SHE'S ALIVE (well, sort of)

After brainstorming for quite a while with Nicole over the phone- which consisted of a lot of excited gasping and screaming- our main character seems to be coming to life.

Regarding the stereotypes we are challenging, we decided to most notably challenge the "spicy Latina" trope and the notion that the sexuality of a lesbian/bisexual character is all there is to their personality. Staying as far away as possible from the various costumes that Hollywood has specifically tailored for these groups.

I feel like challenging LGBT tropes won't be as hard. Given that the problem with a lot of LGBT characters is that they are either one-dimensional, and/or irrelevant to the plot. We want our character to be visibly LGBT, but we don't want that to be a defining characteristic- because (shockingly) that isn't the case in real life.

Regarding Latina tropes, we are completely staying away from the objectified "spicy Latina" stereotype- which depicts Hispanic women as inherently promiscuous, unintelligent, and loud. Not only is this racist in the sense that it perpetuates the view of non-European cultures as "exotic", but it severely limits the ways in which Latina girls can see themselves on screen. 

Our main character is a quiet, yet assertive individual who is not at all concerned with anyone's view of herself but her own. She's smart and seemingly confident, without any over the top 

Our Protagonist

Our story will follow a student in her last years of High School, who can be best described as someone with a child-like spirit. She's not particularly excited to grow up, so she surrounds herself with things some may regard as childish, but she genuinely enjoys them- it gives her a sense of comfort. She's perceived as laid-back, though she doesn't care much what others think of her. Still, this relaxed, amicable attitude makes her well-liked by her circle of friends.

She entertains herself with the arts. Though she knows she can't really draw all that well, and that her neighbors are tired of her trying(and failing) to hit that high note from that obscure musical, she enjoys herself and that's all she cares about. She keeps posters all around her room,and even has a play dough mini-set for an "experimental stop motion film" she's been telling her friends all about for the past year (you didn't hear this from me but this stop motion film is relevant later on).

Now you may be thinking: 
"Wow! how funny, quirky, and original!"
(that's me trying to type sarcasm out, not that one would think in punctuated sentences)

Listen... you may be right, but buckle up because I swear it makes more sense in the end. The reason for her character being so seemingly fabricated is because she is; there is a clear disconnect between who she is, and the way she presents herself. Let me explain myself, the girl you "meet" in the beginning of our story is nothing like the one you get to know in the end.

Essentially, our story is about her personal journey to figure out who she really is, and the underlying causes for this fabricated version of herself she's so attached to. 

In the beginning, she would the overly happy, child-like, amicable person dressed in thrift shop finds that everyone loves. She has this whole attitude of independence, freedom, and conviction that she finds comfort in. Though little does she know, she has inadvertently put herself in a mold. The rising action would deal with her realizing she doesn't know who she really is, which would lead her to want to figure that out. Ultimately resulting in her addressing her attachment to her childhood, and the underlying causes of it- reaching a more balanced state of mind. 

While brainstorming, we pictured the climax as her metaphorically killing this alter ego- but I'm getting ahead of myself! I'll discuss the plot more definitively in my next post!

Until Next Time!