Is Pop Culture Inclusive?
More from this collaborator
Is Pop Culture Inclusive?
Grades 6 - 12
Overview

Is Pop Culture Inclusive?
More from this collaborator
Grades 6 - 12
Overview
Let’s talk pop culture. There’s been a ton of buzz about the importance of representation of minorities in all the latest movies, TV shows, music, sports, video games, and books. Whether it’s racial, gender, socioeconomic, disability, or sexual orientation, many people believe that pop culture hasn’t fully succeeded at being inclusive and representative.
Most recently, the casting of Black actress Halle Bailey as Ariel in the new Little Mermaid remake had some critics fuming. They claimed that Bailey couldn’t possibly play the red-haired, porcelain-skinned mermaid, while also launching #NotMyAriel and #NotMyMermaid campaigns on social media. Disney-owned TV channel Freeform clapped back, calling the naysayers “poor, unfortunate souls.” On the flip side, from the SRL archives, an example (link in preparation steps) about MTV’s short-lived reality TV show, Buckwild, where students from West Virginia talk about how rural stereotypes in the show can be hurtful.
Productions like Crazy Rich Asians, To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, Blackish, The Hate U Give, Queer Eye, and Coco, however, show that diversity can be successful.


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