My typical lazy evenings consist of nothing more than curling up on the couch and reading a book while an episode of Friends is running on the television in the background.

As I read about the heart-wrenching struggles faced by the heroic protagonist in my novel, as well as simultaneously quoting dialogues from my favorite sitcom, it occurs to me that all of the characters giving me company for the evening share a common link.

They fail to represent more than a third of the world.

The movies we watch, television shows we adore, and the books that inspire us are supposed to be a reflection of our society. Each character gives us an opportunity to create a connection as we embark on enthralling journeys along with them.

Unfortunately, approximately a staggering two point two billion people in South East Asia are still fighting for the opportunity to be justly represented in literature and the entertainment industry.

Being unable to find anyone with brown skin and black hair in the fairytales I read as a kid and the movies I cherished, I grew up with a rather distorted idea of the way the world worked. I was certain that people like me did not exist in stories, that our tales were not for the world to hear, and that to be a hero, blonde hair and blue eyes were a statutory requirement.

As I mature, I continue to scout for a level of representation in any and all forms of literature and media but am yet again, sadly greeted by an overwhelming crowd of Caucasian characters.

Although there is a clear imbalance between the ratio of South East Asian people in the world to the number of brown people being represented in different forms of media, it is important to address the few exceptions.

Some authors and directors have made conscious efforts to fulfill diversity quotas in their works by sprinkling characters of color into their plot lines.

Sadly enough, even when brown actors are given roles in movies and sitcoms, the attempt at representation backfires tremendously as their characters slip into the grasps of stereotyping. With character profiles limited to the painfully awkward nerdy kid or the taxi driver with an exaggerated accent, the various personas are nothing more than distasteful racial stereotypes masquerading as diversity.

Even though we are constantly enveloped by fictional stories and are completely devoted to following the lives of imaginary characters, we tend to overlook the influence of literature and film on the shaping of young minds. The lack of representation in different forms of media creates an everlasting impact on a highly impressionable audience.

It is essential that authors, producers, and directors around the world make an effort to incorporate a realistic sense of diversity in their work, allowing literature and the entertainment industry to fulfill its true purpose of being a mirror for our society.

If various ethnic groups can co-exist in harmony in the real world, it is high time that the reel world followed suit.