User:Alyssa.Weaver/The Summer I Turned Pretty (TV series)

Article body
Representation

Jenny Han is no stranger to providing representation onto the screens as her 2018 movie trilogy, To All the Boys I've Loved Before starred Asian American actress Lana Condor. Han's goal in casting Asian leads is to normalize AAPI representation in romance genre as it is a typically white dominated industry. There has also been a new wave of Asian representation in the romantic comedy genre with films such as Crazy Rich Asians and Always Be My Maybe gaining popularity. When initially publishing The Summer I Turned Pretty in 2009, lead character Belly was portrayed as a white women via the book cover. Han then made the decision to have Belly be a biracial Korean American in the Prime Video series. A major point that Han wanted to emphasize was creating characters in her media whose entire plot is not about being Asian, but instead being themselves. On the Call Your Girlfriend podcast, Han stated it was necessary to provide, “stories where being Asian is not the point.”

Besides the racial diversity within this series, Han has also introduced bisexual and gay characters. Jeremiah Fisher, one of the main love interests, openly states within the show that he is sexually fluid while his sexuality was never mentioned within the books. Gavin Casalegno, who plays Jeremiah, told The Wrap, "I think it was so important to update that just to really relate to people and to also bring more diversity into the show. I love who Jeremiah is. He’s still figuring himself out and loving everybody, and that’s something that I admire about him.” While Han mentioned it "felt very natural" to declare his sexuality. Another LGBTQ character within the show is Skye, played by Elsie Fisher, who was introduced to audiences in season 2. Skye is a cousin of Conrad and Jeremiah and they identify as nonbinary. Skye was a new character who was not included in any of the three books. Han told Daily Progress interviewers that she wanted to "reimagine The Summer I Turned Pretty for 2020... The world has expanded in many ways. It is a different time than it was in the early 2000s." Many critics attribute this show's success to the representation within Han's media. In an interview with CinemaBlend, Jenny Han states she is excited to, "showcase different types of talent," that ultimately reflects the diverse world today which is not depicted in the media.

References).
Besana, Tiffany (April 30, 2020). “Asian American Media Representation: A Film Analysis and Implications ...” Taylor & Francis Online, www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15427609.2020.1711680. Retrieved November 29, 2023.

Campione, Katie. (June 20, 2022). “‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ Author Jenny Han Explains Why She Made Jeremiah Queer in the Show.” TheWrap, www.thewrap.com/the-summer-i-turned-pretty-jeremiah-queer-jenny-han/. Retrieved December 6, 2023.

Chen, Iris. (September 2, 2022). “The Summer I Turned Invisible.” The Blue and White, www.theblueandwhite.org/post/the-summer-i-turned-invisible. Retrieved December 9, 2023.

Christen Jones, Zoe (February 22, 2021). "Author Jenny Han on Romance, Representation and Saying Goodbye to Lara Jean". CBS News. Retrieved November 27, 2023.

El-Mahmoud, Sarah (June 19, 2022). "Jenny Han Addresses Changes She Made To Summer I Turned Pretty So It Was More Diverse". Cinema Blend. Retrieved November 27, 2023.

NBC Universal News Group. (April 18, 2023). "Asian and black representation grew in film and television, study finds." ''NBC News. Retrieved November 29, 2023.''

Nilsen, Sarah, and Sarah E. Turner. White Supremacy and the American Media. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2022. Retrieved November 29, 2023.

Nishime, L. (2017). Mixed Race Matters: What Emma Stone and Bruno Mars Can Tell Us about the Future of Asian American Media. Cinema Journal 56(3), 148-152. https://doi.org/10.1353/cj.2017.0031. Retrieved December 9, 2023.

Scharrer, Erica., et al. (December 28, 2022). "Media, Diversity, and Representation in the U.S.: A Review of the Quantitative Research Literature on Media Content and Effects.” Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, vol. 66, no. 4, 2022, pp. 723–49, https://doi.org/10.1080/08838151.2022.2138890 . Retrieved November 29, 2023.

Shen, Dianna. (July 20, 2023). “The Jenny Han Problem Persists in the Summer I Turned Pretty Season 2.” Primetimer.Com. www.primetimer.com/features/the-summer-i-turned-pretty-season-2-jenny-han-bad-asian-representation. Retrieved December 6, 2023.

Tamanaha, Akemi. (June 22, 2022). “‘the Summer I Turned Pretty’ Is Making Asian Americans Feel Seen.” AsAmNews, asamnews.com/2022/06/20/the-summer-i-turned-pretty-is-making-asian-americans-feel-seen/. Retrieved December 9, 2023.

(May 28, 2021). "Constance Wu and Jenny Han on the power of inclusive storytelling." Time. Retrieved November 29, 2023.