The Fallout’s Jenna Ortega, Maddie Ziegler, and Megan Park Talk Pressure To Change The World
Megan Park’s The Fallout explores the different ways that people deal with trauma following a school shooting. Some characters shut down, while others embrace activism. But is there a pressure on today’s society to change the world and speak out on world events? The cast of The Fallout share their thoughts in an interview during SXSW Film Festival 2021.
While Jenna Ortega’s character Vada becomes closed off to everyone after the shooting, Ortega emphasizes the importance of using your platform to speak out. “It's important that we use our platforms for good and we do the best that we possibly can to raise awareness on things that aren't getting enough attention as they should or being supportive of things that are occurring in the world and really just taking a stand, especially with social media,” Ortega told me. “It's important that young people who follow you or are keeping up with the kind of work that you're doing that they see that or are empowered to speak up and use their voice as well.”
While it’s a noble way to think, not everyone is able to do that… and it’s okay. “Those people are literally heroes. It’s incredible,” said Maddie Ziegler of those who do speak out. “But just because you can’t do that doesn’t mean you’re doing something wrong. I hope that’s a takeaway of the film. That everyone does process things and heal and use their experience for their own healing in whatever way they know best.”
Megan Park shines a light on how these pressures seem to be more prevalent for the younger generation, but it’s okay to deal with it in your own way. “Everyone deals with trauma differently. Obviously some people take the route to use activism and make a change, but we need to make it more okay for people who are processing things differently. Everyone’s on their own journey and can take as much time as they need to heal,” said Park. “The pressures of social media do feel uniquely specific to Generation Z. I didn’t have that pressure as a young person, but it certainly feels like a very prevalent pressure that, whether you have a large following or an average following, how you use your social media platform and your online presence is something that is very much on the forefront of Generation Z's mind.”
The real goal is to learn from these instances. “It's most important that we're present and we're learning ourselves,” Park shared. “I've learned so much in the past year and I'm continuing to educate myself as I think most of our entire generation is.”
The Fallout hits HBO Max on January 27.
