Jenna Ortega.Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty
ForJenna Ortega, her upcomingNetflixfamily comedyYes Daywas not only an opportunity to flex her actorly muscles in a new project with acclaimed stars, but to be part of showcasing diversity onscreen.
In a recent interview withEntertainment Tonight, the 18-year-old actress — who plays the teenage daughter ofJennifer GarnerandÉdgar Ramírez’s characters — said that she believes seeing representation in film the wayYes Dayportrays it is “important because I feel like we’re getting to a time where that’s most families.”
“I feel like a lot of families are mixed in one way or another,” Ortega explained.
TheYouactress also touched on the fact that she feelsYes Dayconveys that diversity successfully, in a way that doesn’t feel forced like many other projects.
“I think becauseHollywood has been lacking on its representation of diversityand just showing people with different cultural backgrounds onscreen, I feel like sometimes they go hard one way or the other,” she said.
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Yes Day.NETFLIX
Yes Day.Netflix
She went on to note that she feels like “we’re kind of dividing and separating ourselves even more” in situations where “we make it such a division between the two.”
“So when we show it in a casual setting where it’s acknowledged, but not to an extent where they’re shoving it down your throat, it’s very normal and it’s veryfun and it’s very unitedand sweet,” Ortega toldET.
She added, “It’s either no diversity or it’s just forcing it and pushing it too much.”
Of the film’s impact on “young people of color,” Ortega said she thinks it “could be a really good thing for” them “to see, not only for representation of themselves, but then also just having something to relate toand also making diversity onscreena lot more casual.”
Netflix did not share which specific organizations it would be donating to, but did note it has previously contributed to nonprofits likeProject Involveand Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival’sLatinx Inclusion Fellowship Series.
“Doing better means establishing even more opportunities for people from underrepresented communities to have their voices heard, and purposefully closing capacity and skill gaps with training programs where they are needed,“said Sarandos in the post.
He added that the new fund “will help us to identify, train and provide job placement for up-and-coming talent globally.”
Yes Dayis available to stream Friday on Netflix.
source: people.com
