do the jobs that are expected to be done by our community, nor are we accepted in American society; we are stuck in the middle. We have to choose between what’s expected of us and what we want to do. We can only choose one and there are many cons to choosing one or the other. If we choose to do the jobs that are expected of us we face less opportunities that are not within our “ability” and constant jokes.
Films reinforce this same idea by having non-white characters often play characters that fit their stereotypes. For Asian Americans, they are usually cast as the really smart people, the cool side kick, or foreigners. For African Americans, they are stereotyped as dumb, criminal, aggressive, or the comedic characters in films.
By having minorities often play roles that are associated with their stereotype, Hollywood and society is repeatedly telling minorities where they belong and how their future is defined by their ethnicity. Hollywood should expand their horizons when it comes to casting for diversity and shouldn’t believe movies filled with minorities will make less money compared to films with a majority white cast. Movies with a cast that is mainly people of color have proven to be successful. Films like Crazy Rich Asians, Get Out, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, Girls Trip, and Moonlight are prime examples of this.