Diversity in top films misrepresents U.S. population

[Water Bottle]

And the fight against a color-blind society continues.   Every facet of everything must be broken down in racial terms.   ...Be it ticket buyers or actors.

 

Let's constantly remind everyone what color they are and what color everyone around them is.....and make sure to separate everyone according to race.    This is all going to lead to a less racist society somehow....    Yeah....sure....that will happen.   (Someone rebury MLK please....his spinning got out of control)

 

Blacks are over-represented compared to population percentage....and the author still found a way to complain.   Using the diversity logic.....we should be upset that blacks are taking more than their share of roles.   Note that the author quickly used that logic on whites in the very next paragraph.   Nice double standard.

 

As others pointed out, Hollywood is one of the most liberal industries in the US.    If this is truly a problem, those on the left need to explain why they cannot practice what they preach.   Sounds like the actors who loudly shout about Global Warming and how CO2 is going to doom us all.....while driving huge SUV's, limos, and flying private planes all over the world.

 

It certainly feels good to be a Libertarian. 

 

Of course numbers can be used to support any agenda if you don't dig too deeply.    No one seems to dig deep enough to tell us the percentages of people of various colors who pursue an acting career for instance.   That's not trivial information in this discussion....at all. 

First you find out the racial makeup of people pursuing an acting career...then you determine if the acting jobs are distributed by percentage.    Someone is skipping an important step here to further an agenda.   I'm sure that tactic works on those who don't give it any real thought. 

 

People who preach "color-blind" societies are usually white people who don't understand how demeaning that is to minorities. It is basically telling people that their background and ethnicity don't matter at all. I don't want people to stop seeing color: I want people to celebrate color.

 

There are basically three certainties in life. Death, Taxes and Minorities having a teary over things that are really not that important. 

 

I consider it important. The question is why is my desire to see more Hispanics on the screen such a big deal that you have to make that kind of reply?

 

Yet again boring people with no lives thinking of something else to moan about. All the problems in the world and this is considered one of them lol, please... 

 

I could say the same about your post. Are you so bored that you must degrade what other people care about? I care about diversity in Hollywood because I'm trying to break into the industry as a member of the minority and it's not just on the screen where there is little diversity: same in writer's rooms, productions, development offices, etc. Jeesh, I wonder why this problem is important to me.

[DeeCee]

I just had a thought and looked through the top 100 of 2013.  Although the study didn't break it down you would have to think English actors and possibly even Australian actors are more represented in Hollywood then local Hispanic actors.  There's at least 35 films with at least 1 Australian in a speaking role.

 

And here is the actual study.

 

http://annenberg.usc.edu/sitecore/shell/Applications/Content%20Manager/~/media/MDSCI/Racial%20Inequality%20in%20Film%202007-2013%20Final.ashx?db=master&la=en&vs=1&ts=20140731T1347226383

Edited August 6, 2014 by DeeCee

[Ozymandias]

This is a serious problem that requires immediate attention.

[Jessie]

Oh come on people, Jennifer Lawrence and Sandra Bullock are the 2 most bankable stars in Hollywood right now, both female. Before that it was probably Depp, granted he's white, damn us whites. Then it was Will Smith (black)Matter ofof fact here is a list of the most bankable stars of now....RDJJLAWWill SmithDenzel WashingtonKevin Hart Sandra BullockAngelina JolieSeems pretty diverse to me. Maybe there aren't as many hispanics in Hollywood in relation to the population simply because less people of them are actually looking for roles in Hollywood. And I love how everyone's reaction to CloneWars's first post is essentially 'well you're white so who cares what you think' which believe It or not guys, is actually racist

[Harpospoke]

Another thought.   Since movies are a product, I wonder why market demand is given no weight in this.   If the public wants something, Hollywood gives it to them.    This is a box office site so that should not have to be mentioned. 

People who preach "color-blind" societies are usually white people who don't understand how demeaning that is to minorities. It is basically telling people that their background and ethnicity don't matter at all. I don't want people to stop seeing color: I want people to celebrate color.

It was actually Martin Luther King's idea.   I consider it a great idea too. Emphasizing race at all times cannot possibly have a positive effect on race relations.    At what point do we plan to become one race? To put it in a different way for illustration, imagine white people celebrating their color and constantly referring to themselves by their race.    The KKK does that.

[Phil in the Blank]

 

I consider it important. The question is why is my desire to see more Hispanics on the screen such a big deal that you have to make that kind of reply?

 

 

Plenty of people think things are important that I personally don't class as important.

 

Am I unable to voice my opinion that the number (or the lack there of) of minorities in staring roles in Hollywood is a completely ridiculous thing to be upset about? Is my position such a big deal that you have to make that kind of reply?

[lab276]

Plenty of people think things are important that I personally don't class as important. Am I unable to voice my opinion that the number (or the lack there of) of minorities in staring roles in Hollywood is a completely ridiculous thing to be upset about? Is my position such a big deal that you have to make that kind of reply?

It seems pretty dismissive of an experience other than your own.

[Phil in the Blank]

Martin Luther King - I hope someday people will be judged by the content of their character rather than the colour of their skin.

 

Water Bottle - White people suck for wanting a colour blind society!

 

I know which train I'm aboard.

[Phil in the Blank]

It seems pretty dismissive of an experience other than your own.

 

You could say that about any opinion that you dismiss though.

[Dark Jedi Master 007]

Martin Luther King - I hope someday people will be judged by the content of their character rather than the colour of their skin.

 

Water Bottle - White people suck for wanting a colour blind society!

 

I know which train I'm aboard.

You can be on both trains. I agree with MLK that someone's character is more important than a person's skin color, and that we should judge based on that. But I agree (at least partially) with WB that a color blind society is not the way to go. Looking at someone's character as opposed to skin color does not mean that we don't see someone's race, it's just that we don't make a judgment about it.

Edited August 6, 2014 by Dark Jedi Master 007

[maxenricfan]

Has someone actually seen a Mexican telenovela ? It is on average whiter than a Mitt Romney rally.

 

If Hispanics actually wanted diverse representation it would first reflect in Univision or Telemundo.

Edited August 6, 2014 by maxenricfan

[Jessie]

Diversity is a good thing. I love Avengers, but the cast is pretty much all white, even with the 4-5 new additions. Do I want Falcon or War Machine or BP thrown in just to put some color in? Or Ms Marvel put in just to add another female? No. But you have to admit, they could get a little more creative. BVS will have a white, black, samoan, and middle easterner in the main cast. And why is that okay? Because theyre all bringing something to the table, rather than being thrown in to satisfy color quotas. Thats how all movies need to be. Dont give me all white rangers in the PR reboot, and then make Zordan black so no one will complain. Give a wide range of actors a chance. Bing Bing was only in TF4 just to please China and "the liberals", because other than that the cast wouldve been all white. Dont put people in just for the sake of it. 

 

Sorry Jandrew but im going to have to disagree. Im sure the filmmakers didn't just make Falcon and War Machine black just to keep black people happy. Falcon was a great character, easily the coolest character of Winter Soldier and you're making out that he was just some lame side character put in to keep black people quiet lol. Its funny that when I watch these movies I don't even think about skin colour, I just see it has Steve Rogers meets some cool, funny guy who turns into a great sidekick. You've somehow managed to spin it as an insult to your race lol.

[Phil in the Blank]

You can be on both trains. I agree with MLK that someone's character is more important than a person's skin color, and that we should judge based on that. But I agree (at least partially) with WB that a color blind society is not the way to go. Looking at someone's character as opposed to skin color does not mean that we don't see someone's race, it's just that we don't make a judgment about it.

 

I really don't see why race (or gender or sexuality for that matter) would have any impact on how I personally treat someone. Indeed I am fundamentally against celebrating 'color'. Why does it matter if Morgan Freeman is black or Johnny Depp is white? What does their skin-tone have anything to do with anything?

 

With that said, I do get the impression that what WB was saying was that when white people say 'color blind' it's code for 'whitewashing' (pun intended) someones cultural heritage. Your culture does not matter, you are all white in our eyes. But that I feel is missing the point. Being blind to color is not synonymous with being blind to culture. Race is absolutely irrelevant to someone's character, but their ideas, their language, their music, how they think about the world,.....their culture. That is what is important in my eyes. Not someones skin pigmentation. 

[Dark Jedi Master 007]

I really don't see why race (or gender or sexuality for that matter) would have any impact on how I personally treat someone. Indeed I am fundamentally against celebrating 'color'. Why does it matter if Morgan Freeman is black or Johnny Depp is white? What does their skin-tone have anything to do with anything?

 

With that said, I do get the impression that what WB was saying was that when white people say 'color blind' it's code for 'whitewashing' (pun intended) someones cultural heritage. Your culture does not matter, you are all white in our eyes. But that I feel is missing the point. Being blind to color is not synonymous with being blind to culture. Race is absolutely irrelevant to someone's character, but their ideas, their language, their music, how they think about the world,.....their culture. That is what is important in my eyes. Not someones skin pigmentation. 

Good points. I particularly liked the idea about the importance of culture, as opposed to skin color. So let's continue down that train of thought for a second. Don't you feel like we should have more movies that celebrate the cultures of minorities? Movies that help us understand "their ideas, their language, their music," and their perspective on the world?

[Phil in the Blank]

Good points. I particularly liked the idea about the importance of culture, as opposed to skin color. So let's continue down that train of thought for a second. Don't you feel like we should have more movies that celebrate the cultures of minorities? Movies that help us understand "their ideas, their language, their music," and their perspective on the world?

 

I feel that there are plenty of films out there that do celebrate and/or the cultures of minorities. But they just tend to be this smaller, independent fare that we rarely see because they don't come to the big cinema chains. For example, only last week I watched this movie called Brick Lane which is about this 17 year old Bangladesh girl who has an arranged marriage with a guy twice her age and then moves to Britain.  It's a great film that explores a totally different culture to one that I am use to. I really enjoyed it. Shame it probably would had been seen by about 23 Americans.

 

Because in my eyes the real question is 'why don't we have more movies that celebrate the cultures of minorities' but 'why don't we have more big budget movies that celebrate the cultures of minorities'. And the answer to that question, simply is Money. It's the safe option setting your characters in a white world and the safe option is what matters to these people when there is hundreds of millions of dollars at stake. Now why is it the safe option? That is the question that actually matters, not the 'oh no, Roby Downy Jr won the Iron Man role over a random Hispanic actor! Why are there so many white people up on screen?', question.

Edited August 6, 2014 by Spottswoode

[Cochofles]

I feel like this whole diversity movement is getting a bit overblown. People want more black people in movies and now more women and Hispanics and Asians. It's like nothing satisfies people anymore. All I want is good movies.

Seriously? Let me guess...you are a white heterosexual cysgendered male, I bet. That whole “WhoCaresIJustWantGoodFilms” reasoning is usually expressed by people whose voices have always been present in popular entertainment. Therefore, they don't see what the problem, or the “big deal” is. I want good films too, but I want good films that happen to have faces and points of view that go beyond the white heterosexual cysgendered male perspective.

[Cochofles]

There are basically three certainties in life. Death, Taxes and Minorities having a teary over things that are really not that important.

Since they are not important TO YOU, then they must not be important, right?

[Kvikk Lunsj]

Martin Luther King - I hope someday people will be judged by the content of their character rather than the colour of their skin.Water Bottle - White people suck for wanting a colour blind society!I know which train I'm aboard.

I do not think MLK meant people should not celebrate there culture. I think he meant society should judge who based on if you are a good person and are you quialified for the job.

[Phil in the Blank]

Since they are not important TO YOU, then they must not be important, right?

 

Of course! I am the arbitrator of all things. Didn't you know that? Now kneel before me peasant! 

[Noctis]

Seriously? Let me guess...you are a white heterosexual cysgendered male, I bet. That whole “WhoCaresIJustWantGoodFilms” reasoning is usually expressed by people whose voices have always been present in popular entertainment. Therefore, they don't see what the problem, or the “big deal” is. I want good films too, but I want good films that happen to have faces and points of view that go beyond the white heterosexual cysgendered male perspective.

I love you.