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The film industry’s failure to represent African American people runs deep and affects all media consumers in the sense that on-screen representation serves as an undervalued way to glean information about the world that we live in. Even though the Academy nominated more black actors in 2018, researchers have studied the population of actors in TV and film, only to find, again and again, that the industry’s inability to represent people of color, women, and other minorities the way society sees them in reality- as humans with hopes and fears, aspirations and goals, habits and whims- is endemic.
Therefore, I have a cinematic vision to shed light upon the racial injustices that are present in Hollywood. Based on my research, I want to produce a documentary-style film targeted toward directors, writers, producers, and casting directors. Respectively, the film will highlight the negative aspects of a white-centric mindset, and the positive outcomes of creating and hiring a balanced, ethnically complex, and diverse cast and crew.
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“ She followed all my directions. It was really easy to contact her and respond very fast as well. ”
The beginning of the film will open with statistics to catch the viewers’ attention, leading to the realization that African American representation is a problem that has to be tackled with open discussions, education, and action. Additionally, the film will explain that this epidemic stems from the people who are approving these screenplays, and how supporting films with diverse casts and crew is something that the viewer can do to assist the cause.
What I want to convey in my film is a necessity for change in the racially skewed film industry by appealing and relating to the audience of industry insiders, as well as providing a 2-and-a-half-hour window frame for the audience to empathize with those who are disenfranchised in Hollywood, specifically African Americans.
As a resunder-representationult, the emotional content will create sympathy because seeing legitimate faces behind the statistic provrealworldwideproviralrepresentational-worldides a human quality to the content that I am creating. The documentary will be extremely emotional as I will portray the detrimental effects that under representation in film has had on twelve people by following the lives of four children, teenagers, and adults of color. These people will speak of their aspirations, and what has motivated or discouraged them to pursue their goals. Extracting from my experience as a film student, I understand the importance of touching the hearts of the intended audience. Evoking emotional responses leaves a lasting impression on the psyche of these people.
To do this, the subjects of my film will be interviewed on their exposure to these inaccurate portrayals, and how they have been able to find themselves in a world where complex African American representation is scarce, if not offensive. For example, common black stereotypes in the film include the “Magical Negros” who exist solely as a support system for white characters: Morgan Freeman in Bruce Almighty. Another stereotype is “the domestic:” The Help faced criticism because the African American maids helped the white protagonist reach a new stage of success while their lives remained static. Also, black women are constantly portrayed as sassy, eye-rollers with intense attitude problems, and the women themselves claim that these depictions have real world consequences in their love lives and careers. When Bravo debuted the reality show “Married to Medicine” in 2013, black female physicians unsuccessfully petitioned the network to pull the plug on the program. (Nittle 2017)confirm opportunity
Complex representation is crucial to get on the path to ethnically diverse film industry. For example, without complex representation, if a character on screen is one-dimensional or lacks nuance, it can be limiting for the viewer because they are led to believe that the limited expression of that character is what society expects of them. This very likely discourages consumers from perusing dreams in Hollywood, leaving the industry white-washed and ethnically dense. It is a detrimental, vicious cycle that can be stopped. When a person doesn’t see people similar to themselves the message is: You’re invisible. The message is: You don’t count. And the message is: ‘There’s something wrong with me.’ (Liao 2017) The 2016 heartstringstop-grossingawards ignited a firestorm because, for the second year in a row, no people of color were nominated in the four acting categories. The latest Hollywood diversity report, issued by UCLA, confirm that the underrepresentation of minorities in the academy is simply a microcosm for the entire American film industry.
It is apparent that opportunity is the only thing that separates actors of color from everyone else. When a “very narrow slice of the population is in cocan engrossingaward gettingresponder awardgetting greenlight a project, then we are going to see products and stories that reflect that narrow worldview.” (Blay 2016) The solution to this is simple: casting directors need to diversify their thinking, writers should be making more of an effort to write interesting parts for actors of color that defy stereotypes, and A-list actors should take advantage of their influence in the film industry by becoming an inclusion rider. My documentary will speak and dive into the definition of an inclusion rider, a relatively new and relevant term of 2018 that was coined by media researcher Stacy Smith in a TED talk she gave in 2016, in which she posited ways to show more women, ethnic minorities and people with disabilities on screen. Inclusion Rider “is a stipulation that actors and actresses can ask (or demand) to have inserted into their contracts, which would require a certain level of diversity among a film's cast and crew.” (Louis 2018)
Furthermore, it is crucial to connect to the audience of the film in order to convince them to change their mindsets, which will be an especially difficult task since most producers and casting directors are privileged white men, who do not relate to the necessity for a diversified makeover of the film industry. As well as tugging on the heart strings of the audience, what will also catch their eye is money, and diversity sells which has been proven time and time again. To support this claim, the documentary will highlight top grossing diverse films and televisionstelevisionan can shows that have become wildly successful. For example, in its opening weekend, Black Panther made over $360 million worldwide, surpassing the total domestic earnings of both Captain America: The First Avenger and Thor. The film has set box-office records and garnered a 97 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. “Hollywood needs diversity in its movies and TV to stay attractive to the increasingly diverse U.S. audience,” according to a new “Flipping the Script” by UCLA’s Ralph Bunche Center. (Louis 2018)
As a society, we are movie watchers and TV show bingers; these activities are an undeniable part of our identity as Americans. Entertainment media saturates our lives, affecting the subconscious of those who are not directly consuming the content. And for years, researchers have been studying the impact of the images society takes in every day. Decades-old research out of the University of Pennsylvania shows “a correlation between a range of topics as presented in film and television ― violence, integration, women’s rights ― and how people thought about those issues in real life.” (Boboltz, Yam 2017) Over time, they found that people who watched more film and TV embraced what they called the “TV view of the world;” evoking a sense of concern considering the extreme lack of diverse, well-rounded African American representation in film and TV.
In summary, there are so many stories we haven’t heard. The white romance has been told time and time again. People like myself, who advocate for greater diversity still have an uphill battle ahead of us, but I believe that the points that I will address in this documentary will make everyone rethink their current opinions on the matter. Addressing opposing views, the end of the film will state as follows:
“To the produces who might fear that this taking away the role of the white man: the goal is to create an industry that has enough room for everyone, not to take away from those who have had the upper hand for decades.”
How Diverse Representation In Film Creates A Tolerant Society. (2022, May 24). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/how-diverse-representation-in-film-creates-a-tolerant-society-essay
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