#text paragraph

I find this paragraph cohesive and coherent and that the ideas transition smoothly. :)

Roswell, New Mexico also depicts experimenting with sexuality as normal. Gender and sexuality are fluid concepts, they change as the individual changes. Although Isobel is in her early 30s, she hooks up with another woman for the first time at a gay bar (“Sex and Candy”). There is a stereotype that people are supposed to figure out their sexuality in middle school or early high school, after that, it is set. Roswell, New Mexico breaks this stigma and portrays the idea that gender and sexuality do not have an expiration age. Anyone can discover something new about themselves well into their adult life, no matter their history with gender and sexuality.

Roswell, New Mexico includes various marginalized groups in its cast, contradicting the lack of representation that appears in the general media. They especially focus on the idea of sexuality by including characters of different genders and sexual orientations. The show highlights sexual identities and the issues surrounding it without forcing them into the plot, yet their representations are not always perfect. While Roswell, New Mexico effectively portrays the varying process of exploring sexuality, as well as the spectrum that it exists on, they often succumb to the harmful stereotypes that plague the LGBTQ+ community. This emphasizes how other media sources still have a long way to go in terms of including accurate and meaningful representations of sexuality in order to identify with the entirety of their audience.

The show Roswell New Mexico acts as a good wake up call to many Americans. Many people in our country depict undocumented immigrants as bad for this country, however, this is merely a stereotype and a very false one. Roswell, New Mexico displays a few immigrants who do not fall into this stereotype. A majority of immigrants in our country are similar to Liz and Arturo. Hard workers who are just trying to help people and make a life for themselves. Whether it's finding ground breaking research or running a beloved diner, so many immigrants hold value in our country as shown by Roswell New Mexico.

  Roswell, New Mexico does a great job of including marginalized identities and social groups in their cast. Although some may point out the couple of perpetuated stereotypes that occasionally appear on the show, it is overall more representative and realistic than most television series we have seen popularized, and more so helps the LGBTQ+ community than harms. In Boisvert, Stéfany’s "'Queering' TV, One Character At a Time: How Audiences Respond to Gender-diverse TV Series On Social Media Platforms" she discusses how social media fan bases and platforms react to depictions of the LGTBQ+ community in television. One of the main love stories in Roswell, New Mexico is Michael Guerin and Alex Manes' relationship. This relationship represents many people that have to deal with their sexuality being repressed by people they are close to, love, and by others in society. Another way Michael and Alex subvert stereotypical expectations of sexuality is by avoiding the stereotype of feminine aspects in bisexual or gay men. This stereotype is further examined in McLaughlin and Rodriguez's "Identifying with a Stereotype: The Divergent Effects of Exposure to Homosexual Characters." They discuss this caricaturing that can occur which reinforces harmful stereotypes such as the ones that Roswell, New Mexico avoids with Michael and Alex. While Alex and Michael are one of the main relationships in Roswell, New Mexico, they aren't the only representation seen in the show of the LGBTQ+ community. Roswell, New Mexico is a good example of a step forward in media representation of the LGBTQ+ community. I'm hoping to see continued realistic and helpful representation of this community and other marginalized identities as I watch more of this series.

In the Manes family, Jesse and Flint Manes succumb to intergenerational trauma and familial pressures, feeling obliged to continue the work of Project Shepherd due to its relation to the family name. As such, these two Manes men routinely antagonize and attack the alien race in hopes of becoming national superheroes and protecting the world from what they view as “invaders,” highlighting how corruption exists within even high-ranking officials in the military. As for the other two Manes men, Alex and Gregory Manes are more empathetic, compassionate characters who defend the aliens and prevent corruption within the Manes family, serving as morally dignified military officers. In such dark light, this depiction of a prominent military leader elucidates how leaders can abuse their authority and power to cause harm to other people.

It is commonly seen on television for a mentally ill character to be pushed aside or portrayed as an outcast. In Roswell, New Mexico the writers and showrunners, for the most part, help to change this portrayal by injecting characters with mental issues into the heart of the storyline. While at times the show does not go far enough to fully represent people with mental illness, as will be seen with Mimi, overall, the vitality to the plot to which the mentally disabled characters have in Roswell, New Mexico reveals the desire of the showrunners to go against typical depictions of mentally ill characters in television. The first prime example is Rosa Ortecho. She is the daughter of illegal immigrants, a drug and alcohol addict, and has anger management issues. She is the epitome of mental issues. At times Rosa is an example where the showrunners fall into typical stereotypes surrounding the mentally disabled. In multiple scenes, the show gives off the notion that Rosa, and others with abuse and mental issues, are to be left alone in their struggles. This depiction can be harmful because those who are struggling with mental illness need to have a strong support group. Roswell does a better job than most shows because the writers provide a fuller image and characterization of the characters with mental issues- the characters are defined as more than their disabilities. Rosa, the mentally ill drug addict was the one that saved Max, not either of the two doctors nor either of the two aliens with superpowers. Having Rosa be the hero, she became more than her mental issues, she became as important as the rest of the characters. Along with Rosa, Mimi Deluca also has mental issues and plays an important role in the show. The ambiguous aspects of Mimi are highlighted in her sparse yet great knowledge concerning aliens. In the series, when Mimi is talking she comes across as scattered, but she always has an underlying sense of true knowledge surrounding what she says. While these moments when Mimi is depicted as a typical grandma suffering from dementia do evoke a sense of sympathy for her, this representation of Mimi goes to undermine all of her other aspects. Unlike Rosa, where her multitude of dimensions concerning her struggle with her mental health is better balanced, in Mimi’s case her episodes of great confusion outweigh all of her other characteristics. This representation goes to hurt her because as more and more is learned about the aliens the validity of her knowledge is continually met with greater suspicion due to her episodes of dementia. To counteract this, the show must represent Mimi as a figure with an important role to play, and insert an image that will remain in the viewer's head reminding them of the character’s importance despite their at times mental ineptitude.