Hello, me again, just coming in to tell you on my plans for what I want my cast to look like! As you all know my main purpose is to break the stereotypes of how minorities are presented on screen, more specifically in the genre of horror. My purpose in creating this film opening is to break through conventions and bring forth a variety of people of color in order to depict the unifying fear that many minorities currently and have faced in the U.S. I did not wish to solely focus on one race or ethnicity as I felt that would be too confining for my film and would not accurately represent the fact that racial tensions in this country have expanded to many backgrounds and cultures. The group of characters that I am going to be discussing will be the protagonists of my film, this group of individuals all come from different backgrounds and ethnicities and have all found themselves in the predicament of a new found "race war" and in an apocalyptic status in the country. This dystopian society has faced years of oppression and racist ideologies have become the new norm and commonplace due to the countless number of people who are in power that believe in ostracizing minorities. The policy that has been passed would allow for an ethnic cleansing of society as pushed by the current president of the United States, this left many to flee the country, but many fell victim to the hands of what many refused to acknowledge was in face a genocide. Those who did not perish found themselves carrying an ever growing fear of being discovered as they remained in hiding. The group of characters that I wish to portray on screen have all come together and found one another in the same hiding place where they will learn to fend for one another. I have decided to take inspiration from the characters from the series The Walking Dead . The characters in this television series have found refuge in one another from a zombie apocalypse. Generally what I am attempting to convey is quite similar to that of a zombie apocalypse, rather in this case the "zombies" would be the white civilians who are on the search for people of color.

     The purpose of my film opening is meant to cause controversy and conversation. Discussion on racial issues in the United States is a topic that carries a "taboo" nature to it and is often dismissed. The dramatization of a race war is meant to make people feel uncomfortable. The idea that people of color carry an ever present fear of persecution exists, and if a horror movie is what is needed to depict this fear in order for an understanding/discussion to take place then so be it! As a Latinx queer woman I have found myself carrying the fear of oppression and discrimination my entire life and I really wanted to capture this with my film opening and share the stories of many living in the United States and just how far these issues can take us in the near future. Now that all of that has been laid out on the table, it is time to dive deep into developing my characters!

   Diane-  a black teenager who had lost her father and brother to the hands of police officers prior to the war when she was only 12, she has learned to fend for herself throughout her childhood as she was bullied and taunted for her dark complexion, she was dedicated to learning about Civil Rights Activists and sharing the far away history to those who have been suppressed of information as this type of media had been censored by the government.

   Nicole- a Korean teen whose family fled due to the violence ensuing in the war between S. and N. Korea, she was raised in times of war and is seen as the "leader" of the pack due to her learned skills and fierce nature

   Amrit- a Sikh Indian teen who is on the search for her brother,she lost him when running from gunfire from their previous hiding spot, she is the most unstable out of the group as her parents have recently been shot before her eyes 

   Paula- a Hispanic teen from Venezuela whose parents had fled the country due to the worsening state of their homeland, however they only found more difficulty in the U.S as they had not realized that deportations had turned into murders, and immigration camps had separated her from her parents and brother who had been killed by ICE officials, she is seen as the next "alpha" of the group and acts as Nicole's best friend as they had been hiding together previously to meeting Amrit and Diane

 The Walking Dead (TWD) Official Site. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.skybound.com/the-walking-dead/