Welcome to the blog of Dr. Lisa Burns' Media Studies senior capstone class (2 pm section) at Quinnipiac University. If you're looking for the latest on media industry trends and insightful media analysis, you've come to the right place!
Ashley Shankar Part 1 In the article, Oscars Nominate Most Diverse Acting Slate Ever, Including First Asian American Best Actor, it states, “Nine actors of color earned Academy Award nominations on Monday, setting an Oscar record for diversity in those categories. The achievement comes after years of aggressive efforts by the Academy to diversify its membership in the wake of all-white acting nominees for the 2015 and 2016 ceremonies. That ignominious event was almost repeated last year when just one Black actor, ‘Harriet’ star Cynthia Erivo, earned a nomination (for best actress).” I believe Hollywood is taking the appropriate actions to try to cover the lack of diversity for race with the increase of representation during awards shows like the Oscars. Although Hollywood has made this push I believe they still lack diversity in other areas, behind scenes and in its products. Only increasing nominations to look more diverse is not truly inclusive or representative of its audience. The report, Inequality in 1,300 Popular Films: Examining Portrayals of Gender, Race/Ethnicity, LGBTQ & Disability from 2007 to 2019, provided important data and research about inclusivity of gender, race, LBGBT and disability in films. Overall, this report showed the excessive use of straight, white, men in films and behind the scenes in film production. If characters are a part of underrepresented groups, their character normally has a non-speaking role versus being a main character. Not only is the diversity lacking in front of the camera but also behind the scenes which can include screenwriters, producers, composers, hair stylists, etc. This is similar to the example we talked about in class, when a black actress was playing a role but the hairstylist didn’t know how to work with black hair. This report also explained how LGBT actors/ actresses or disabled actors are just as underrepresented if not more. Hollywood needs to make more steps to ensure their teams are inclusive. As talked about in another class, most times movies will have a lead character who is gay or disabled but the character is played by a straight person or non-disabled person. This is a problem because many times these characters are stereotypically portrayed from the lack of diversity in front and behind cameras when creating and playing the roles.
Lastly, the article, The Importance of Representation in Film and Media, states, “Unfortunately, media biases are prominent in featuring portrayals of minorities primarily as criminals, terrorists, uneducated, highly sexualized people, and more. These depictions penetrate the minds of viewers and create unconscious biases which negatively affects the way individuals interact with each other. Ghandnoosh pointed out in 2015 that implicit biases have led to unnecessary discrimination and police shootings of black males. By extension, the media’s excessive and impartial coverage of “alleged black criminals'' creates a domino effect in also impacting the justice system. Jury members, lawyers, as well as judges involved are consequently more inclined to deliver tougher punishments for blacks (Donaldson 2015).” This is important because with the lack of diversity in Hollywood many stereotypes are regrained into viewers, such as always pitying disabled people, depicting colored people as poor, sexuality is a struggle etc. Hollywood needs to start to include underrepresented populations to be more inclusive and representative of their audience.
Works cited “Oscars Nominate Most Diverse Acting Slate Ever, Including First Asian American Best Actor.” Variety, Variety, 15 Mar. 2021, variety.com/2021/film/news/oscars-diversity-steven-yeun-riz-ahmed-1234928862/. "Inequality in 1300 Popular Films." Annenberg Inclusion Initiative September 2020, http://assets.uscannenberg.org/docs/aii-inequality_1300_popular_films_09-08-2020.pdf
Washington, Lauren, et al. “The Importance of Representation in Film and Media.” Medium, Medium, 29 Dec. 2019, medium.com/@Laurenwash/the-importance-of-representation-in-film-and-media-2d006149cac9.
Fiona Doull Part 1 - Blog 6, Question 3 Throughout the past several years, Hollywood has been criticized for the blatant lack of diversity in the industry, specifically in terms of race and gender. An obvious way of seeing this in the past is through award shows. In the past hashtags such as #OscarsSoWhite and #BAFTASSoWhite have been trending on the internet due to there being solely or mostly white nominees at both the Academy Awards as well as the Baftas. In both 2015 and 2016, the academy noticeably had to increase its diversity after hosting all-white nominees (Vary). This was almost repeated last year when only one black actor earned a nomination for the movie “Harriet” (Vary). Award shows are known notorious for being a “numbers game” and more simply a “marketing event (Bahr). In other words, Hollywood is a business and these award shows are put in place to acknowledge those who keep the money rolling in (Bahr). After these award shows and more were exposed by their lack of diversity, there has been a clear push to diversify in terms of race, gender, and age as well as an overall larger effort of inclusivity. This year there is an all-time high, the most diverse acting slate ever, at the Academy Awards. Nine actors of color earned nominations, this is also the first year in which one Oscar category does not have a white majority (Vary). Chinese filmmaker Chloé Zhao is the first woman to ever receive four nominations in one year and black actor, Chadwick Boseman, who passed away this year, received a nomination for best actor in his final film (Vary). The BAFTA film awards also hosted the most diverse slate they have ever had and also implemented 120 changes to the awards after an in-depth review was done to their voting and nomination procedures (Vary). The AMPAS, those behind the Oscars, is also working towards a new set of eligibility standards that will be phased into the Oscars in the upcoming years. Dr. Stacy L. Smith, from USC’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, explained that “we’re seeing notable gains for different communities, and it is important to celebrate that” but also explained that “there is room for the Academy to continue its efforts” (Vary).
Part 2 - In an article titled “Hollywood loses $10 Billion a Year due to Lack of Diversity, Study Finds”, Nicole Sperling delves into a study conducted by the consulting firm, Mckinsey & Company. Due to Hollywood ignoring systemic racial inequalities, they are plaguing the film and television industries. The study explains that this is due to a lack of representation within Hollywood and that Hollywood’s unique structure contributes to the ecosystems failing. The study found a lot of information due to looking at existing reports, conducting interviews to reflect upon past and present experiences with both black and non-black industry participants, and more. With all of the data that the article shares, McKinsey & Company also provide concrete steps to help change the makeup of the industry including “urging studios, networks, streaming services, agencies, and production companies to commit publicly to a specific target for Black and nonwhite representation across all levels and roles that reflect the American population” (Sperling). The article also touches upon increasing transparency with regular reporting on the makeup of organizations in terms of race and gender as well as financially backing a range of black stories and voices and encouraging Hollywood to create an independent organization to promote diversity (Sperling). I found Mckinsey & Company’s findings to be very intriguing and I whole-heartedly agree with their steps for the future. These are concrete, real ideas that can be put into action to work towards a difference in Hollywood. Although changes have been made, they are not significant enough and still a work in progress when it comes to inclusivity and representation.
Work Cited: Feinberg, Scott. "Oscar Nominations Analysis: Cause for Concern and Celebration." The Hollywood Reporter 15 March 2021, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/oscar-nominations-analysis-cause-for-concern-and-celebration "Inequality in 1300 Popular Films." Annenberg Inclusion Initiative September 2020, http://assets.uscannenberg.org/docs/aii-inequality_1300_popular_films_09-08-2020.pdf Sperling, Nicole. “Hollywood Loses $10 Billion a Year Due to Lack of Diversity, Study Finds.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 11 Mar. 2021, www.nytimes.com/2021/03/11/movies/hollywood-black-representation.html. Vary, Adam B. "Oscars Nominate Most Diverse Acting Slate Ever, Including First Asian American Best Actor." Variety 15 March 2021, https://variety.com/2021/film/news/oscars-diversity-steven-yeun-riz-ahmed-1234928862/
Stephen Halvatzis Part 1 It is evident that the film industry has taken steps to address diversity in the industry. For years, many have been critical of how Hollywood has failed to diversify the film industry, and how opportunities have been limited. Finally, it seems that the industry has taken notice to its critics. According to Variety, "Nine actors of color earned Academy Award nominations on Monday, setting an Oscar record for diversity in those categories. The achievement comes after years of aggressive efforts by the Academy to diversify its membership in the wake of all-white acting nominees for the 2015 and 2016 ceremonies. That ignominious event was almost repeated last year when just one Black actor, “Harriet” star Cynthia Erivo, earned a nomination (for best actress)." (Vary, Variety). This statement shows the sudden change that has occurred in the industry. This is a trend that many hope will last for the foreseeable future and that more opportunities come from this wave of diversification of the industry. 2020 was a crazy year that limited the film industries opportunities. With COVID-19, films were unable to premiere in theaters and most were forced to go straight to streaming platforms like Netflix or HBO MAX. This could have had an impact on the nominations for this years Oscars. For example, according to The Hollywood Reporter, "The sole leader for most nominated film of the year — Mank, with 10 noms, four more than the six films tied for second place — is in black-and-white, something that has been true only one other time in the last 60 years (Schindler's List). The best picture category, though boasting eight nominees, contains only a single film from one of Hollywood's major studios — Judas and the Black Messiah from Warner Bros. (although The Trial of the Chicago 7 originated at Paramount) — an unprecedented low (streamers Netflix and Amazon have two and one, respectively, and A24, Focus, Searchlight and Sony Classics have one each)." (Feinberg).
Hayley Cuttitta Part 1 Hollywood has had many issues in the past and currently with a lack of diversity with race and gender. We see this in award shows like the Oscars. Hollywood is like a world of its own, and in its many different aspect’s inclusivity needs to be brought to the top and focused on. A common theme amongst award shows, TV shows, movies, and even theatrical performances is a lack of diversity on and behind the scenes. The issue goes far beyond just one person not being treated equal. The reach is to an entire community that does not receive equal opportunity or showtime in Hollywood. The Oscars have had a bad reputation in the past when it comes to their lack of diversity. A hashtag went around a few years ago that said #OscarsSoWhite which shed light on the fact that there was not much diversity occurring on and off the screen of the awards show. There has been a push to more inclusivity within the Academy by better representation of gender and race. As stated in the Variety article, “Nine actors of color earned Academy Award nominations on Monday, setting an Oscar record for diversity in those categories. The achievement comes after years of aggressive efforts by the Academy to diversify its membership in the wake of all-white acting nominees for the 2015 and 2016 ceremonies” which to me sounds wrong because there shouldn’t be aggressive efforts having to be mad but rather the natural inclusivity that should be occurring (Vary). The effort of more and better representation of other races and genders has not gone unnoticed though as it is definitely making an impact. Another statement from this article that stands out is “Indeed, the fact that it took until 2021 for the Academy Awards to recognize a widely heterogeneous array of nominees also speaks directly to the deeply entrenched prejudices that have kept people of color outside of the Oscars — and the film industry at large — for so long” because it stresses the idea that it is 2021 and the film industry itself is just finally trying to get past these entrenched prejudices and make a better impact on the industry itself. The issue here is not only in shows and award ceremonies, but the film industry as a whole.
Part 2 Every year the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative examines the top 100 grossing domestic films with different series of indicators. This study helps with assessing the industries progress towards inclusion specially to see where improvement is still needed. As stated in, “The percentage of all underrepresented speaking characters in film (34.3%) still falls below proportional representation to the U.S. population. That statistic alone does not tell the full story, however. The data from 2019 reveal that no significant increase over time in the depiction of underrepresented characters has occurred, although since 2007 the percentage of White characters has declined meaningfully” which was from 2019, and still shows how much needs to be done to better represent these people and characters (Annenberg). In 2018 Frances McDormand ended her speech for Best Actress saying, “I have two words to leave with you tonight, ladies and gentlemen: inclusion rider” (Ila). It is said that an inclusion rider is a provision in an actor or filmmakers’ contract that the cast and or the crew in a film reflect real demographics, including a proportionate number of women, minorities, LGBTQ individuals and people with disabilities. This is a great step heading in the right direction to make sure there is more inclusivity for the entire film industry.
Ila. “How 'Inclusion Rider' Can Change the Film Industry and the Workplace with It.” Medium, The Startup, 20 Dec. 2020, medium.com/swlh/how-inclusion-rider-can-change-the-film-industry-and-the-workplace-with-it-9a0bc9e57941.
Vary, Adam. https://variety.com/2021/film/news/oscars-diversity-steven-yeun-riz-ahmed-1234928862/
"Inequality in 1300 Popular Films." Annenberg Inclusion Initiative September 2020, http://assets.uscannenberg.org/docs/aii-inequality_1300_popular_films_09-08-2020.pdf
Roberto Casillas Part 1 It seems like only yesterday when I opened up twitter and for a few days the only thing everyone was talking about was #OscarsSoWhite. It’s no secret that for a long, long time, there has been in issue within Hollywood with lack of diversity in their films, and they’ve continuously failed to represent different cultures, races, ethnicities and genders in a proper way. The issue began way before I was born, and to be honest, when I grew up and started watching movies, I failed to even recognize the problem. Now that I’m a little bit older, I have started to realize the significant inequality that still exists today in the industry. According to a study of 1,300 popular films from 2007 to 2019, 61% of all speaking characters in movies where white (Annenberg Foundation Initiative). The number decreased 11% since 2007, but still there hasn’t been a major increase in the percentages of characters from minority groups during the same span of time. Lack of representation is a problem that stems from Hollywood’s history of marginalizing people that aren’t white males. During the last few years there has been an uproar of criticism from even actors within Hollywood that are vehemently asking for a change to this situation. 2021 looks to be the beginning of real change in Hollywood. With the Oscar nominations coming out a week ago, the expectation is that we might get the most diverse group of winners in Academy Awards history. In a year like no other in film – because of the pandemic – it appears that the Academy started losing its prejudices and came up with a. very inclusive and very good field of nominees. If we go back and analyze the 1,300 popular films study I mentioned before, we can see that only 57 of the 1,300 films were made by female directors (Annenberg Foundation Initiative). This year, we have “two best picture nominees directed by a woman (Chloé Zhao and Emerald Fennell, respectively), something we've never seen before, just like having two women (those same two) nominated in one year for best director” (Feinberg). This is sure a shift from what we’ve usually seen in the Oscars, a change in a good direction. I think the Academy needs to continue on this trend because it will incentivize studios and producers to hire more diverse talent. It’s not all about the winning of awards, it’s a statement that people from minority groups can do just as good, if not a better job than their white male counterparts.
Roberto Casillas Part 2 Another way Hollywood can deal with the issue is solving the problem of the wage gap between male and female actors. In a survey conducted by the SAG we learned “that the average female member of the guild “earned 38% less than her average male counterpart last year. … For SAG members over age 40, however, the disparity is even more profound, with SAG women over 40 earning 46% less than their over-40 male counterparts” (Gray). Furthermore, “two-thirds of the 40,454 film and TV roles went to men” (Gray). These statistics are very problematic and demonstrate just how far away we are from seeing complete equality in Hollywood. There shouldn’t be a distinction of how much you get payed based on your gender. The industry has to continue hiring minority actors so that audiences can be represented, not just recycle white actors and make them play a role that would be much better suited for a minority actor. The Academy has to continue on its efforts to make Hollywood a more inclusive place, the job is far from finished.
Works Cited: Feinberg, Scott. "Oscar Nominations Analysis: Cause for Concern and Celebration." The Hollywood Reporter 15 March 2021, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/oscar-nominations-analysis-cause-for-concern-and-celebration Gray, Tim. “Gender Pay Disparity for Hollywood Actors Has Been a Long Battle.” Variety, Variety, 21 Dec. 2020, variety.com/2020/vintage/features/gender-pay-disparity-actors-1234867430/. "Inequality in 1300 Popular Films." Annenberg Inclusion Initiative September 2020, http://assets.uscannenberg.org/docs/aii-inequality_1300_popular_films_09-08-2020.pdf
Ashley Shankar Part 1
ReplyDeleteIn the article, Oscars Nominate Most Diverse Acting Slate Ever, Including First Asian American Best Actor, it states, “Nine actors of color earned Academy Award nominations on Monday, setting an Oscar record for diversity in those categories. The achievement comes after years of aggressive efforts by the Academy to diversify its membership in the wake of all-white acting nominees for the 2015 and 2016 ceremonies. That ignominious event was almost repeated last year when just one Black actor, ‘Harriet’ star Cynthia Erivo, earned a nomination (for best actress).” I believe Hollywood is taking the appropriate actions to try to cover the lack of diversity for race with the increase of representation during awards shows like the Oscars. Although Hollywood has made this push I believe they still lack diversity in other areas, behind scenes and in its products. Only increasing nominations to look more diverse is not truly inclusive or representative of its audience.
The report, Inequality in 1,300 Popular Films: Examining Portrayals of Gender, Race/Ethnicity, LGBTQ & Disability from 2007 to 2019, provided important data and research about inclusivity of gender, race, LBGBT and disability in films. Overall, this report showed the excessive use of straight, white, men in films and behind the scenes in film production. If characters are a part of underrepresented groups, their character normally has a non-speaking role versus being a main character. Not only is the diversity lacking in front of the camera but also behind the scenes which can include screenwriters, producers, composers, hair stylists, etc. This is similar to the example we talked about in class, when a black actress was playing a role but the hairstylist didn’t know how to work with black hair. This report also explained how LGBT actors/ actresses or disabled actors are just as underrepresented if not more. Hollywood needs to make more steps to ensure their teams are inclusive. As talked about in another class, most times movies will have a lead character who is gay or disabled but the character is played by a straight person or non-disabled person. This is a problem because many times these characters are stereotypically portrayed from the lack of diversity in front and behind cameras when creating and playing the roles.
Ashley Shankar Part 2
DeleteLastly, the article, The Importance of Representation in Film and Media, states, “Unfortunately, media biases are prominent in featuring portrayals of minorities primarily as criminals, terrorists, uneducated, highly sexualized people, and more. These depictions penetrate the minds of viewers and create unconscious biases which negatively affects the way individuals interact with each other. Ghandnoosh pointed out in 2015 that implicit biases have led to unnecessary discrimination and police shootings of black males. By extension, the media’s excessive and impartial coverage of “alleged black criminals'' creates a domino effect in also impacting the justice system. Jury members, lawyers, as well as judges involved are consequently more inclined to deliver tougher punishments for blacks (Donaldson 2015).” This is important because with the lack of diversity in Hollywood many stereotypes are regrained into viewers, such as always pitying disabled people, depicting colored people as poor, sexuality is a struggle etc. Hollywood needs to start to include underrepresented populations to be more inclusive and representative of their audience.
Works cited
“Oscars Nominate Most Diverse Acting Slate Ever, Including First Asian American Best Actor.” Variety, Variety, 15 Mar. 2021, variety.com/2021/film/news/oscars-diversity-steven-yeun-riz-ahmed-1234928862/.
"Inequality in 1300 Popular Films." Annenberg Inclusion Initiative September 2020, http://assets.uscannenberg.org/docs/aii-inequality_1300_popular_films_09-08-2020.pdf
Washington, Lauren, et al. “The Importance of Representation in Film and Media.” Medium, Medium, 29 Dec. 2019, medium.com/@Laurenwash/the-importance-of-representation-in-film-and-media-2d006149cac9.
Fiona Doull
ReplyDeletePart 1 -
Blog 6, Question 3
Throughout the past several years, Hollywood has been criticized for the blatant lack of diversity in the industry, specifically in terms of race and gender. An obvious way of seeing this in the past is through award shows. In the past hashtags such as #OscarsSoWhite and #BAFTASSoWhite have been trending on the internet due to there being solely or mostly white nominees at both the Academy Awards as well as the Baftas. In both 2015 and 2016, the academy noticeably had to increase its diversity after hosting all-white nominees (Vary). This was almost repeated last year when only one black actor earned a nomination for the movie “Harriet” (Vary). Award shows are known notorious for being a “numbers game” and more simply a “marketing event (Bahr). In other words, Hollywood is a business and these award shows are put in place to acknowledge those who keep the money rolling in (Bahr).
After these award shows and more were exposed by their lack of diversity, there has been a clear push to diversify in terms of race, gender, and age as well as an overall larger effort of inclusivity. This year there is an all-time high, the most diverse acting slate ever, at the Academy Awards. Nine actors of color earned nominations, this is also the first year in which one Oscar category does not have a white majority (Vary). Chinese filmmaker Chloé Zhao is the first woman to ever receive four nominations in one year and black actor, Chadwick Boseman, who passed away this year, received a nomination for best actor in his final film (Vary). The BAFTA film awards also hosted the most diverse slate they have ever had and also implemented 120 changes to the awards after an in-depth review was done to their voting and nomination procedures (Vary). The AMPAS, those behind the Oscars, is also working towards a new set of eligibility standards that will be phased into the Oscars in the upcoming years. Dr. Stacy L. Smith, from USC’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, explained that “we’re seeing notable gains for different communities, and it is important to celebrate that” but also explained that “there is room for the Academy to continue its efforts” (Vary).
Part 2 -
DeleteIn an article titled “Hollywood loses $10 Billion a Year due to Lack of Diversity, Study Finds”, Nicole Sperling delves into a study conducted by the consulting firm, Mckinsey & Company. Due to Hollywood ignoring systemic racial inequalities, they are plaguing the film and television industries. The study explains that this is due to a lack of representation within Hollywood and that Hollywood’s unique structure contributes to the ecosystems failing. The study found a lot of information due to looking at existing reports, conducting interviews to reflect upon past and present experiences with both black and non-black industry participants, and more. With all of the data that the article shares, McKinsey & Company also provide concrete steps to help change the makeup of the industry including “urging studios, networks, streaming services, agencies, and production companies to commit publicly to a specific target for Black and nonwhite representation across all levels and roles that reflect the American population” (Sperling). The article also touches upon increasing transparency with regular reporting on the makeup of organizations in terms of race and gender as well as financially backing a range of black stories and voices and encouraging Hollywood to create an independent organization to promote diversity (Sperling).
I found Mckinsey & Company’s findings to be very intriguing and I whole-heartedly agree with their steps for the future. These are concrete, real ideas that can be put into action to work towards a difference in Hollywood. Although changes have been made, they are not significant enough and still a work in progress when it comes to inclusivity and representation.
Work Cited:
Feinberg, Scott. "Oscar Nominations Analysis: Cause for Concern and Celebration." The Hollywood Reporter 15 March 2021, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/oscar-nominations-analysis-cause-for-concern-and-celebration
"Inequality in 1300 Popular Films." Annenberg Inclusion Initiative September 2020, http://assets.uscannenberg.org/docs/aii-inequality_1300_popular_films_09-08-2020.pdf
Sperling, Nicole. “Hollywood Loses $10 Billion a Year Due to Lack of Diversity, Study Finds.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 11 Mar. 2021, www.nytimes.com/2021/03/11/movies/hollywood-black-representation.html.
Vary, Adam B. "Oscars Nominate Most Diverse Acting Slate Ever, Including First Asian American Best Actor." Variety 15 March 2021, https://variety.com/2021/film/news/oscars-diversity-steven-yeun-riz-ahmed-1234928862/
Stephen Halvatzis
ReplyDeletePart 1
It is evident that the film industry has taken steps to address diversity in the industry. For years, many have been critical of how Hollywood has failed to diversify the film industry, and how opportunities have been limited. Finally, it seems that the industry has taken notice to its critics. According to Variety, "Nine actors of color earned Academy Award nominations on Monday, setting an Oscar record for diversity in
those categories. The achievement comes after years of aggressive efforts by the Academy to diversify its membership in the wake of all-white acting nominees for the 2015 and 2016 ceremonies. That ignominious event was almost repeated last year when just one Black actor, “Harriet” star Cynthia Erivo, earned a
nomination (for best actress)." (Vary, Variety). This statement shows the sudden change that has occurred in the industry. This is a trend that many hope will last for the foreseeable future and that more opportunities come from this wave of diversification of the industry.
2020 was a crazy year that limited the film industries opportunities. With COVID-19, films were unable to premiere in theaters and most were forced to go straight to streaming platforms like Netflix or HBO MAX. This could have had an impact on the nominations for this years Oscars. For example, according to The Hollywood Reporter, "The sole leader for most nominated film of the year — Mank, with 10 noms, four more than the six films tied for
second place — is in black-and-white, something that has been true only one other time in the last 60 years
(Schindler's List). The best picture category, though boasting eight nominees, contains only a single film from one of Hollywood's major studios — Judas and the Black Messiah from Warner Bros. (although The Trial of the
Chicago 7 originated at Paramount) — an unprecedented low (streamers Netflix and Amazon have two and one, respectively, and A24, Focus, Searchlight and Sony Classics have one each)." (Feinberg).
Hayley Cuttitta
ReplyDeletePart 1
Hollywood has had many issues in the past and currently with a lack of diversity with race and gender. We see this in award shows like the Oscars. Hollywood is like a world of its own, and in its many different aspect’s inclusivity needs to be brought to the top and focused on. A common theme amongst award shows, TV shows, movies, and even theatrical performances is a lack of diversity on and behind the scenes. The issue goes far beyond just one person not being treated equal. The reach is to an entire community that does not receive equal opportunity or showtime in Hollywood. The Oscars have had a bad reputation in the past when it comes to their lack of diversity. A hashtag went around a few years ago that said #OscarsSoWhite which shed light on the fact that there was not much diversity occurring on and off the screen of the awards show. There has been a push to more inclusivity within the Academy by better representation of gender and race. As stated in the Variety article, “Nine actors of color earned Academy Award nominations on Monday, setting an Oscar record for diversity in those categories. The achievement comes after years of aggressive efforts by the Academy to diversify its membership in the wake of all-white acting nominees for the 2015 and 2016 ceremonies” which to me sounds wrong because there shouldn’t be aggressive efforts having to be mad but rather the natural inclusivity that should be occurring (Vary). The effort of more and better representation of other races and genders has not gone unnoticed though as it is definitely making an impact. Another statement from this article that stands out is “Indeed, the fact that it took until 2021 for the Academy Awards to recognize a widely heterogeneous array of nominees also speaks directly to the deeply entrenched prejudices that have kept people of color outside of the Oscars — and the film industry at large — for so long” because it stresses the idea that it is 2021 and the film industry itself is just finally trying to get past these entrenched prejudices and make a better impact on the industry itself. The issue here is not only in shows and award ceremonies, but the film industry as a whole.
Part 2
ReplyDeleteEvery year the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative examines the top 100 grossing domestic films with different series of indicators. This study helps with assessing the industries progress towards inclusion specially to see where improvement is still needed. As stated in, “The percentage of all underrepresented speaking characters in film (34.3%) still falls below proportional representation to the U.S. population. That statistic alone does not tell the full story, however. The data from 2019 reveal that no significant increase over time in the depiction of underrepresented characters has occurred, although since 2007 the percentage of White characters has declined meaningfully” which was from 2019, and still shows how much needs to be done to better represent these people and characters (Annenberg). In 2018 Frances McDormand ended her speech for Best Actress saying, “I have two words to leave with you tonight, ladies and gentlemen: inclusion rider” (Ila). It is said that an inclusion rider is a provision in an actor or filmmakers’ contract that the cast and or the crew in a film reflect real demographics, including a proportionate number of women, minorities, LGBTQ individuals and people with disabilities. This is a great step heading in the right direction to make sure there is more inclusivity for the entire film industry.
Ila. “How 'Inclusion Rider' Can Change the Film Industry and the Workplace with It.” Medium, The Startup, 20 Dec. 2020, medium.com/swlh/how-inclusion-rider-can-change-the-film-industry-and-the-workplace-with-it-9a0bc9e57941.
Vary, Adam. https://variety.com/2021/film/news/oscars-diversity-steven-yeun-riz-ahmed-1234928862/
"Inequality in 1300 Popular Films." Annenberg Inclusion Initiative September 2020, http://assets.uscannenberg.org/docs/aii-inequality_1300_popular_films_09-08-2020.pdf
Roberto Casillas
ReplyDeletePart 1
It seems like only yesterday when I opened up twitter and for a few days the only thing everyone was talking about was #OscarsSoWhite. It’s no secret that for a long, long time, there has been in issue within Hollywood with lack of diversity in their films, and they’ve continuously failed to represent different cultures, races, ethnicities and genders in a proper way. The issue began way before I was born, and to be honest, when I grew up and started watching movies, I failed to even recognize the problem. Now that I’m a little bit older, I have started to realize the significant inequality that still exists today in the industry.
According to a study of 1,300 popular films from 2007 to 2019, 61% of all speaking characters in movies where white (Annenberg Foundation Initiative). The number decreased 11% since 2007, but still there hasn’t been a major increase in the percentages of characters from minority groups during the same span of time. Lack of representation is a problem that stems from Hollywood’s history of marginalizing people that aren’t white males. During the last few years there has been an uproar of criticism from even actors within Hollywood that are vehemently asking for a change to this situation.
2021 looks to be the beginning of real change in Hollywood. With the Oscar nominations coming out a week ago, the expectation is that we might get the most diverse group of winners in Academy Awards history. In a year like no other in film – because of the pandemic – it appears that the Academy started losing its prejudices and came up with a. very inclusive and very good field of nominees. If we go back and analyze the 1,300 popular films study I mentioned before, we can see that only 57 of the 1,300 films were made by female directors (Annenberg Foundation Initiative). This year, we have “two best picture nominees directed by a woman (Chloé Zhao and Emerald Fennell, respectively), something we've never seen before, just like having two women (those same two) nominated in one year for best director” (Feinberg). This is sure a shift from what we’ve usually seen in the Oscars, a change in a good direction. I think the Academy needs to continue on this trend because it will incentivize studios and producers to hire more diverse talent. It’s not all about the winning of awards, it’s a statement that people from minority groups can do just as good, if not a better job than their white male counterparts.
Roberto Casillas
DeletePart 2
Another way Hollywood can deal with the issue is solving the problem of the wage gap between male and female actors. In a survey conducted by the SAG we learned “that the average female member of the guild “earned 38% less than her average male counterpart last year. … For SAG members over age 40, however, the disparity is even more profound, with SAG women over 40 earning 46% less than their over-40 male counterparts” (Gray). Furthermore, “two-thirds of the 40,454 film and TV roles went to men” (Gray). These statistics are very problematic and demonstrate just how far away we are from seeing complete equality in Hollywood. There shouldn’t be a distinction of how much you get payed based on your gender. The industry has to continue hiring minority actors so that audiences can be represented, not just recycle white actors and make them play a role that would be much better suited for a minority actor.
The Academy has to continue on its efforts to make Hollywood a more inclusive place, the job is far from finished.
Works Cited:
Feinberg, Scott. "Oscar Nominations Analysis: Cause for Concern and Celebration." The
Hollywood Reporter 15 March 2021, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/oscar-nominations-analysis-cause-for-concern-and-celebration
Gray, Tim. “Gender Pay Disparity for Hollywood Actors Has Been a Long Battle.” Variety,
Variety, 21 Dec. 2020, variety.com/2020/vintage/features/gender-pay-disparity-actors-1234867430/.
"Inequality in 1300 Popular Films." Annenberg Inclusion Initiative September 2020,
http://assets.uscannenberg.org/docs/aii-inequality_1300_popular_films_09-08-2020.pdf