‘Get Even’ and ‘Blood & Water’: the Netflix Originals Every Non-Elite Needed When They Were Younger.

Pretty Little Liars and Gossip Girl are screaming from their graves. 2020 has brought a wave of new shows that did everything those shows should have done for the BIPOC kids that also watched. Having your formative years dominated by the entertainment industry completely eradicating people who look like you from their storylines has done so much unintentional harm to young BIPOC everywhere. To white people, it is so normal to see yourself as the main character and the character that gets their happy ending and because of that, it is simultaneously forgotten that BIPOC kids had to grow up not seeing themselves represented at all or only seeing themselves as the villain or the harmful stereotype. Whether or not screenwriters and casting directors will admit it, their contribution to a history of whitewashed entertainment has had an effect on how generations of young BIPOC have seen themselves.

Whilst Gossip Girl, The OC, One Tree Hill, and Pretty Little Liars had their impact on our younger years, time really is upon high school shows that enforce the idea that only the rich, white, elite get to have the traditional high school experiences. Which actually isn’t so traditional and probably shouldn’t be encouraged. With shows such as Pretty Little Liars, came the sudden upsurge in social media followings of TV shows. Within weeks, shows acquired massive followings and they were all anybody spoke about. Children and teens everywhere wanted to be their favourite character in their favorite high school shows but for some of us, that was just never going to happen. We didn’t have a single character in our favourite show that looked anything like us. But move out of the way whitewashed high school dramas, representation has arrived and it’s better late than never.

The early 2000 shows thought having one gay character, once, in all 5 or more seasons was a hot take. And maybe it would’ve been if it wasn’t abundantly clear that they were just trying to fill a representation quota by not even giving their LGBTQ+ characters a complex, in-depth storyline or if they… wait for it… didn’t just kill off all the LGBTQ+ characters. Blood & Water’s unapologetic exploration of sexuality, more specifically pansexuality, should set the standard for shows that will be coming out from now on. 

Oh and for the kids who always felt like the teens in the shows, they watched received their parent's undying attention whilst they lived a very different reality… Bree from Get Even has got you covered. Representation comes in all forms; race, gender, sexuality, disability and directors and screenwriters should always be pushing for these to be seen and heard but alongside the obvious lack of representation for physical attributes, there is a huge lack of emotional representation, especially when portraying the lives of young children or teens. When shows and films are catered towards a younger audience, portraying the idea that life and emotions have to fit a certain mold set out for them by the shows they adore can lead adolescents to feel less seen and more alone. The exploration of family dynamics in a variety of different households and families, in both, Get Even and Blood & Water creates a sense of solidarity for those who might’ve always felt that they were the abnormal ones. You're not and you never were. These two incredible shows will help you realize that.

When a show can perfectly combine representation without bragging and amazing storylines accompanied by profound characters, that’s when you know you’re in for a treat. TV and Film representation matter so much when the real-world lacks representation in all spheres, from politics to fashion. The power of entertainment shouldn't be underestimated and the lack of representation it has had through history shouldn't be normalized.

Blood & Water being a Netflix original and streaming in the UK and the US is pretty monumental. Because yes, TV shows that are set in countries that aren’t America or England do exist but they’re never the ones everyone’s talking about. Blood & Water is set in South Africa and includes all the things that make South Africa unique. It’s not Americanized and it includes tender moments where the characters interact in Zulu. It’s important to let people know that the way they live is worthy of being shown to the world. We are not all the same and the implication that we are, through the Americanization of differing cultures in the media, causes harm. 

There will be a new generation of kids who now get to grow up seeing themselves on the current hot TV shows and they won’t just be seeing themselves as the token representation character and that’s pretty amazing.