The media is often criticized for their lack of representation and portrayal of members of the Latinx community, but there is a point where the misrepresentation outweighs the lack thereof. Throughout popular television shows, specifically in young adult dramas like Roswell, New Mexico, there is often a character fulfilling the "spicy Latina" trope. This damaging stereotype of a hypersexualized, temperamental Latina women, surpasses the positive connotation of a femme fatale. The poor representation limits the potential of what a Latina character can be. The lack of fluidity is damaging to the developing minds of young girls who see these one-dimensional characters and believe their worth to be their sex appeal. With CW's drama Roswell, New Mexico, the audience is receiving the long awaited variety they deserve. The progressive showrunners have not only created a Hispanic protagonist, Liz Ortecho, but one whose character surpasses her racial identity. Rather than adjusting to the media's "sexy Latina" trope, Roswell, New Mexico leads in the progressive direction by creating a multi-dimensional protagonist and breaking stereotypes to promote better representation. 

According to the media's portrayal, most Latina characters have their defining attributes laid out before any character development or backstory. Debra Merkin presents these traits, "Stereotypical behavioral characteristics assigned to Latinas include ‘‘addictively romantic, sensual, sexual, and even exotically dangerous’’ (Mastro & Behm-Morawitz, 2005, p. 125), self-sacrificing, dependent, powerless, sexually naïve, childlike, pampered, and irresponsible" (Merskin). Some stereotypes include positive interpretations but Merskin strays from any ambiguity that Latina women are given fair representation. Roswell, New Mexico slashes this misconception by revolving Liz's attributes around her occupation as a scientist. Not only does Liz overtly excel at her research and discoveries, but she is constantly credited for her superior intelligence by anyone who knows her.  

Her personality can be characterized as nerdy; alluded to by her unpopularity in high school and socially awkwardness. This differs with that of a "spicy Latina" who is often shown as a failure in school and is excused by her ability to sleep with the right people. Everything she's accumulated job-wise has been credited to her own intellect. Contradicting the sexist and misconceiving trope of "sleeping to the top", Liz never even attempted immorally using her seductive attempts to succeed.  

Though we can applaud Liz's character for her modern persona, other Latinx characters in the show are not represented in the same positive light but rather regress in terms of stereotypes. Liz's sister Rosa is painted as a drub-obsessed teen who is boy-crazy, misbehaves, and spends her free time vandalizing the town of Roswell. These negative qualities all align with the damaging misconceptions about immigrant families living in America. She may not coincide with the harmful "spicy Latina" trope, but her character definitely proves toxic to the Latinx community. 

Th complexity of Liz's character create a positive representation to encourage future diversity for Latinx characters in the media and serves as inspiration for younger audiences. Every little girl should have ample opportunity to find actresses who look like them and align with their culture. But it shouldn't have to end there; there should be a variety of characters who reach success and prosperity through numerous pathways in life. They should see that they can be anything, a doctor, a professor, and now with Roswell, New Mexico, a scientist. 

CW's Roswell, New Mexico has presented us with an array of strong memorable leading characters, so choosing a favorite among the dessert cowboys, hard-headed women, and aliens was a challenging feat. One character did manage to stick out to me: Michael Guerin. The complexity of his role as an outsider is intriguing as he goes through a great deal of character development throughout season one. We have been taught that our favorite characters are those we feel most akin to, but I feel rather the opposite. He is my favorite because I am infatuated by the way his past plays a role in his future to mold the person, well alien, he is today.  

Michael Guerin paints himself to be the ultimate outsider in every aspect of his life. To start, he is an alien living on earth in complete secrecy. Michael's own past is completely unbeknown to him as he struggles to navigate a new planet while practically spawning out of a pod at age seven. Roswell, in particular, is rather conservative and filled with prejudice and bigotry. They do not like anyone from another country, let alone another planet. This pushed Michael to live like an outsider, residing in a run-down trailer and scraping together money as a mechanic. Michael's alienation, rocky upbringing, and sexuality have attributed to Michael's life as an outsider.  

When Michael and his siblings Max and Isobel emerged from their pods, all they had were each other. They were blind to where they had come from, who their parents were, and what they were capable of. As young kids, the trio was brought forth in search of a permanent home in the community. Max and Isobel got lucky and were adopted together as twins leaving Michael all alone at the hands of the foster system. This period of his life is barely mentioned; but we do hear references to drunken drug addicts who valued the money from the system over a son. This lack of a real family later came to negatively impact his self-worth and ability to receive love. Michael is often described as "genius" and has the mechanical knowledge to build or fix anything, even another way home. Yet, even after receiving an opportunity for higher education due to his raw intelligence, he turns it down to defend Isobel in her time of need. When Noah had taken over Isobel’s body to kill Rosa when they were all teenagers, Michael never hesitated to take every ounce of blame for the murders of all three girls. This may seem like selfless act, but it is due to his lack of confidence to beileve he deserves any better.  

Michael is also further pushed aside as an outsider due to his identify as a bisexual. Roswell is a conservative town and Michael lacked support from parental figures to allow him to be himself. This further exiled him from the societal norms revealing a more angsty side of him, especially in his teenage years.

When I first heard that this class would revolve around a tv show, I was expecting a complex documentary or a boring and outdated series. But pleasantly to my surprise, Roswell, New Mexico turned out to be not only tolerable, but a show I looked forward to watching every week. The plot was always engaging, the characters lovable, and the showrunners continuously addressing real world issues.  

Not only did I enjoy watching the show, but the way we analyzed and discussed it in class and in our writing allowed me to engage in a deeper appreciation and connection to the show as a whole. In our character analysis paper I wrote about the alien outcast Michael Guerin. I chose him cause he was the most interesting and after spending so much time analyzing him, he became my favorite character.  

The reason this show is so appealing to me is the balance they have in creating a sci-fi show that also is successful in comedy and drama. Considering my favorite shows consist of lighthearted comedies like New Girl or Gossip Girl, the thought of watching a show about aliens and science seems completely unpleasant. I was even worried it would be too scary. But the way it is written and produced makes it appealing to everyone, regardless of what one may usually prefer. The show is full of epic loves like Michael and Alex and Liz and Max's rollercoaster of a relationship to attract those looking for romance. Plus Roswell is packed with intergalactic swords and alien superpowers to enthrall the action junkies. And for those craving drama, there is non-stop family drama between the triad siblings and evil parents like Jesse Manes.  

There is truly something for everyone to enjoy in Roswell, New Mexico. I am happy to have been exposed to this show as I feel without this class I would never have heard of it before. I am eager to see if they will continue to make another season as I am curious to follow all of the new relationships like Isobel and Kyle and to finally see if Max and Liz will ever make it to the alter.