The damage of not seeing someone like you on the screen - Why representation matters and can help save lives.
Let’s be honest with ourselves — we’re all binge watching something on Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, you name it, we can find something to binge. Okay, maybe you’re not partaking in the binge culture, but you are watching content, whether that be on Youtube or a streaming site, maybe you’re one of those people who still has actual TV. It’s no lie that we are all consumers, consistently watching shows, movies, videos — we are always consuming. Something we may not always notice while consuming is the media representation and how we can relate to the characters we watch on the screen. Do this people look like you? Share similar interests? Like what you like? Share the same gender identity or sexuality? These things matter and can change the way we view ourselves.
Media representation matters. A lot. It’s how most of us create opinions on certain groups of people before ever meeting them, or how we believe others will see us. If the media portrays a group negatively we end up consciously or subconsciously believing that is the truth for that group. Whether that means when we see a member of said group on the street, we assume how they will act, or whether that means we are a member of that group and believe that’s how we should act. Now, that’s not to say that all representation is negative and will have a negative effect on others, because that is just simply not true. But there seems to be an overwhelming amount of negative stereotypes being portrayed in media of particular groups of people, causing adverse reactions from outsiders.
That being said, not all representation is negative but not all groups actually have representation. And why does that matter? What does it mean if you don’t see yourself on the screen? To put it simply, it ostracises you. It makes you feel as though you should not exist, that you are wrong to exist, and that you are alone. This can become internalised, making you believe you are not a necessary part of society, that maybe you won’t be valued if you are seen. Once you start believing these things, you’ll see higher amounts of depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, low self-worth, and may find yourself hiding important parts of who you are.
Media representation is something that starts from a very young age, during the times you are most impressionable and when you are developing your sense of self. If you cannot find someone in the media who’s story you identify with, you can begin to hide parts of yourself from others in fear of rejection. By seeing parts of your story through different forms of media, it begins to normalise the experiences you have, it makes you feel as though there are others out there that are like you. You begin to feel less alone and more normal. Seeing someone like yourself or someone who shares a similar story to you in the media makes it so that you can begin to identify and feel accepted, especially if you fear no one will accept you. In my opinion, it is crucial to find movies, shows, videos, etc. that discuss and show the issues important to you, that you find a character you identify with in order to begin to accept yourself. If you can see media as a whole accepting parts of you that you may feel shame or fear around sharing, how can you not begin to accept yourself?
