DIVERSITY IN HOLLYWOOD:

Diversity In HollyWood:

Christine J. Meggett

e3 Civic High
DIVERSITY IN HOLLYWOOD: 1

Abstract

This research paper explores racial unbalance in hollywood media especially with the

recent events in the academy awards such as the Oscars. This is a topic that is widely disgust all

over social media and online newspaper outlets. Even to the extent where celebrities are joining

the movement to get more colored actors on the big screen. Exploring conversations such as

being an antagonist into finally being a protagonist in movies that are being recognized.
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In recent conversations of Diversity in Hollywood, a controversial issue has been up on the

rise with if Hollywood is actually diverse as it seems. On the other hand, some argue that

mainstream media is more diverse than when we first started. From this perspective, we can see

that yes it is true weve come along way. From having no people of color or different kinds of

ethnic descent on the big screen. to having African Americans after what happen with civil rights

in the early 50s to Asians, and all different kinds of people ethnicity in movies and tv. On the

other hand, however, others argue that there is not enough recognition from actors of color, as

you would recognize someone of caucasian descent. For example the Oscars in 2016 had a

hashtag called #OscarsSoWhite, the reason being all of the nominees and all winners of the night

gala were white. In the words of CNN The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has

faced criticism for years that its 7,000-plus members who vote on the Oscars are mostly older,

male, white and out of touch. The Rev. Jesse Jackson led protests at the 1996 Academy Awards

over perceptions of racism in Hollywood. This quote illustrates just how people feel about the

Oscars and there not being people of color on the stand to represent those who feel inferior. one

of this views main proponents,"The older, white, male votership doesn't hate women, gays, black

people. They're just not as interested in their/our stories," Harris said Thursday on Twitter.

"That's changing, as the membership changes. A good year can disguise the fact that they have a

way to go. A year like this lays it bare. Griggs , B. (2016, January 24). Once again

#OscarsSoWhite. According to this view, the voters in the Oscars dont care about our

stories in a sense it's true, it's hard to feel someone's passion or another person's struggle race

wise especially through film making about a story for example like The Help or 12 years a slave.

Weve all hear about it in the history books but we dont really come to the realization of the
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pain these people went through in this day in age we are bored and brush it off like its old news.

In sum, the issue is whether something to be concerned about or people and people of color are

just overreacting.

In recent work,Why is Hollywood so White by Colin Stokes has offered an opening

knowledge for people of all ages. How he saw himself on interpreted on the big screen while

growing up. Because he was White, Male, and straight just like everyone in the movies. He

opens up about how it was weird for him to see movies where a white person was not the

antagonist. He further makes his point by saying as being a white male you are shown a lot of

images in your life that tell you you're the good guy.

It has become common today to dismiss the missing pieces of the world, as people. We

are all the same on the inside, we all have bones. a brain, feelings. At the end of the day its our

appearance that makes us different and separates us. Thus we all want to be represented we want

a reflection of ourselves in movies its difficult when a lot of the actors are white.

Many people assume that things like this will get better with years to come, yes that is

true. However we dont want to just sit here and wait for a change while we could be out there

making one.While they rarely admit as much, Hollywood has gotten a lot better with casting

roles for a diverse cast. Often take for granted that even though they are not Oscar winning roles

or million dollar movie busters. Its something and at the end of the day you are making a

difference for others out there.

Introduce an Ongoing Debate: Even though there is a difference of opinion on

__________, it is important to remember that ____________.

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Although it may seem of small concern to only a small group of people it should in fact

concern anyone who cares about this situation. Diversity hasn't always been as good as we have

it now it used to be a lot more strict, because of the inequality that was happening back when

people started casting for movies. Film making started around 1890s and through the 1920s we

progressed into making sound motion pictures. Through the years as film started getting more

popular people started script writing for movies. As time progressed there was racism toward

people who were not white. Therefore actors who were not white were not casted, thus white

actors played all the roles of the ethnic people. For example Native Americans portrayed by

white actors, the trend inherently reflects the lack of disrespect Hollywood had against

indigenous people. This type of treatment happened for a long period of time, usually between

the 1950s and 1960s during Civil Rights. This did not just happen with the native american but

this also did happen with African American, Asians, and other ethnicities. Although a diverse

cast on screen may seem trivial, it is in fact crucial in terms of todays concern in today's

generation and our open mindedness. We all want people to feel accepted and feel like they can

be the protagonist no matter what the scenery is not just the antagonist.

Solutions

#1 Social Media
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#2 Putting others in charge

Putting others in charge what one means is not only putting white older men in charge. But also

going outside the box by hiring women, LGBT, people of color. Diversifying the behind the

scenes of creative art of filmmaking. A study done by a researcher at The University of San

Diego found that when women are put in positions of power such as directors producers,

executive producers, script writers, and so on. They are more likely to employ other women

people of color and are more open to others in the industry. For example: On films with female

directors, women comprised 52 percent of writers. In contrast, on films with exclusively male

directors, women accounted for just 8 percent of writers. On films with female directors, women

comprised 35 percent of editors. On films with male directors, 15 percent of editors were

female. Lawson, R. (2015, October 27). The Solution to TVs Diversity Problem? More

Diversity. Vanity Fair This would be a great idea to incorporate empower, not only women but

all people to try and get into those positions of authority. These percentages are a big meaning

even after all this time and effort to make women equal in rank of men, people of color to be

seen as equal as other races. We are still going through the process of making it happen. If we

successfully encourage these individuals to believe in themselves to take on these positions,

potentially we can change the whole game of hollywood.

Solution #3

Limitations
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Limitation #1

Limitation #2

Recommendation

References

Newton, T. (Writer). (2011, July). Embracing otherness, embracing myself [Video file].
Retrieved from
https://www.ted.com/talks/thandie_newton_embracing_otherness_embracing_myself

Stokes, C. (Writer). (2013, December 3). Why is Hollywood so white? [Video file]. Retrieved
from https://youtu.be/OyM-2_5cmkA

Deggans , E. (2016, February 22). Hollywood Has A Major Diversity Problem, USC Study
Finds. The two Way .

C., Hoag. (2016, August 5). Diversity in Hollywood . CQ Researcher . Retrieved from
http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre2016080500

France, L. R. (n.d.). #OscarsSoWhite creator on what's next. CNN. Retrieved February 22, 2017,
from http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/20/entertainment/o
scars-so-white-reign/index.html
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Griggs , B. (2016, January 24). Once again, #OscarsSoWhite. Retrieved from

http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/14/entertainment/oscars-so-white-protest-nominations-feat/

Lawson, R. (2015, October 27). The Solution to TVs Diversity Problem? More Diversity.

Vanity Fair. Retrieved from

http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2015/10/glaad-diversity-survey-tv-diversity-problem