In today’s society, TV and movie companies have been moving towards a more politically correct (PC) style in their products. By doing so, they have begun to represent more than just the average, straight, white person. People who are a person of color or LGBTQ+, with disabilities, with mental health problems and other characteristics typically have had little to no representation in the media.
This has been and continues to be an important and good change in how characters are portrayed. This can improve their acceptance from others and themselves. When the media accurately represents these people, they no longer feel alone in the world and begin to accept themselves. They become comfortable: with themselves, reaching out for help and feeling that they belong in society. It gives them confidence and can improve self-esteem. When those outside the parameters are exposed to those TV shows and movies, they begin to normalize it within themselves. This can cause a chain reaction; when the majority accepts something then it is generally normalized within society.
When properly represented, people from the outside also gain an understanding of the struggles that a person of color or members of the LGBTQ+ community go through every day. They will not have a complete understanding but they get a general idea of their struggle and hopefully lessen it.
If their portrayal is incorrect, then it becomes a joke which no one takes seriously, causing a person of color or an LGBTQ+ person to become more isolated and discriminated against. Society becomes a more hostile place and begins to retrograde to the past. By becoming more involved in PC culture, the media is shifting society from the discriminatory past to a more accepting future.
This transition to not only a more correct and appropriate media but a more inclusive media. The more people are represented in the media, the more accepting society becomes to them and the more normal they feel. Not everyone is going to be a straight, mentally-sound, nondisabled, white person and media needs to recognize that.
