Representation is so endlessly important and representation in the media, so incredibly so. Seeing yourself reflected back to you on screen is so fundamentally essential to development, but it’s also essential if we want progress. In a talk at Athena Film Festival, Kate McKinnon put it so wisely. “Nothing normalizes the new quite like seeing it on screen. A culture can change its mind about something almost subconsciously after they just see it in a movie or on TV a few times in something that doesn’t really call attention to it.” We need representation all around the board. For one, if you’re claiming to reflect life as you know it, as film and storytelling is meant to do, then we are a diverse people. We need to see that. If a child is of color or gay and they see someone like them on the screen, they wont have to question themselves, who they are, and their place in society at such a young age. They can happily have role models like themselves. Then, when you put all of that together, it also allows the greater and wider audience to be met these instances of representation head on, and thus contributing to moving along the culture a lot faster and normalizing it so that they subconsciously begin to normalize it as well. When being a minority has a body count and puts a target on your back, we can’t wait any longer. This process that we’ve seen time and time again of bigotry and then looking back on said bigotry with regret many years later needs to stop repeating. When will we learn? When will the general public learn to be on the right side of history before it’s even written? Why must those in marginalized groups suffer and lose their lives for a fight they should have already won, a fight that shouldn’t even have to exist?

That being said, two of the big blockbusters that came out this week seemed like beacons of hope in a convoluted, backwards, and systemized industry; Ghostbusters(2016) and Star Trek Beyond. They were both, ironically, retellings or offshoots of original works, and succeeded in places where the originals could and did not. Star Trek Beyond went beyond what Gene Roddenberry had envisioned and achieved, while representing all of those ideals of unity, change, forward-movement and thinking. Ghostbusters in and of itself was a massive shake in the groundwork of film, comedy and ensembles as we know it. In both of these films, there were characters that were fleshed out, beautifully written, who just happened to be representatives of minorities in film. They were hilarious Ghostbusters who just so happened to be women. They were Starfleet Officers who piloted the USS Enterprise who just happened to be gay. They were fully realized characters that were allowed to be soft and emotional but still kick ass who happened to be women. That is why these films were so important. They were breaths of fresh air in an industry that seems inundated with the same stories about white straight men and seems hellbent on not changing that. I felt something beautiful while watching these two films in the theater this passed week; I felt change.

Ghostbusters gave me everything I could have wanted in a comedy about catching ghosts. It is no secret that while I enjoyed the original as an 80’s classic, that’s all it was. I don’t think it’s a work of art of unparalleled genius. It’s a fun 80s flick with an awesome concept and cast to ramp it up. This film updated that and gave us four awesome women who were fully realized characters starring in an action packed comedy without any second guesses or punchlines. They were scientists and some of different shapes, colors, and sizes. They wore frumpy jumpsuits unquestioningly and comments weren’t made about their appearance. Kristen Wiig’s Erin was a quieter, intelligent scientist who knew what she wanted in her career and worked hard to get there. Melissa McCarthy’s Abby was smart, loving, and never gave up on her dreams and beliefs. Leslie Jone’s Patty was compassionate, brave, level-headed, resourceful, and incredibly knowledgable about all of New York City. Kate McKinnon’s Holtzmann was quirky, weird, intelligent and so unabashedly herself. Yet, they were all this and so much more. It really punched me hard when I sat there in the theater, watching Kate McKinnon shoot a proton blaster. It hit me that I’ve never seen women on screen like this. Women who were allowed to be friends, who were the stars of the action blockbuster, who were hilarious and never catered to anyone or the male gaze. It was beautiful. I was watching people like me in the films that I grew up watching and loving. Ghostbusters is the type of genre film that I would watch endlessly when I was a kid. However, they were all about men. I used to have to pretend that I could be the daughter of of one of these characters that i admired because they were all dudes. There was no female equivalent of these daring and hilarious protagonists for me to look up to or show me that I could be like them; that I could strive for and pursue my dreams while being quirky, fun, weird, and kind. This movie showed friendship, positivity, and nine strength and now all the little girls watching it can wear the jumpsuit, carry a proton pack around, and be a Ghostbuster on Halloween unquestioningly and canonically. It’s so important and I hope that it’s only a hint at what more we can do in this industry to further this beauty.

Star Trek Beyond hit me the same way, and furthered a message of progress that the series should be centered in, but also that is so incredibly prevalent and necessary. Star Trek, like Ghostbusters, is an established brand, which is one of the reasons it is even more so important that movies like these two exist. Movies that respect the originals and their origins, but work hard to update and improve upon them, bringing these stories to the 21st century and normalizing the “new”. As it was announced before the movie came out, John Cho’s charter Hikaru Sulu is gay and his daughter and husband are shown in the film. It’s not lingered on, questioned, or spotlighted. It’s shown as a regular relationship not to be questioned. No one bats an eye and it’s exactly what the phrase “normalizing” means. Kirk stands on and watches Sulu greet his husband and daughter, smiling and perhaps longing to have what Sulu has; stability, love, and family. It’s a theme which encompasses the film as Kirk learns he has that aboard the Enterprise. It was so important to have it be Sulu, one of the legendary character of Star Trek history, and after seeing Sulu greet his husband and daughter on screen in the theater, my heart ached with how much I’ve longed for something like this to happen.

Thus, Sorry Mr. Takei, I still have to disagree with you. It meant everything to see that Sulu was gay and to see it not be questioned. It's the power of sci-fi and representing the future. You have the power to normalize it, so do. Why should we have hope for our society if a futuristic society that has advanced so far as space travel cannot even advance enough to accept the spectrum of sexualities, genders, and identities that exist? Why can they accept aliens but not human diversity? Thus, to see the hope that the future is different. That people like me and other members of the LGBTQ+ community can “live long and prosper” there is inspiring and essential to our growth as a culture and community. If that’s what Star Trek tells us is the endgame and if that’s what this piece of cultural history says is right; then the general audience will learn to strive for that too. Sofia Boutella’s character Jaylah was also a brilliant character and broke down all of the “strong” women tropes that have been plaguing our media. For one, her strength is never questioned. There were no jokes about he fact that she was a woman. In fact, I felt no gender inequality present in Starfleet at all and it was beautiful. The crew of the Enterprise was diverse and they all felt important. Jaylah, being one of our main characters, strove beyond that. She was a woman who was able to fight, but still felt scared, worried, and was allowed to be emotional. In a time where deadpanned violence is being heralded as feminism in media, Jaylah was allowed to be a woman and be strong. She was allowed to be three dimensional and be “bad-ass”. She was allowed to be smart, kind, selfless and brave, while being occasional and rightfully selfish, defensive, sad, and afraid. There is strength in emotion. There’s strength in feelings. There’s strength in kindness. Jaylah proved all of that and was celebrated for doing so by the narrative.

These two movies meant so much and one can only hope that they will push the industry forward. One can only hope that they will be what the next blockbuster strives to be and that it will have a ripple effect on the industry. Let’s move forward with this. Let’s pursue it. Paul Feig more or less confirmed that Holtzmann was gay. Let’s give her a girlfriend….or even better, after the countless flirting, let’s make Erin bi! Make it as explicit as Erin’s attraction to the hilariously dim-witted Kevin (Chris Hemsworth) was. Maybe she and Holtzmann could have a thing in the future? Who knows? The same goes for Star Trek. Continue to pursue and normalize diversity. You are the future, you are meant to be the better. Show how better you really are. Explore more sexualities. Explore gender identity. Your story and your medium give you the power to do so! “Boldly go where no man has gone before” and represent all that Star Trek has been about since day one. One can only hope these two franchises continue down this line and work to inspire the rest of the industry to do the same. Who knows, maybe we will get a great big gay space war of diversity and representation between Star Trek and Star Wars and Poe will be allowed to be gay, as many fans theorized he was after watching The Force Awakens. This weekend was a massive step in the right direction and an alarmingly and beautifully fresh breath of air in the industry. Let’s recognize it and allow it to be the jumping off point for a change that has been long coming in an industry that so desperately needs it.