Nora's Podcast Peeps

The podcast discusses the lack of representation in the media, particularly in TV shows and movies. The speakers share their experiences of not seeing characters that culturally represent them, especially characters of color and LGBTQ+ characters. They discuss how this lack of representation affects them, making them feel unseen and unimportant. The podcast emphasizes the need for change and hopes that the new generation will bring about that change. Hi, how are you? My name is Nora Carroll and this is my podcast. So today I have brought a few people here to discuss the type of representation that we see in the media today or the media years ago when we were children growing up. I had an assignment within the last two months to write an essay basically regarding what types of representation in media that we saw growing up and if there were any really representations of the minorities in the United States today. So I'm going to have my two speakers speak for right now. So we are going to start with Henry Lopez. He goes to Trinity College in Hartford. He is of the Hispanic heritage and he is going to share with us his experience. Hi Henry. Hi Nora. Do you remember watching any TV shows growing up or like the names of any of them? Yeah, growing up I remember watching shows like Grampy Falls and Piggies and Fur and others as well. Okay, out of those shows are there any other ones that you remember watching growing up or now? Did any of them culturally represent you properly or correctly? No, I don't think so because as a Mexican I never really, you know all the characters were white and never saw any characters of color. Okay, and how does that still affect you today? Or how did it affect you? Well I guess like you know, growing up as a kid you want to see, you know, you watch shows and you want to be like them, I guess like a role model and I never really saw that in the shows that I watched as a kid so growing up I was I guess a bit confused and you know, not seeing what I guess I should have seen. Okay, thank you. For the second person that I'm interviewing today I have Nicole Nevaeh. She is my roommate at the University of Connecticut. She is also of Hispanic heritage. Hi Nicole. Hi. Do you remember off the top of your head any TV shows you used to watch growing up? Yeah, they were mostly Disney Channel shows like Good Life Charlie and The Hound. Okay, out of those two shows are there any other ones you remember? Did any of them culturally represent you correctly? No, because most of the main characters were only white. Okay, and how did that affect you? I mean, it didn't affect me personally, but I'm sure that other people might have been, especially as like a young child maybe like offended or confused or maybe like you see people now their younger kids usually ask like, oh, why is the main character not like black or Asian or Hispanic? So, I mean not me, but maybe other people. Okay, thank you. We are especially seeing this lack of representation in TV shows that were older where it was seen as not necessarily weird, but different to have main characters that weren't white. We see this in Full House. We also see this in Friends. And very importantly, the first superhero that was African American didn't come out until 2008, which was Trey played by Kevin Hart. And as a white female in the United States, it's not okay and it's something that we definitely need to work on. We definitely need to change this from happening because it's inappropriate. Where are the children that are going to be our future going to see themselves in the TV shows that they'll watch? I mean, Full House growing up, I used to watch that all the time because, I mean, it was a popular show. But where were the African American characters? Where were the Hispanic characters? I didn't see any Asians, anything like that. And it's not okay and it's something that we all need to work on together. Generation Z is here to make a change for this. In this new TV show called Outer Banks, we have four main characters and one of which, the main characters is African American. And another one of the main characters is a mixed female. And this is something that is definitely giving us a step in the right direction. However, what is one show going to do for the rest of humanity, basically? I mean, one show versus the millions of shows that come out every year that have a great lack of representation. Another extremely important issue is the lack of LGBTQ representation in media. We do not see any form of representation of that in our media today. Sure, we do have a few series that come out here and there that explain or have LGBTQ plus happy endings. But again, what will three shows do to change humanity? Again, it's the same question that I mentioned before. What is a few shows going to do for the children growing up that aren't seeing themselves in media? I mean, we don't even teach LGBTQ in our schools right now. And that's just going to make it worse when they come home and there's still a lack of representation in the TV shows and the movies that they watch. It's going to still keep the same idea that those children don't belong in our society today. That's not okay. Sure, there are a few movies and TV shows coming out with LGBTQ plus happy endings. But again, it goes back to the same thing. What is one thing? What is one TV show, one movie, one commercial going to do for the rest of humanity, for the children that are going to be our future? When will they finally be able to see themselves? So I have one person here who I have been able to interview. And let's hear what she has to say. I'm now going to be interviewing my sister, Hallie. Hi, Hallie. How are you? Good. How are you? Can you think of any off the top of your head, any shows that you used to watch growing up? Cartoons, comedies, anything like that? Spongebob, Barely Oddparents, That's So Raven, Hannah Montana, all those different shows. Okay. How many of the shows that you just mentioned or any that you can remember other than those represent your sexuality correctly? None of them. Absolutely none of them. Okay. And how has that impacted you today? Made me feel unseen, unrepresented, made me feel unimportant, made me feel like I was doing something wrong, like I wasn't like everyone else. Okay. Okay. Thank you. And there you have it, folks. It's a crazy world that we live in and a change definitely needs to happen, but it's up to us to make that change. And I mean, looking at it right now, it doesn't look like that's going to be coming anytime soon. But I do have faith in this new generation. I have faith in us to finally be able to make a change. And I'm really hoping that my instincts are correct. Maybe not. Possibly not. They usually are, though. They usually are. Well, that's all today on my podcast. I hope you all enjoyed. Please do leave any suggestions for me. Thank you so much. See ya.