Case Study: Representing the World

Representation is important as it promotes inclusivity among a wide range of people regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, etc. Movies such as 10 Things I Hate About You, Freaky Friday, and the show The Nanny, is media that is meant to represent me.

10 Things I Hate About You (1999)

The representations of high school students is portrayed well in this film. This movie shows the different "social classes" of different kinds of students such as the popular ones. However it really captured students who were just normal teenagers navigating their way through the difficulties faced as high school students. Moreover, the relationship between Kat and Bianca shows even though the two were siblings, there priorities were different. The sisters have chats about deep subjects matters and do not always get along. This is a good representation of sisterhood in high school. Home life is also shown as strict rules are set for the Straford siblings. Two females wrote this movie, Karen McCullah and Kirsten Smith. This could be the reason why the movie is so accurate and retable to teen girls specifically, with the obvious comedy that makes the content more dramatic. In 10 Things I Hate About You, the director is a man, but the writers are women. I can relate to these women based on the simple fact that they are women. They have gone to high school and dealt with what I am currently experiencing. The bond between Kat and Bianca is similar to me as I have a sister in high school.

Freaky Friday (2003)

In Freaky Friday the representations are precise. This is because the normal life of a student and parent is showcased. To go more in depth, the daughter is a high school student who is not popular with limited friends. She gets picked on in school as well. This contrasts heavily with a large amount of teen movies where the main character is popular. In reality, most students are not the rude stuck-up popular teens that a massive quantity of films show. Moving on, the mother works hard at her job while still providing for her children. It can be seen how burned out the mother is. Both the mother and daughter believe the others life to be easy, they soon learn, however, it is not. This shows how working to provide for the family and being a teen in high school are both challenging. Freaky Friday was originally a book written by Mary Rodgers. Rodgers was able to create these characters because not only did she understand what it meant to be a woman, but she understood what is was to be a mother. The mother in this film was represented well to the point were teens such as myself could relate to what the mom did or how she acted. Similarly to 10 Things I Hate About You, because I am a woman, I have something in common with the writer of Freaky Friday. As a daughter, I can understand where Mary is coming from as a mother. However I am not a mother which could prevent me from understanding some decisions made by the mom.

The Nanny (1993 - 1999)

The representations of Jews in this show is a bit dramatic but certainly accurate. The comical tone makes sense due to the fact that The Nanny is a Sitcom. The main character of the show is Jewish. Fran Drescher plays the nanny who works for a rich family that is not Jewish. It is funny seeing the differences between Jews and non-Jews. As a Jew, I can relate to a lot of situations being presented in the show such as how the main character acts. Even the family of the nanny is similar attributes to my mine, as Fran's family plays a huge role in the show. Some specific examples that I could relate to were the tight nit family, love of food, the way the characters dressed, as well as Yiddish and Jewish phrases used commonly in my family. A major part of the show that I could relate to as well was how excited the nanny and her family was every time there was a sale in a store. The show was created by Fran Drescher, her husband Peter Marc Jacobson, and more. Drescher and Jacobson were the main creators and writers who were both jewish like me. It was nice watching a show that had to do with my religion as there aren't that many. Watching this show was engaging and succeeded on capturing the Jewish spirit.