Alessandra Aguirre, Celeste Addison, Sathwik Reddy Konatham

The video essay argues that diversity and inclusivity are important but can be done/ implemented poorly. Ultimately we want to include and promote members of all marginalized communities to increase representation throughout all fields, especially something as prevalent as media. The reason diversity in film is not appreciated and in fact is more criticized is because in the process of promoting that person’s marginalized identity you begin to lose the parts of that person that makes them human or more interesting. The entire point of diversity is to put everyone on an equal footing. Just as the essay states, “Iron Man is a movie about a superhero that just happens to be a man.” Representation of diversity in films should be treated the same way.

Clips from movies with female protagonists that are well written as well as clips from movies with poorly written female protagonists are the two dominant visual sources. By showing two examples of movies with female protagonists, one that received immense praise, and one that received immense criticism the author is able to better explain his main points. The examples used were convincing. They aided in his explanation and established clarity when he switched between movies. Movies that focus only on how diversity will be received lose their momentum with the audience.