Hollywood has started to take steps to address
critiques over its lack of diversity, particularly in the areas of race and
gender. What else, if anything, needs to be done to make the film industry
(behind the scenes) and its products (movies) more representative of its
audience? Limit: 9 responses
Lauren Tuckman
ReplyDeleteHollywood has started to take steps to address criticism over its lack of diversity, particularly in the areas of race and gender. What else, if anything, needs to be done to make the film industry (behind the scenes) and its products (movies) more representative of its audience?
Not enough females in executive positions because of this they are not in acting positions either. Hollywood has started to take steps to address critiques over its lack of diversity, particularly in the areas of race and gender. The film industry definitely needs to take steps to create and be more representative of its audience.
The issue of diversity in the entertainment industry has spread across the prime example of this diversity issue is Idris Elba, who many felt should have received an Oscar nomination for his performance in, Beast of No Nation, but he did not; in this circumstance likely because of his color (Fisher). Elba stated that, “change is coming, but it’s going to take its sweet time” (Fisher). Critics also say that Oscar nominations continue to lack diversity in many categories (Fisher). In the award shows nominees the Oscars host, Chris Rock actually commented on the lack of diversity and how it needs to change (Fisher). Elba, interestingly enough, told the group in, “The Wire,” that he had to go to America just to get more acting opportunities (Fisher). Elba says, “I knew I wasn’t going to land a lead role in the U.K. I knew there wasn’t enough imagination in the industry for me to be seen as a lead” (Fisher). It has been said that Jada Pinkett Smith and Spike Lee will not be attending the Academy Awards because of the #OscarSoWhite controversy (Fisher). This is a huge step Hollywood is taking unconsciously to get over the diversity in the film industry.
Almost every one of hundreds of women whowere questioned in a select survey by USA TODAY say that they have experienced some form of sexual harassment and/or assault during their careers in Hollywood (Puente). 94% of the 843 women who were surveyed by USA TODAY and work in the entertainment industry claim that they have experienced some form of harassment or assault (Puente). These tragic numbers alone are a cry for help to begin to make changes. In show business, women don’t always know the difference between the demands of, “showbiz,” and what constitutes sexual harassment (Puente). Someone who gets assaulted in California is actually proposed as a crime. This happened once on television in front of millions when Adrien Brody, who happened to win the best actor Oscar in 2003, grabbed presenter Halle Berry and dip-kissed her at the podium before his actual acceptance speech (Puente).
Lauren Tuckman Continued
ReplyDeleteHeadlines portraying sexual harassment and how men in entertainment and media abused their power is shaping the way this year’s strongest contenders, mostly in films benefit (James). L, Tonya is a specific film that portrays all of this with its scenes of domestic violence in Harding’s background, and Martin McDonagh’s Three Billiards with Frances Mcdormand as a mother determined to get justice for her daughters rape and murder, don’t draw attention to specific new problems (James). This forces viewers to specifically recognize that subjects are being hidden under the external for too long, these films are being brought into “cultural reckoning” (James).
Works Cited
Fisher, Luchina. “Idris Elba Addresses Lack of Diversity in Hollywood, Britain.” ABC News, ABC News Network, 19 Jan. 2016, abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/idris-elba-address-lack-diversity-hollywood-britain/story?id=36375060.
James, Caryn. “Oscars: How Film Contenders Gained Relevance Amid Sexual Harassment Scandals.” The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Dec. 2017, www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/oscars-how-film-contenders-gained-relevance-sexual-harassment-scandals-1067401.
Puente, Maria, and Cara Kelly. “How Common Is Sexual Misconduct in Hollywood?” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 23 Feb. 2018, www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2018/02/20/how-common-sexual-misconduct-hollywood/1083964001/.
After watching the 2018 Oscars, I noticed how much diversity and representation was discussed about. It was really important at this time in life to showcase that we are over racial issues, we are over gender issues, we are over same-sex marriage, we are over these differences. “Stand Up for Something” was a great representation of what 2017 focused on and is a foreshadow of how 2018 will be. A lot of movies in 2017 featured different race gay couples, same sex couples, those of different races, etc. Some movie examples are “Get Out,” “Call Me By Your Name,” and “Coco.”
ReplyDeleteIn order for the film industry and its products to be more representative of their audience, they should cater more to their audience. I think that if there were more types of representation within films, more and more people will tune in. In the ‘Black Panther’: Hollywood Cannot Stop Praising The Groundbreaking Marvel Blockbuster article by Dino-Ray Ramos, he mentions the various tweets of huge public figures who praised the movie Black Panther. For instance, Michelle Obama tweeted, “Congrats to the entire #blackpanther team! Because of you, young people will finally see superheroes that look like them on the big screen. I loved this movie and I know it will inspire people of all backgrounds to dig deep and find the courage to be heroes of their own stories.” She explains how since the movie was diverse, it was able to really represent us. With more movies such as Black Panther, this will bring awareness to misrepresentation as well as drive more sales.
In a Variety article titled Disney Becomes Box Office Champ for Second Year in Row written by Dave McNary, he says, “The two studios also finished first and second in 2016, when Disney took in $2.85 billion and Warner Bros. followed with $1.88 billion. And in both years, Disney released far fewer titles than other Hollywood studios with 16 in 2016 and only 12 this year, led by its live-action “Beauty and the Beast” reboot, which remains the top domestic grosser of the year with $504 million.” Obviously if Disney and Warner Bros. are dominating the film industry they are doing something right. I think what it is is that these companies stay true to themselves and this gives a sense of authenticity to their content. They are aware of their audience and cater to them. The article mentions the movie Thor: Ragnorak making 309.1 million. Marvel Studios actually partnered up with Awesomeness TV as a marketing strategy to target the younger audience. I was actually on the set for a lot of the branded content with them. What I did was choose 4 influencers that created videos either on YouTube or Instagram for Thor inspired do-it-yourself (DIYS.) I think for the film industry to really represent it’s audience, they have to use a diverse crowd and that is exactly what I chose for the Thor: Ragnorak partnership.
On top of the Oscar conversation, I mentioned how 2018 is going to be a year of open-mindedness. In an article titled, Hollywood Is Suddenly Serious. That's Exactly What America Needs Right Now by Stephanie Zacharek, she says, “The Oscar nominations this year tell the story of Hollywood’s recent evolution. Black Lives Matter, which sprang to life after the 2013 acquittal of George Zimmerman in the killing of Trayvon Martin, not only opened new conversations about racism and the justice system, but also pushed us to think harder about representation of people of color in the movies–and about who was getting to make those movies. In 2015, you would have had to be blind not to see a problem: nearly all the Oscar nominees were white, and that wasn’t even anything new. It was simply that, finally, the world at large had taken notice.” This explains the importance of how the we as a society changed. It is interesting to note this quote especially after watching the 2018 Oscars. It shows how much we have overcome while this time has passed.
Work Cited:
DeleteMcNary, Dave. “Disney Becomes Box Office Champ for Second Year in Row.” Variety. 27 December, 2017. http://variety.com/2017/film/news/disney-2017-box-office-winner-star-wars-the-last-jedi-1202649055/
Ramons, Dino-Ray. “‘Black Panther’: Hollywood Cannot Stop Praising The Groundbreaking Marvel Blockbuster.” 19 February, 2018. https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/black-panther-hollywood-cannot-stop-031848508.html
Zacharek, Stephanie. “ Hollywood Is Suddenly Serious. That's Exactly What America Needs Right Now.” 1 March, 2018. http://time.com/5180705/hollywood-suddenly-serious-thats-what-america-needs-right-now/
Hollywood has been infamous for how white its products and work force is. The lack of diversity is something that has been addressed at the Oscars multiple times, including this year. This year at the Oscars, DREAMers, inclusion riders, lack of female nominees and race were all brought up in people’s speeches. Emma Stone and Sandra Bullock made it a point that their categories held one woman and a multitude of men. It seems to me that a lot of these actors and actresses would love to see more diversity - in people, in stories - in their workplace.
ReplyDeleteSo how can the industry be made into a more diverse place? Frances McDormand thinks it could be done with inclusion riders. An inclusion rider “is a stipulation actors and actresses can put into their contract that states at least 50 per cent of the cast and crew are women or people of colour” (Kinos-Goodin). How this works is an actor or actress important to the film demands that there be inclusion in the film. The film should match the demography of the area that it is filmed in and this makes a true, lasting space for women and people of color.
It makes sense that Hollywood would not want more diversity in films if it meant a lack in profit but, diversity brings on a more global market for a film. This past year “the top three highest grossing domestic releases have featured female leads” (Fuster). Wonder Woman, the film of the summer in 2017, made an astonishing $412.5 million and even then, Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Beauty and the Beast made a larger profit. It is very apparent that women in the leading roles has had an incredible impact on audiences and Hollywood’s revenue. Is there a real want for people of color in similar roles? Black Panther brought in a whopping $897.7 million globally in the last three weeks (Tartaglione). Not to mention, Get Out won an Oscar on Sunday for best original screen play so, it is safe to say that films starring people of color are just as important.
Diversity does not just bring in revenue for Hollywood. Diversity in films helps people see opportunities for themselves that they may not have ever thought of otherwise. Eva Longoria was inspired by Selena Quintanilla “whose skin looked like mine, whose hair texture resembled mine, who sounded like me” (Longoria). By hiring diverse people with diverse stories, diversity is validated and invigorated. That is the only way Hollywood can become more representative of its audience.
Fuster, Jeremy. “2017's 3 Top-Grossing Movies Had Female Lead for First Time in Nearly 60 Years.” TheWrap, 31 Dec. 2017, www.thewrap.com/female-lead-films-top-2017-box-office/.
Kinos-Goodin, Jesse. “What is an inclusion rider and why does Frances McDormand think it can save Hollywood?” CBCnews, CBC/Radio Canada, 5 Mar. 2018, www.cbc.ca/radio/q/blog/what-is-an-equity-rider-and-why-does-frances-mcdormand-think-it-can-save-hollywood-1.4562427.
Longoria, Eva. “Representation Matters. It's Also Just Good Business.” Time, Time, 1 Mar. 2018, time.com/5179369/eva-longoria-representation-in-hollywood/.
Tartaglione, Nancy. “'Black Panther' Pouncing On $400M Overseas, $900M WW – International Box Office.” Deadline, 4 Mar. 2018, deadline.com/2018/03/black-panther-third-weekend-red-sparrow-death-wish-operation-red-sea-detective-chinatown-2-international-box-office-1202310277/.
I will be the first to admit that I tend to dislike politicizing award shows. I tend to think that political commentary at them is unnecessary and self-sabotages the event. However this year Hollywood was under intense scrutiny with various sexual assault allegations and the #MeToo movement. On top of this, Hollywood has been under fire for its lack of diversity. It is this relevancy to the film industry that made me appreciate the political tone of the Oscars this year.
ReplyDeleteThis year’s Academy Awards show focused on moving forward and changing Hollywood. Yes, the film industry has made positive steps in diversifying, which can be seen in this year’s nominations, but there are many problems that still need to be addressed. I think that one of the most important areas in Hollywood where major change needs to be made is within the content creator sector. Content creators control the tone of the industry. They call the shots from the storyline, to casting, to music. I believe the industry can make the most positive advancements in diversification by starting with increasing diversity in content creators.
According to the Inequality in 900 Films study, out of 1,438 content creators only 18% are female. Within this, only 4.2% of directors, 13.2 % of writers, 20.7% of producers, and 1.7% of composers are female. The statistics for female minorities in these categories are even more staggering. For the top 900 films, and 1,006 directors who worked on the films, 56 were black or African American, and only 3 were black or African American female.
The statistics for representation in Hollywood are staggering, especially considering how successful some of the films that go against the common grain have been in the past few years. This year, some of the top critically acclaimed films were extremely progressive. Most recently, Black Panter is shattering records. Part of Black Panther’s success is credited to the films advertising strategy, “a unique and groundbreaking campaign that led to a record $242 million opening over the Feb. 16-19 weekend. In releasing the first event superhero pic featuring a nearly all-black cast” (McClintock). This shows that African American’s hold a lot of spending power in the film industry, which to be frank, hasn’t been explored much prior to this year.
I think it is worthwhile to mention that although the #MeToo movement has been considered successful, it was not successful at the Academy Awards. As The Week pointed out, “No woman pitted against men for high-profild awards won, and several men accused of violence agains women did… the industry turned chilly toward figures with pending accusation… it lavishly rewarded men who stand accused of much worse: Kobe Bryant- who was accused of rape and legally obligated to publicly apologize to his accuser- won and Oscar for a short film” (Loofbourow).
I think that creating more diverse and inclusive Hollywood is important for representation purposes, but also for creative purposes. I think that the best ideas and content is developed when people who are different, think differently, and bring different perspectives come together. Hollywood has been rolling out a lot of films that have repetitive story lines that we are used to. Diversity in Hollywood will end in top films like Get Out, Wonder Woman, CoCo, Black Panther, and Lady Bird.
works cited
Loofbourow, Lili. “Frances McDormand's Cryptic Oscars Speech Could Start a Revolution in Hollywood.” The Week - All You Need to Know about Everything That Matters, 5 Mar. 2018, theweek.com/articles/758956/frances-mcdormands-cryptic-oscars-speech-could-start-revolution-hollywood.
McClintock, Pamela. "Disney's 'Black Panther' Playbook: A Peek at the Marketing of a Phenomenon," The Hollywood Reporter 21 Feb. 2018. Web.
Smith, Stacy L., Choueiti, Marc, and Katherine Pieper. "Inequality in 900 Popular Films," Media, Diversity & Social Change Initiative July 2017. Web.
The Oscars and many other award shows have always been about politics. But, this Oscars, people wanted to address all of the areas of race and gender in a place that has so much diversity. Over the years, Hollywood has gotten a lot of diversity comments. Growing up and watching more movies and reading more about the life in Hollywood, I started to realize how much diversity there was in movies and in the movie world. It is very important in today’s world to address race and gender issues. After watching the 2018 Oscars, I saw many people take race and gender issues into there own hands. For example, “Stand Up for Something” is something I found positive. There are many people looking for a change whether that is with diversity or something else going on in the world. 2017 was a rough year and our world went through a lot. Common and Andra Day wanted to use spotlights on stage to show that the world needs change. “These are all people who have fought through their own personal pain to make things better for themselves and for others” (Halperin). There have been many people who have gone through loss and devastation that want to help change the world for the better. “Stand Up for Something” will be the statement of 2018.
ReplyDeleteThe movie the Black Panther broke box office records. Many people saw the movie as an inspiring movie to young people. “Beyond being a film, Black Panther proves to be a big step in inclusion for Hollywood and beyond, putting the spotlight on marginalized communities in a way that has never been done before” (Ramos). The movie had a positive view on people because of the story the movie told. The movie showed different cultures which reflects how our world is today. There were many people who admired the movie. Oprah Winfrey said “Just saw it with Stedman. It’s PhenomMcNaryenal!! Layers and layers of it. Wakunda ForEveeerrrr! #BlackPanther” (Ramos). She states how great the movie is. Many people look up to her so her saying how great the movie was helps promote the movie and help state the reason why the movie was created.
For the second year in row, Disney became box office champs. In this article by Dave McNary, it talks about how well Disney movies have done over the years. “Superheroes were among the best box office performers in 2017 as were horror films that in North America alone generated over $1 billion in box office. Though R-rated comedies were resoundingly rejected by most audiences with a couple of exceptions, the year-end marketplace has provided a cinematic wonderland of awards-caliber specialty films along with the traditional big-budget holiday season fare” (McNary). Superhero movies such as the Black Panther and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 have been an inspiration to the younger generations because of the story the movies tell.
Even though the movie industry has improved in being representative to its audiences over the years, they can still improve on having their movies tell a story that could spread awareness. With everything that happened in 2017 and all of the people fighting for change, the movie industry needs to create movies that have more diversity in them. The Oscars had many people stepping up for wanting change in this world. I believe the movie industries should realize what kind of movies their audiences want to see. The ratings for movies will increase if they start creating movies with diversity. 2018 is going to be all about change and that is what the movie industries should focus on.
Work Cited:
ReplyDeleteHalperin, Shirley. “Here Are the 10 Activists Who Shared the Oscars Stage With Common and Andra Day.” Variety. 4 March, 2018. http://variety.com/2018/film/news/oscars-activists-common-andra-day-stand-up-for-something-performance-1202716939/
Mcnary, Dave. “Disney Becomes Box Office Champ for Second Year in Row.” Variety. 27 December, 2017. http://variety.com/2017/film/news/disney-2017-box-office-winner-star-wars-the-last-jedi-1202649055/
Ramons, Dino-Ray. “Black Panther’: Hollywood Cannot Stop Praising The Groundbreaking Marvel Blackbuster.” 19 February, 2018. https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/black-panther-hollywood-cannot-stop-031848508.html
In the past couple of years but most recently in the past couple of months, we have seen a drastic change regarding representation in the media. Society has shifted and there has definitely become more of an emphasis on portrayals of identity in the media. People don’t want to watch a show or a movie where they cant relate to a character because the character doesn’t look like they do. Under-represented groups such African Americans, the lgbt community, immigrants, Muslims and women want to be equally depicted on the big screen as well as on the small screen.
ReplyDeleteTelevision shows like “Fresh Off The Boat” “Black-ish”, “How To Get Away With Murder”, and “Sense 8” all portrayal under-represented individuals in a positive way that doesn’t reinforce negative stereotypes. And movies like Get Out, Moonlight, and Black Panther are giving the African American experience its voice.
Hollywood has lacked diversity for many years now and people inside and outside of Tinseltown are calling out the industry for its absence of under represented groups. The battle for diversity in the media is something that needs to continually be worked on. Hollywood needs more directors, producers and actors of different ethnicities, cultures, races and religions to ensure that everyone out there watching TV or movies feel truthfully depicted and well represented.
Jordan Peele’s Get Out and Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight were breakout hits of 2017. These two movies gave a whole new meaning of African American depictions from black directors and black actors. According to Brandon Harris for the New Yorker, “Get Out … deserves, in its own way, to be viewed alongside Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight as a giant leap forward for the possibilities of black cinema…Get Out feels like it would have been impossible five minutes ago” (Harris 2017).
Women are also fighting for more representation in the media. There are only 4% of female directors (Sun 2018), and for the first time in nearly 60 years, 2017’s 3 Top-Grossing Movies had a female lead. These stats seem insane but they’re true. “Both on and off the screen, Hollywood in 2017 was defined by its women, and the proof is in the box office charts. For the first time since 1958, the top three highest grossing domestic released have featured female leads” (Fuster 2017).
Truthful depictions and diversity helps to create a more tolerant society. When people are represented in the media, they become represented in real life too. When more shows and movies include people of color, of different religions or of different sexual orientations, it showcases the new normal that our society has become. According to thriveglobal.com “a lack of representation is isolating- it causes one to perceive themself as “different” and unusual. Minorities and marginalized groups need to know they are included and celebrated as a regular part of the world” (Evgenivna 2017). By normalizing peoples differences and appreciating it allows for an open mind mentality.
Ebiri, Bilge. "Critic's Notebook - Why 'Get Out' and 'Moonlight' Are Breakthroughs in Black Filmmaking." The Hollywood Reporter. N.p., 7 Mar. 2017. Web.
Evgenivna, Daniela. "The Power of Diversity in the Media." Thrive Global. Thrive Global, 25 Nov. 2017. Web. 05 Mar. 2018.
Fuster, Jeremy. "2017's 3 Top-Grossing Movies Had Female Lead for First Time in Nearly 60 Years." TheWrap. N.p., 31 Dec. 2017. Web. 05 Mar. 2018.
Sun, Rebecca. "Eight Women Directed a Top 100 Movie in 2017, Study Finds (Exclusive)."The Hollywood Reporter. N.p., 04 Jan. 2018. Web. 05 Mar. 2018.
Although times are changing and race and gender in many fields such as the film industry and in Hollywood has started to positively change, there still is many aspects within Hollywood in which diversity lacks, whether its actors and actresses in films or working behind the scenes, a lack of diversity still does tend to exist. Given that there have been changes already made to fix this lack of diversity, there are still things that need to be done in order to make the film industry more representative of its audience.
ReplyDeleteWhen I think of critiques over a lack of diversity in the film industry two main points come to mind. Gender and race. Recently, I watched the film “Get Out” which is a horror movie, but, actually addresses many things more than just scaring viewers. The film is about an interracial couple the woman being white and the man being black. They are going to meet her parents for the first time. “Mir. Armitage tells Chris. ‘I get it. White family, black servants…I that the way it looks’.” (Ebiri). The film addresses the lack of diversity that exists in society but a lack of diversity that exists in the film industry as well. By creating films like this I think that it spreads more of an awareness to break the lack in diversity and to embrace so many of the things that have built the success of Hollywood. Though a lack of diversity is a negative aspect within the film industry, it also raises real life situations. Peele, the maker of the film is African American himself which is why I think he was able to make a film such as “Get Out” very successful since it is somewhat relatable to him personally.
Gender plays a huge role with a lack of diversity in the film industry. From a young age we are taught to think that men are simply better and more successful than women especially within specific jobs. But, actually, women have been quite successful within the film industry. “The good news is that three more women directed a top 100 film in 2017 compared with the year before.” (Sun). But, still over all, there seem to be not only more men directors but more successful men directors. I don’t think this is because women aren’t capable of what men are, rather, I think that women aren’t given the opportunity to direct as many films as men are.
Not only is there inequality with female directors but we also see it within films. Many times, females are portrayed to play a mother role, a teacher, a nurse and many more. “In a sample of the 2,000 highest-grossing domestic films for each year between 1994 and 2013, women occupied a majority of traditional (female-dominated) positions, such as jobs in costuming (68.8 percent) and casting (66.5 percent) departments.” (Laham). The only way to change this type of inequality is to change women’s roles in films which will then change the stereotypes and the way we think of different gender roles specifically in Hollywood and the film industry.
Works Cited:
Ebiri, Billge. "Why 'Get Out' and 'Moonlight' Are Breakthroughs in Black Filmmaking." The Hollywood Reporter 7 March 2017. Web.
Sun, Rebecca. "Eight Women Directed a Top 100 Movie in 2017, Study Finds," The Hollywood Reporter 4 Jan. 2018. Web.
Laham, Martha T.S. “The Film Industry's Problem Of Gender Inequality Is Worse Than You Think.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 17 Aug. 2016
Diversity in Hollywood has nearly always lacked, but hasn’t been an issue in the spotlight until recently. And it’s not just race, either - women are also being seen as discriminated against.
ReplyDeleteRecently, several movies with female leads have proven very successful at the box office. Beauty and the Beast, Red Sparrow and even the latest Star Wars movie have very strong, critically acclaimed actresses. This has contributed to the confidence women in Hollywood have found to speak up about their sexual assault experiences and form the #MeToo movement. The movement is so strong, in fact, that seeing Matt Lauer on the big screen in I, Tonya in real news footage included in the film caused the audience to gasp according to an article written by The Hollywood Reporter. In an article published by USA Today, 94% of women surveyed have said that “they have experienced some form of sexual harassment or assault during their careers in Hollywood.” That’s 94 out of 100 women. Only six out of 100 women have not admitted to experiencing this. Because men and men alone have held the power for so long, they feel entitled to take advantage of females vying for a career in this industry. The same article goes on to state that women who have been in Hollywood longer have experienced more instances of sexual assault and those who have been in the industry for five years or less are more likely to speak up about the misconduct, which more than likely means women are being shown more respect as they, as a gender, gain more and more success.
As far as race goes, there has been progress made in movies from the live-action Black Panther to the animated Coco. To me, it seems like the hot topic is always the race and color of the people seen on the big screen. What is often lost on many viewers and diversity critics is race means more than the color of someone’s skin. There’s an entire culture behind the race. That’s why I love Coco so much. Reporter Claudia Puig spoke to Latino artists and cultural leaders about how Coco was a wonderful representation of their culture. One person interviewed said, “"They couldn't believe that an American studio had made the film, as it felt like an authentically Mexican work of art." As a future teacher, I’m a huge fan of talking about culture. I love holidays because I get to talk about how different cultures celebrate all over the world. I talk about St. Lucia’s day in Sweden during December, Dia de los Muertos in Mexico in October and the Chinese New Year in China in February. If I were to just focus on the diversity of the characters in the pictures of books I read, my students would be missing out on so much wonderful learning. I think Hollywood needs to improve in this aspect and should consider this when preaching about diversity.
Puenta, Maria and Cara Kelly. "How Common Is Sexual Misconduct in Hollywood?" USA Today 23 Feb. 2018. Web.
James, Caryn. "How Film Contenders Gained Relevance Amid Sxual Harassment Scandals," The Hollywood Reporter 21 December 2017
Puig, Caludia. “Latino artists and cultural leaders weigh in on how 'Coco' got it right,” Los Angeles Times 22 February 2018
I think the biggest thing the film industry needs to do to make its products more representative is have more women involved. Whether that be in lead rolls, directors, producers, stories about empowering women and so on. More importantly, they need to find a way to make these films successful as well. Additionally, it is important to make note of the strides the film industry has made in the area of race but they need to remember that it does not stop with the handful of films they have.
ReplyDeleteThe lack of gender diversity in the film industry is uncanny. According to the Wrap, it has been 59 years since films fronted by women swept away at the box office (Fuster). That is definitely not ok considering women are more likely to go see a film in theatres. Since 2009, women have made up 52% of moviegoers (Silverstein). If women are going to the movies far more, why do only 15% of films have female leads? We’ve seen strides in this in the last year, but it is not enough. Growing up, most of the films I watched were made by Disney. While a lot of Disney films back then were aimed toward girls, in those same films, the girl was always “saved” by a man or her “prince charming”. Not having strong female representation in the content I was consuming resulted in me growing up thinking I needed a prince to save me. It is that destructive thinking that the film industry needs to find a way to break. One simple solution is to have stronger female leads. We saw Emma Watson as Belle in the remake of Beauty and the Beast. Belle is arguably the most determined, headstrong, and independent princesses we see in the OG princess squad. Having this remake with an actress who is extremely involved in women’s rights around the world, allowed for a deeper meaning to this new film. Additionally, the remake of Beauty and the Beast spent the majority of 2017 as the highest grossing domestic film (Fusters). That’s a big deal because while it is a Disney Princess movie, it has a strong female lead. In the last handful of years, we’ve seen female actresses speaking up and demanding better roles with better stories. As stated before, women makeup the majority of moviegoers so it is vital that the industry caters to that audience if they want to continue rolling out groundbreaking films.
Another way the film industry can be more inclusive is by having a stronger representation of race. Everyone is buzzing about Black Panther at the moment, not only are people saying it’s an outstanding film but the fact that is an all-black led cast. That is a huge deal. It’s no secret that Hollywood is known for and scolded for being “all white”. We saw it with last years Oscar’s, not a single person of color was nominated for an award. Representation of different a race is so important for our youth culture. If I can grow up seeing people just like me in films, a child of a different race should be able to do the same thing. Black Panther has generated so much buzz that even the former First Lady, Michelle Obama, praised the film in a tweet (Ramos). Actresses like Octavia Spencer have been inspired to buy out theatres across the country to allow young African-American youth to see a film where the hero looks like them for a change (Johnson). People do not realize the importance of being able to relate to characters in films.
DeleteLastly, representation of the LGBTQ community is something that needs to be incorporated in films. However, not a film or character who’s “selling point” is that they are part of the LGBTQ community. What we need is a character who is a million amazing things and just happens to be part of the LGBTQ community. Disney received a lot of backlash for wanted to have a gay character in a movie. I’m unsure of their plans to continue the film but the film industry is going to continue to get backlash about representing the LGBTQ community until they push back and make it normal.
Works Cited:
Fuster, Jeremy. “2017's 3 Top-Grossing Movies Had Female Lead for First Time in Nearly 60 Years.” TheWrap, 31 Dec. 2017, www.thewrap.com/female-lead-films-top-2017-box-office/.
Johnson, Alex. “'Black Panther' Has Black Audiences Nationwide Thrilled.” Study Breaks, 19 Feb. 2018, studybreaks.com/tvfilm/black-panther-2-3/.
Ramos, Dino-Ray. “'Black Panther': Hollywood Cannot Stop Praising The Groundbreaking Marvel Blockbuster.” Yahoo!, Yahoo!, 20 Feb. 2018, www.yahoo.com/entertainment/black-panther-hollywood-cannot-stop-031848508.html.
Silverstein, Melissa. “MPAA Data Shows That Women Are Still The Majority of Moviegoers.” IndieWire, 26 Mar. 2014, www.indiewire.com/2014/03/mpaa-data-shows-that-women-are-still-the-majority-of-moviegoers-207223/.
It’s troubling to know that even in 2018, lack of diversity and gender roles is still an issue in the film industry. Besides these two obvious issues in film, there are also many more problems happening that fail to represent and portray its audience.
ReplyDeleteMovies as we know, are about telling a story, some of which involve a character with some type of disability, whether that is physical or mental. But when we take a step back and look, there really aren’t as many portrayals of disabilities as there could and should be. When a disability is portrayed in a film, it is usually the only thing that is focused on. In real life, many people have friends and family who have a disability, so why isn’t this represented more in the media? When 900 films from 2007-2016 were studied, only 2.7% of all characters depicted a disability. Of that 2.7%, only 32.3% of those characters were women (Smith, Choueiti, & Pieper).
Another issue facing the film industry in its representation is domestic abuse. I, Tonya has recently come under intense criticism for having a scene where Matt Lauer is reporting news. At the time when the movie was being filmed, Matt Lauer had not yet been accused of sexual harassment. By December 8, I, Tonya had been released and Lauer had already been fired. This was especially controversial because the movie involved Tonya Harding’s relationship with her abusive boyfriend, yet a news anchor fired for sexual abuse was kept in the film (James). The past 6 months has welcomed the rise of women speaking out against their abusers and taking back their power, along with the #MeToo movement. There was no way to predict or know that Lauer would end up becoming the face of yet another sexual abuse case, but the scene should have been cut from the movie or reshot because it ended up stealing the spotlight of a story that was being told.
The final issue is the lack of LGBTQ characters in films. A study called the “Studio Responsibility Index” measured 125 films and only 23 of those films had characters in the LGBTQ community. “In Disney’s billion-dollar Beauty and the Beast remake, LeFou is gay, and in Lionsgate’s Power Rangers, the Yellow Ranger, Trini, makes an allusion to possibly being a lesbian. However, the treatment of both characters’ sexuality is minimal, far from the kind of overt representation shown in films like Moonlight—let alone on TV, which has long boasted the sort of representation that film never has.” (Desta).
The film industry has come a long way, but there is still a long way to go. Movies are supposed to represent real life, which involves real life situations and people.
Works Cited:
Desta, Y. (2017, May 25). Most LGBTQ Movie Characters Are Marginalized, Invisible, or Punchlines. Retrieved March 05, 2018, from https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/05/glaad-2016-movies-study
James, C. (2017, December 21). Oscars: How Film Contenders Gained Relevance Amid Sexual Harassment Scandals. Retrieved March 05, 2018, from https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/oscars-how-film-contenders-gained-relevance-sexual-harassment-scandals-1067401
Smith, S., Dr, Choueiti, M., & Pieper, K., Dr. (n.d.). Inequality in 900 Popular Films . Retrieved March 5, 2018, from http://www.bing.com/cr?IG=4E51589EF68543D7B1D195929108B1AF&CID=397D339D0E4F69AD12D238370FE06894&rd=1&h=4yYk4CaQ96eCj6NtmuZSbhRVyNbkJLzZmop99gtaOPc&v=1&r=http%3a%2f%2fannenberg.usc.edu%2fsites%2fdefault%2ffiles%2fDr_Stacy_L_Smith-Inequality_in_900_Popular_Films.pdf&p=DevEx,5066.1
After watching the 2018 Oscar Awards, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Jimmy Kimmel was using his platform to discuss political issues and put a comedic spin on them. I think the show had a perfect amount of political talk and did a good job addressing the previous controversies of 2017 relating to gender issues, racism and sexual harassment.
ReplyDeleteComing into the Oscars, there were two films that were groundbreaking in terms of addressing issues that in the past have been left unsaid. Jordan Peele's ‘Get out’ was put together as a 'groundbreaking, genre-bending statement on the black experience’ (Why Get Out Was the Most Important Movie of Award Season). This not-quite-horror movie was a must see, similar to Black Panther.
Black panther was record-breaking and marked history, staring a black superhero. With a majority black cast, the movie was nothing like anything ever seen before. The film was beyond successful breaking many records, especially in the box office. I think that this movie will be looked back upon as the movie that kick-started a more diverse and accepting Hollywood film scene. “Of course a single film, even a massive blockbuster like Black Panther, cannot alone reverse generations of negative imagery and distortion. But it’s an important step that will hopefully invite more, in part by indisputably demonstrating the global hunger for black heroes and story lines” (global significance of black panther).
Audiences and film companies alike have seen the importance of representation in Hollywood; there's no denying the success of Black Panther. ‘The movie paid off in ways beyond what even Disney insiders were predicting. In addition to opening a record-shattering 242.2 million and boasting the second-biggest four-day start in history behind Force Awakens, Black Panther drew the most diverse North American audience ever for a superhero film’ (Disney’s Black Panther Playbook).
Now that Black Panther has made such a huge mark on film history, I am expecting to see more diversity in films. After these two films were released highlighting and celebrating black culture, I would like to see more of a representation of women in films, both behind the scenes and in front of the camera. In the Oscar Awards, the lack of representation was brought up based on the lack of female nominations. I think the film industry needs to start casting more female lead roles to start a snowball effect. The movie industry needs to answer the requests of society and spread awareness to the underdogs. Doing this could result in a more cohesive nation having every category of people feeling happy with the equality.
“Why Get Out Was the Most Important Movie of Award Season.” Eonline, www.eonline.com/news/903439/why-get-out-was-the-most-important-movie-of-award-season.
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McClintock, Pamela. “Disney's 'Black Panther' Playbook: A Peek at the Marketing of a Phenomenon.” The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Feb. 2018, www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/black-panther-how-disney-created-a-phenomenon-1086820?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=THR%27s%2BToday%2Bin%2BEntertainment_now_2018-02-21%2B10%3A11%3A07_rrahman&utm_term=hollywoodreporter_tie.
Jenkins, Alan. “The Global Significance of 'Black Panther' (Guest Column).” The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Feb. 2018, www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/black-panther-global-significance-1087878.
Think back to the last time you saw a Native American in a leading role that didn’t include John Wayne exterminating the population. But the Native American population is not the only race and group of people. Women of Hollywood are facing similar issues both on screen and behind the camera. The problem in film does not stem from the actors and actresses getting an opportunity or lack there of. The problem with the film industry starts at the top and trickles down.
ReplyDeleteNot only are women not being employed for top-level jobs but they are also not commanding the respect they deserve in the workplace. Studio heads and directors are being accused of sexual assault and next accusation gets worse than the last. People of power all across Hollywood are taking advantage of women who are trying to make the most of fleeing opportunities in the industry.
Women are not getting the same opportunities as men in film and it is not even close. Women are having problems professionally in every industry but film is very far behind. According to Dr. Martha M. Lauzen in “The Celluloid ceiling: Behind-The-Scenes Employment of women” states that women comprise of 18% of all leadership positions in film. Leadership positions in film are writers, directors, cinematographers and more. This number has shown an increase! Two years ago in 2016 it was all the way up to 16%. These numbers are shameful and until that number changes the number of females in lead roles will continue to lack behind their male counterparts.
Women in film shine bright and burn out fast. The older you are in film for women the less likely you are to be in a Hollywood blockbuster. The percentage of females over the age of forty in popular movies is 25.6 percent in the year 2016 compared to 74.4 percent of males. These numbers come from a study done by the Media, Diversity, and Social Change initiative.
The last problem that is haunting the film industry is race. The film industry is white washed. With more and more movies having white lead actors they are turning off a wide variety of the country. Of the top 100 films made in 2016 78.8% of the actors were white. Thirteen percent of the others were African American. The remaining ethnicities are a mix of Asian, Native American, mixed race according to the Media, Diversity, and Social Change initiative. The problem with that the people of these ethnicities do not see themselves represented in film. The only person they see is the same character over and over again movie after movie.
The way to solve this problem is to get mixed genders to the top floor. Get African American writers, directors, studio heads and the same for other races and genders. When these minorities don’t see themselves as protagonists in film then they see themselves like they are stuck in whatever situation they are in now. Not only are they not in the movie but when they are they are not in a position of power. The quick and easy way to get those races portrayed in the way that they deserve is to bring them in on the creative. Help them save the image of Hollywood being whitewashed.
With the way the film industry is changing due the sexual assault and the top level employees being brought down, the industry should look into this problem and try to hire more people of color or women to lead the way. The extreme does not have to go to the point of the Blaxploitation films of the 70’s, but a fresh now outlook on films would be something that can benefit many studios.
Works Cited
Deletehttps://annenberg.usc.edu/sites/default/files/Dr_Stacy_L_Smith-Inequality_in_900_Popular_Films.pdf
Lauzen, Martha M. "It's a Man's Celluloid World Report 2017," Center for the Study of Women in Television & Film. Accessed 24 Feb. 2018. Web.
Lauzen, Martha M. "The Celluloid Ceiling: Behind-the-Scenes Employment of Women on the Top 100, 250, and 500 Films of 2017," Center for the Study of Women in Television & Film. Accessed 24 Feb. 2018. Web.
Lauzen, Martha M. "The Celluloid Ceiling: Behind-the-Scenes Employment of Women on the Top 100, 250, and 500 Films of 2017," Center for the Study of Women in Television & Film. Accessed 24 Feb. 2018. Web.
Hollywood has progressively begun to take action to address the criticism facing the film industry over the lack of diversity in the media, particularly regarding race and gender.
ReplyDeleteSpecifically, females who are casted in lead roles in their films are sweeping box-office sales as of recently. In an article written by Jeremy Fuster, “According to data from Box Office Madness and Box Office Mojo, which respectively log box office charts for films released before and after 1980, it has been 59 years since films fronted by women have swept the podium at the box office.” (Fuster.) It has been a long time since female-dominated films have been extremely successful and now we are witnessing a major curve, but we still have some work to do. According to an article written by Dr. Stacy L. Smith, Marc Choueiti, and Dr. Katherine Pieper, it shows the progression (& decline) of “prevalence of female speaking characters across 900 films, in percentages.” (Smith.) As of 2016, films prevaled of 31.4% of female speaking characters across the 900 films introduced in this study. While this number is considerably lower than that of 2008 and 2009 where the percentages were at their all-time highest, it still is a relatively high percentage for modern-day films.
Race is right there next to the issue of gender in the film industry, according to the same article written by Smith, Choueiti and Pieper, out of the 900 movies, there were only 56 African American or Black directors, and 30 Asian and Asian-American directors. In terms of percentages, 5.6% and 3% respectively. (Smith.) The numbers become more alarming when you focus on the top one hundred movies of 2016 and the appearance of the amount of females who identify as a race other than white. Out of those one hundred movies, forty-seven of those movies had no appearance of Black or African American women, sixty-six had no appearance of Asian or Asian American women, and seventy-two had no Hispanic or Latina women. The inclusion of diverse races and genders is extremely important, and it is severely lacking.
So what else can filmmakers do to appeal to audience members who want to see more diverse characters in their favorite movies? The answer is directly in the question, appeal to the audience. The audience is made up of different races, genders and backgrounds, we should do just that in our movies. But how? By casting people of different races as lead roles instead of supporting roles to films consistently featuring people who identify as white, you are already taking steps towards diversifying the media. In an article written by The Guardian, it states that “if TV executives are actually, finally paying attention to audiences, this new system of change will soon become the norm, one in which casting directors defer to what people actually want and respond to and not discriminatory exclusions.” (Julious, Britt.) All in all, when we are not surprised that we are seeing more women, women of races other than white, Asian-Americans, Black, African Americans, Latinos and Latinas in our favorite movies and it becomes normal for us to regularly see these roles exist, then we will know that we have successfully reached a place in media where we display diversity.
Fuster, Jeremy. “2017s 3 Top-Grossing Movies Had Female Lead for First Time in Nearly 60 Years.” TheWrap, 31 Dec. 2017, www.thewrap.com/female-lead-films-top-2017-box-office/.
Julious, Britt. “Hollywood race casting: what the industry is getting wrong about diversity.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 25 Mar. 2015, www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/25/deadlines-race-casting-article-tvs-diversity-wrong.
Smith, Stacy L., et al. Inequality in 900 Popular Films: Examining Portrayals of Gender, Race/Ethnicity, LGBT and Disability from 2006-2016. quinnipiac.blackboard.com/bbcswebdav/pid-2447730-dt-content-rid-19318143_1/courses/MSS49502_18SP/Inequality%20in%20900%20Popular%20Films.pdf.