Netflix's 'Tall Girl' falls short, stigmatizing something that didn't have a stigma on it

Netflix

The height of the average American woman is 5'4, and 5% of women grow to 5'9 or taller, according to the Center for Disease Control. While tall women are in the minority, the downsides to being tall are nowhere near as bad as the way they're presented in Netflix's new teen rom-com, "Tall Girl."

The movie is about a 6-foot-1-inch tall high schooler named Jodi who feels uncomfortable with her height after years of bullying. As a rom-com lover and tall girl, I wanted to like "Tall Girl," I really did. Lead actress Ava Michelle, who plays the titular tall girl, delivered a very relatable performance as Jodi, and the film did have its moments. But "Tall Girl" inadvertently sends the message that not being small and dainty is the worst thing that could ever happen to someone. It's not.

The movie got blasted on Twitter for presenting being tall as adversity.

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It's no secret that Hollywood has a diversity and representation problem.

For years, Hollywood has produced television shows and movies that often portray Muslims, South Asians, and Middle Eastern people with harmful stereotypes.

According to Jack Shaheen, a writer focusing on Arab representation in cinema, Muslim and Arab characters are often confined to three archetypes. He called them "the three B's": bombers, billionaires, and belly dancers. And sometimes, in addition to swinging their hips as belly dancers, some of the women are depicted as living under oppression in black abayas and burqas.

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This year's Academy cohort just upped the number of women in the organization. Hell yes.

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The Academy of Motion Pictures invited a record 928 new members, making the 2018 class the largest in history.

Photo by Emma McIntyre Getty Images for for Motion Picture & Television Fund.

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Even the Vulcans are smiling: Say hello to 'Star Trek's' first female director.

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