March by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell

I don’t think stereotyping is necessary in character design and representation. I think there are ways to design a character and write a character to make them an individual. A person beyond stereotype. I think relying on stereotype is lazy and only perpetuates the lack of quality representation in media. There definitely needs to be more representation, but it has to be done right. If it’s done sloppily and relies on old tropes that only add to discrimination, then there isn’t any point. For example, in March the representation is done amazingly well. The characters aren’t two dimensional perceptions of black people. They’re real people and you can see and feel that as you read. The buildup of Lewis’s childhood where he couldn’t stand the violence against his chickens, his intense interest in school, and the discrepancy between the treatment of white and black students; all which lead up to his involvement in the civil rights movement, created a depth of character that didn’t go anywhere near stereotype. This is probably in part because it’s a true story but I think the execution of the story was also a big factor. If John Lewis found a graphic novelist who executed it sloppily then his story could have been misconstrued in a way that relied on stereotype. A lot of it relies on the back of the artist, Nate Powell. I have a lot of respect for someone who is able to take someone else’s story and portray it in a way that feels so personal and real. I think he really showcased what an amazing person Lewis is and made it incredibly easy to connect to him and his experiences. I think a lot of people perceive representation as being something difficult to execute correctly, but I think the secret is to just tell and show the story and characters as accurately as possible. You can’t just go off of what you think is accurate. You should dive in to the experiences of those people if you’re trying to represent a group you’re not a part of. For instance, the fact that Lewis co-wrote March and was probably directly involved in its development most likely played a huge role in the depth and accuracy of story. While I can’t speak from experience about the personal effects of racial stereotyping in media, I have been effected by gender stereotypes. I know that I can almost always tell when a female character was written by some guy who has no idea what women are actually like. They’re always flat characters with no personality, past, or goals. They lack humanity and are only there as sexual props for the leading man. But when a writer talks to a woman about the character, understands the depth with which they have to create the character, or a woman herself writes the character, they become full on people that the audience is able to connect to. It’s not that hard, it just takes a little bit of effort to discuss with someone their experiences and how they would want to be represented and to then make a commitment to honoring that as accurately as possible throughout the execution of your story.