On-Screen Diversity: Why Visibility in Media Matters

GRADE LEVEL: Elementary School, Middle School

COMMON CORE STANDARDS: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, Language

Does Entertainment Represent Our Increasingly Diverse Society?

In recent years, we have seen some progress made in terms of the diversity and representation of characters and actors we see in movies and on television. For example, over the last sixteen years, the percentage of Asian characters with speaking roles increased from 3.4% to 15.9%. However, there is still much work to do. While 44% of leading or co-leading roles went to women and girls in 2022, a 16-year-peak and more than double the number in 2007, casts are still dominated by men. The percentage of both speaking characters who are LGBTQ+ or people with disabilities remains extremely low. 

About this Lesson Plan

This lesson provides an opportunity for students to learn how different types of entertainment, like movies and television, reflect our diverse society. Students will explore the importance of representation and conduct their own research about various characters in films and TV programming.

Learning Objectives:

• Students will explore the extent to which the movies and television shows they watch portray a diversity of characters.
• Students will consider the importance of representation and visibility in movies and television.
• Students will conduct their own research study about the diversity of films and television.