Representation!

 

As stated in our previous post, this film is about friendship and losing it. We wanted to carefully reflect a decay in mental health near the end of the film without portraying it in a dangerous or humorous light, like I have seen many other shows do so before.

Of course, I cannot speak for Tu or Bella’s point of view, but it's overall nice to create something where teens are just being silly and having fun, even if it's assumed to be childish.

When discussing race, all 3 of us are women of color who are often portrayed in an icky light, to say the least. Personally, i’ve always felt semi-isolated by these stereotypes, especially as a more sensitive and quiet black girl. I remember being called whitewashed for my love of fashion, art, and music from other cultures. I wanted to be proud of that in this film. Not every black kid is the way they’re portrayed in films—not all of us are loud and “nasty talking,” and even if we are, so what? It's not always a bad thing. My culture shouldn't be used as something to frown upon or laugh at.