When I was little, all I wanted to do was grow up and live like the characters in the TV shows and movies I watched at the time.
As a child, these shows — such as “One Tree Hill,” “Victorious” and “The Big Bang Theory” — inspired what I thought my future could be . I couldn’t wait to go to a sports-obsessed high school, drive to the mall, go to wild parties or just hang out with friends every night.
But as I got older, life became more complicated. I could feel the chances of living out my fantasy as a typical TV character getting slimmer.
High school, as many of us may know, is not like “High School Musical.” Students don’t burst into song at any moment to heal from growing pains or not getting a part in the musical. My high school experience can be summed up by getting up at the crack of dawn to take a calculus exam and remembering that the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell.
On top of the wake-up call that high school was not like it’s portrayed in TV shows and movies, I also began to see new tensions between family and friends due to differing political opinions.
Over the past few years, we’ve also seen both major societal injustices and advancements. I had never seen an era of so many protests in my life, such as the staging of a national school walkout protesting gun violence in 2018 to the Black Lives Matter movement taking center stage in 2020.
I noticed even the media began to emphasize these ubiquitous changes by inserting them into TV shows and movies in an attempt to foster social change.
Though I support media dealing with important topics in an attempt to further social justice initiatives, this practice produces an undeniable element of gloom that didn’t seem as present in what I enjoyed watching as a child.
I often hesitate to connect with shows today because it’s anxiety-inducing to learn about an oppressive situation and not be able to change it. While spreading awareness can be beneficial to systemic reform, it can still be overwhelming having to take in these heavy issues.
In addition, many TV shows and movies made today are remakes or spin-offs. I feel it would be a betrayal to the fictional characters I used to idolize if I supported modern money-grab reboots — which are almost never as good and ruin my memories of the original.
For these reasons, I find myself repeatedly going back to my roots watching things like “Hannah Montana” and “Alvin and the Chipmunks.” As I engage with these and other classics from that time, I’m instantly reminded of childhood innocence and simpler times.
However, looking back at the childhood shows and movies I once saw as flawless, it’s easy to see the utter lack of diversity. One thing that helps me stop fighting the present is realizing how far we have come as a society to address these issues.
Media has diversified representation, and that is something to celebrate — though there is still lots of work to be done. Recent TV shows such as “Sex Education” and “Never Have I Ever” achieve equitable representation by including characters of different races, ethnicities and sexual orientations without tokenizing them.
Positive advancements like these can make us hopeful for the future and want to keep improving. Though I will probably never stop watching “Wizards of Waverly Place” and giving into nostalgia, I’ve learned to appreciate and respect the media today that attempt to tackle serious issues.
Kara Acinapuro (she/her) is a junior studying media advertising with a minor in marketing. She is Vice President of Women in Media and a member of CHAARG and Alpha Phi Omega.
