Diversity in Film: A Moral Dilemma

 

The lack of diversity in film has been a big issue for the longest time. While that problem is being slowly fixed this year, the problem still remains. Take the films in the MCU for example. A prominent number of roles in the franchise are played by Caucasian actors and many of the other races are not as greatly represented. In 2021, this problem was larger. Many of the big roles in the big movies were not diverse roles. Take the remake of Candyman, the lead role was played by African American actor Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. That movie was diverse but many of the other movies that year were not. An article by "The Hollywood Reporter does a great job of breaking that down further in numbers. The article states, "In its latest study, USC’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, which has annually tracked gender and race/ethnicity of lead characters for the 100 highest-grossing films each year since 2007, reports that 41 percent of leads or co-leads in 2021 were women, and 32 percent were from a historically excluded race or ethnicity. (Nearly 40 percent — 39.9 percent — of the U.S. population is not white.)"¹ What does this say about us as a society? It means that we are going to see movies that are not diverse and do not elevate what is going on in the real world. 

The article further goes on to say that "Back in 2007, the earliest year AI2 began analyzing such data, only one film managed that feat (Dreamgirls), whereas 2019 featured a high of 17. Older women (those 45 and up) were also much less likely to star in a movie than their male counterparts: seven movies versus 27. Although seven men of color were leads or co-leads in 2021, not a single non-white woman over 45 was tapped for such a part last year or the year before."² This goes to show you that Hollywood has a diversity problem and the fact is that it is not getting any better. Diversity in film is important as it breathes new life into not only our imaginations but also the world around us.

The website "In Club Magazine" does a really good job of telling why. The website says "Movies start important conversations at home and in public arenas that help create a more inclusive society. Diverse representation also helps to create a culture of empathy because seeing the stories of characters from different cultures makes people more relatable in real life. Diversity in film gives power back to underrepresented communities. it would open doors to more employment opportunities for non-White creatives who have historically been excluded in the entertainment industry. And most importantly, it allows people to see themselves and their stories accurately depicted in movies, creating space to feel heard, seen, and dream bigger to become the heroes on screen."³ Break that down further. The average moviegoer goes to the movies to watch the movies they want to see and to escape into the worlds seen in those films. Films are seen as entertainment and if people are feeling down it can be escapism. 

In Club magazine then goes on to highlight that "In 2021, for every big-budget movie that exceeded expectations at the box office, 53%-60% of opening weekend audiences were people of color. As consumers, we can demand diversity through what we watch and what we buy – our purchasing power. The entertainment landscape will always shift based on the most popular consumer buying choices. The less we buy in, the more industry bigwigs lose out without meeting our demands. Moviegoers can also continue to call for accountability from film executives and stakeholders through social media. Comment on film trailers and related marketing material on YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram. Create hashtags like #OscarsSoWhite that shake up the entertainment world or interact with already trending tags calling for progress in the film industry. The history of film is still in the making. With the global connectivity of the internet on our side, the public conversation can lean towards better actions. Actions that create a more diverse film industry – an industry that creatives and film lovers should have had over a century ago."⁴ Break this down further as well and you see that every day people, the moviegoers are changing the world of Hollywood how they want it to be. That is great but it should not be on them. It is up to studios and the executives in those studios to diversify the talent in their movies. That was the problem with the tv show Friends, it had an all-White cast with very few if any actors who were part of a minority. Studios need to work with not just each other but the people who watch their films to bring different film perspectives to the forefront because at the end of the day, we the viewer do not want to keep seeing the same time of movie released every year, which happens often.

1. Sun, R. (2022, March 15). Study finds women, and people of color still underrepresented as movie leads. The Hollywood Reporter. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/diversity-movies-study-annenberg-inclusion-initiative-1235109900/

2. Sun, R. (2022, March 15). Study finds women, people of color still underrepresented as movie leads. The Hollywood Reporter. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/diversity-movies-study-annenberg-inclusion-initiative-1235109900/

3. Talley, P. (2022, September 27). The deeper story of diversity in film. InClub Magazine. https://inclubmagazine.com/the-deeper-story-of-diversity-in-film/

4. Talley, P. (2022, September 27). The deeper story of diversity in film. InClub Magazine. https://inclubmagazine.com/the-deeper-story-of-diversity-in-film/