What are the two most influential ideas you learned from your research? Why did these impact you so much?
The most influential ideas I learned while researching my project were why there is misrepresentation in media and how misrepresentation in media affects youth. These ideas were impactful for me because they affect everyone in our society. Representation is the talk of a lot of racial and social movements today, and I did not quite understand why minority groups were urging for higher representation in media until I did my research. Not seeing someone who looks like you in media can make you doubt your abilities and limit your scope. And seeing someone who looks like you being the butt of jokes and acting stereotypically can make you feel apathetic. I realized that representation has a major impact on the youth and can affect their outlook on life and worldview.
What do you hope people will learn from your project?
I hope people will learn why representation is important for youth and what the problem is right now. There are solutions to the problems in media and I hope that we work as a society to fix them. There is no reason that some people should not be represented in media for any reason. For the development of our youth, and ultimately the future of our world, we must have equal and fair representation in media.
What are the most important things you learned about yourself, your community, and your world during your time at NNHS?
The most important things I learned at NNHS were about myself. I grew a lot during the four years I was at NNHS and mostly for the better. The biggest thing I learned was how to relax. Before high school I would describe myself as a robot. I went to school tried everyday, went to soccer, did what I was told, and I never broke the rules. That all changed when I got to high school. With more freedom than ever, I figured out how to relax. Not everything was about progress in school or being the ideal student. I had to learn to have fun during school, and sometimes that meant “bending” the rules. High school was also the first time I had really ever failed in my life. Classes got harder because I challenged myself, and sports and clubs became more competitive. I had to learn to cope wiht failure that had consequences that lasted more than a week. Bad grades and not making a team had me adapting and finding ways to keep pushing. Overall, High school was a great experience that I would never do again.
What advice would you give future NNHS seniors?
I would tell future seniors to find balance. School is important for getting into a good college, but not worth sacrificing your mental and scoial health over. Think about what you want to accomplish in the future, both in the long and short term. If a long term goal is to go to an Ivy league and a short term goal is to have a good time with friends, try and make those goals work together. Find time to be happy while working on your academics. Finding a good balance in life is what will keep you going and sane.
This is a great topic to cover Quinn as I don’t think it’s covered enough. Especially with how much influence the media has on us in today’s age. When we grow up seeing stereotypes and never learning the truths behind them, we begin to believe that these stereotypes are normal. That is when it becomes impossible to change someone’s mind as once something becomes normalized, it’s hard to see that as wrong or not right. Hopefully we as a society can come together and get proper representation for minorities in the media,and hopefully you can still get an A on this project even though you didn’t read the book.
Hello, Quinn! I agree with your argument that media, especially social media, would largely impact the youth. It is very surprising to see that a lot of the same practices in media are used in modern times- I would have expected at least some change based on social currents. I’m astonished at how the media can often misrepresent different attitudes and cultural shifts, despite the enormous technological change. You point out very well that the tropes and portrayal- if any kind of representation- of Asian men have remained somewhat stagnant. Your observation of antagonizing Asian men in the media rings quite true. It reminds me of the first trilogy of Star Wars, episodes 1-3, where the main characters fight this alien group with Asian accents. Your visuals excellently depict your point, and the background music certainly enhances the gravity of this issue. I appreciate that you included actual video of an interview with the actor that played Glenn in the Walking Dead! It really hits that Asian actors are made to play these white-washed versions of themselves and do not fairly portray their cultural heritage. In addition, other portrayals of Asians, such as in the movie Crazy Rich Asians, are majority Asian casts- so no true, real representation without making the entire cast Asian. Great job with your project, Quinn.