“Sierra Burgess Is a Loser,” Netflix’s latest teen rom-com directed by Ian Samuels, sets out with the purest of intentions. On the surface, its progressive message seems harmless: “Just be you,” the movie’s poster boasts, referring in part to the film’s representational appeal of not having a conventionally attractive titular character (Shannon Purser). The intentions behind this film, as well as its aesthetically interesting visuals, however, are unfortunately all that it has going for it.

In recent years, campaigns for more diverse representation in the media have overtaken public discourse surrounding both the small and big screen. In the realm of Hollywood, a market for progressive, diverse films has slowly but surely developed as a result, and this year’s “A Wrinkle in Time,” directed by Ava DuVernay is just one of many said films.

As a first-year in college, it seems as if Freeform’s latest hit-TV show “Grown-ish” could not have started airing at a better time. As the show’s central character, Zoey Johnson (Yara Shahidi), struggles to adapt to her new life at the fictional California University, I find myself relating all too well with the experiences she goes through.