I like to consider myself as an advocate for representation in media spaces. When I think about representation, I always have in mind sexuality and race, which are very important aspects in our lives that should be represented. I recently began watching Big Bang Theory and realized that there are a lot of other people that should also have a fair representation in media spaces.
I am talking about people that throughout my years in school were marginalized because they liked science or math, and many times, they were bullied because of their interest in these subjects. While watching the sitcom Big Bang Theory, I realized the narrowness of representation in media spaces. People like the characters in Big Bang Theory do not have a lot of characters to look up to and may not always feel proud of their interests. The people portrayed as nerds in media platforms are often presented as the characters you do not want to be.
The characters in Big Bang Theory are nerds, and they are presented as proud of their interests. Even though they have stereotypical problems that have been enforced by society, that does not make them change what they like. There is only one character, Penny, that portrays the people in society that have interest in popular culture and she is portrayed as the stupid character. Making Penny the stupid character flips what we are used to seeing in films or tv shows.
The portrayal of the characters as themselves unapologetically gives a sense of representation for the people that have different interests from the dominant group in society. This gives a sense of empowerment of people being themselves no matter what society thinks. If our society is encouraging people to be themselves, that should include everyone and not just a part of our society.
By Alexandra Lόpez Carrión