Representation We Want to Include in Our Film Opening

In our AICE Media Studies project, in which I will be working with Sophia Jauregui, we will be focusing on representing the group known as high school students. Usually in films, this group is represented as very social individuals who always have a non-school-related activity to do after school. They are portrayed as having a very busy schedule and at the same time going through many of life’s difficulties. They could also be represented as not very social individuals; however, that would not change the general representation of students doing everything but school work after school.

One example of this typical representation of students can be seen in the American television series, Gossip Girl (2007-2012). Moreover, in this show, the students of a private high school are seen doing non-school-related activities every single day after school. Some of these activities are going shopping in the city, eating expensive lunches with friends, or just hanging out with friends at someone’s penthouse. They also are even sometimes shown skipping school to handle unnecessary affairs. Furthermore, another example of this representation can be identified in the television series, The Vampire Diaries (2009-2017). This show represents high school students as having more things to worry about that have nothing to do with school. In addition, most of the characters in The Vampire Diaries go on quests and adventures when the last school bell rings. Moreover, both television shows represent high school students as having a full schedule after school, but of course the schedule does not include any after-school work (AKA homework).

The general representation of high school students in various forms of media is a representation that I do not support. Because I, myself, am a high school student, I am fully aware of all of the school work and studying I have to do after school. Moreover, I know that doing homework and studying for school takes up most of my time after any regular school day. Also, this is not just my personal situation due to the fact that many of my classmates go through the same instances of having to study and do homework for hours after school everyday. Thus, I do not think this typical representation depicted in many films and TV shows is either correct or fair because it gives other individuals, who are not high school students, a misconception of what it means to be a high school student. In other words, I believe the group of high school students is being misrepresented by the media.

In our AICE Media Studies project we would convey the group of high school students as they truly are. We would convey them as being studious every single day after school, and we would convey them as having a social life, but their social life would not overpower their school life. Thus, instead of being shown partying more, high school students would be shown studying more. Moreover, I think it is extremely important to fix the misrepresentation of high school students in many forms of media, especially in films and television shows.