2018 has been a great year for film.

That’s mostly because of the public discourse that movies have spurred, including “Crazy Rich Asians,” “The Incredibles 2” and “To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before.” Those films have  created waves in the cinematic community and beyond. And, beside the dazzling acting and aesthetic cinematography, it’s the women in these films are the arguably the most notable.

Even in films released earlier this year, such as “Black Panther” and “Ocean’s 8,” have challenged stereotypes. For once, the portrayal of women in modern film is authentic and truly describes and depicts what women are experiencing. We are finally seeing more woman characters call out oppressive experiences. In “Crazy Rich Asians,” one of the characters tells her husband, “It was never my job to make you feel like a man. I can’t make you something you’re not.”

Such quotes not only call out the power dynamic between a binary gender spectrum, but also call out the oppression that comes at the intersection of race and gender. As Shuri says in “Black Panther,” “Don’t scare me, colonizer!”

Beyond dialogue, woman film characters of 2018 are breaking the glass ceiling in what they do as part of their roles. In “Incredibles 2,” Helen Parr temporarily gives up her life focused on raising three children to run after a villain, and reinvigorates her passion for crime fighting. “Incredibles,” the first move in the superhero series, was focused solely on Bob Parr, Helen’s husband.

Lara Jean in “To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before” maintains a close relationship with her sisters, despite potential fallout problems, dispelling the stereotype of women stepping on each other for competition.

There is still a long way to go before film can be considered a champion for diverse representation. But these characterizations are more than warranted — they’re long overdue.

Films with diverse cast representation have proven popular with mainstream audiences and, in turn, show studio executives that they can be successful, Syracuse University professor Bradley Gorham said in an email.

Blessing Emole | Digital Design Editor

It’s important to note there are several underrepresented communities that have not yet been on the big screen. And underrepresented communities should be involved in the behind-the-scenes work associated with filmmaking.

“Diverse representation in film also requires diverse representation among the people behind the camera, especially in the suites where green-lighting decisions get made,” Gorham said.  “Who are the producers, who’s writing the stories and scripts, who green-lights those projects, who gets selected to direct?”

Without this representation, film cannot be entirely considered diverse, as it can and should be.

But including diverse characters is a good start. That paves the way for future filmmakers.

And the existence of these characters mirror real-life people, in many ways — in “Crazy Rich Asians,” Rachel Chu is an Asian-American woman whose mother is an immigrant. For the 39.06 percent of Asian immigrants and their families in the United States, this is their reality.

It’s about time diverse audiences actually have authentic storytelling.

As creators of content, producers have to make sure that they don’t exclude anyone from conversations created by their work. Only then can they continue to push for more diversity in film. A movie screen can be a mirror.

Lianza Reyes is a junior broadcast and digital journalism major. Her column runs biweekly. She can be contacted at lireyes@syr.edu.

Published on September 23, 2018 at 6:08 pm