New Pittsburgh Courier: The “Fast & Furious” series is often cited as an example of how diversity can work in Hollywood. With its multicultural casts and international settings, the franchise has generated more than $2.4 billion in global earnings. The latest installment, “Furious 7,” set box-office records last weekend with its $147-million domestic opening.
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While I do appreciate the efforts made by some of the contributors to this article to explain that diversity is still being pushed for in Hollywood, I find that the issue is really complicated in terms of who is really to blame. I did really like the fact that they mentioned that three of the four major networks happened to actually be more white than America itself, because I personally feel as if that's what the heart of the issue boils down to. If were not even realistically representing, on a basic level, the makeup of our own country were doing a disservice to ourselves and entertaining ideas that are very close-minded. Beyond that, even if we are including more diverse communities on our television screens, are we truly giving everyone the chance to feel included or represented? It has to come from beyond directors and "show-runners", it has to come from the people who actually fund the endeavors in the first place.
I love reading articles that challenge the lack of diversity in the movie industry because the more people call out the inequalities the more awareness there is that this is a real issue. Growing up in a society where there is such a lack of racial diversity and equality in television, it is easy to think that that is just the way it is or to just not even question it. I think a lot of the problem is that a lot of people don’t realize that this is an issue because the only expose they have is the tv and movie they watch which are part of the problem. The more we get articles revealing the facts, the more people will start to fight back. I really liked how this article pointed out how movies with people of color as the leads do well in other countries because they show those people in a positive light and don't degrade them.
But just having articles talking about how there needs to be a lot of change doesn't change much. It has to happen from within the industry, which is a lot harder to do since it is dominated by white males. Hopefully this can happen- hopefully enough movies with racially diverse casts about people of color who are not in degrading roles can get green lighted and made. I feel like so often the ones that do make it to the big screen don’t get the media coverage they need to get popular or get hurt because they don't get enough of a budget to keep up with the huge budget white male filled movies so people think less of them.
Of course television is the answer! If people in the Hollywood film industry want a good look at what people are most interested in these days, they should look at the most popular television series which, no surprise, feature heavily diverse casts with incredibly honest, surprising, and different story lines from anything we're seeing on film at the time. There is a new age for TV, and we're seeing it right now, and I'm just itching to get my hands dirty with it. Television, I once read, is the new 'middle class' of cinema. Lots of indie ideas that couldn't be produced as films segue into corporations like Amazon and Netflix that churn out the most ridiculously amazing series. We just need to keep feeding the capital of these television series to show producers that this is what the public likes. If you want change, you have to show the people you want it. We can't just sit on our asses and wait for the things we want; we have to post comments, pay to see diverse films, spread the word about our favorite television shows so they don't go off air.
While It is definitely important to keep an open mind on the topic of diversity in the Oscars, it seems as though if we push to hard for diversity, it becomes an issue of nominating people due to their race or cultural backgound, rather than the work they actually did. Anyone who produces good work should have the same opportunity to be nominated for an Oscar. Simple as that. But I think nominating someone solely to make the category appear more diverse is an issue in its own right. With this being said, I do feel like we are moving in the right direction, heading into a time where people of minority backgrounds are being recognized more than they ever have been before. It is by no means where the academy should be, but I think we're going there, It will be a long and careful road before it truly is equal opportunities for everyone, but with the way our generation is evolving and being brought up, it seems as though acceptance and equal opportunity will undoubtably continue to be more and more encouraged.
Chase Del Rey <54-102> 54102 <54102>
While It is definitely important to keep an open mind on the topic of diversity in the Oscars, it seems as though if we push to hard for diversity, it becomes an issue of nominating people due to their race or cultural backgound, rather than the work they actually did. Anyone who produces good work should have the same opportunity to be nominated for an Oscar. Simple as that. But I think nominating someone solely to make the category appear more diverse is an issue in its own right. With this being said, I do feel like we are moving in the right direction, heading into a time where people of minority backgrounds are being recognized more than they ever have been before. It is by no means where the academy should be, but I think we're going there, It will be a long and careful road before it truly is equal opportunities for everyone, but with the way our generation is evolving and being brought up, it seems as though acceptance and equal opportunity will undoubtably continue to be more and more encouraged.
1. DO NOT EVER PPL REFER TO A PERSON OF COLOR AS NON-WHITE. WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?
2. This article does make a valid point in spite of number one, and that is that the diversity of the nation and of the world as a whole is not reflected in film nor on the stage. There is a weird Anglo-centric view when it comes to envisioning narratives in the world of show business.
3. The idea that out of 170 films 32 feature colored leads is ridiculous. There is no requirement that states that in order to tell a story (that isn't a racial issue) the characters must be white. Human problems are universal to all races and cultures. So what's the deal. Colored people have extraordinary life circumstance that don't always revolve around the fact that we are colored. We are colored AND we can fall into a vat of toxic waste and become superheros. 54-102 <54-102>
First of all, I completely agree with Aleyse; there is never a circumstance in which calling a person of color “non-white” is acceptable. I think that Leo Jay Shire sums up the reason well in an article on Rife magazine’s website. She says “This terminology puts the emphasis on being white. Imagine if we all started referring to women as non-men. Insulting, right? ‘Non-white’ does not aim to acknowledge the broad spectrums of ethnic groups and races that exist other than white, and defines this perceived ‘other’ by what they are not. It implies that white is the default or normal way to be.”
Two semesters ago, there were a lot of green page articles about Saturday night live and the controversy that occurred after its glaring lack of diversity was brought to light. There solution to the problem was to immediately hire a new Black cast member, and at the time I had a friend who couldn’t understand why that didn’t satisfy all of the outrage. What made me angry about Saturday Night Live then and about the entertainment industry as a whole is that they have gone on for decade upon decade without addressing their need for diversity and it has not mattered. It hasn’t made a dent in their profit margins; it has not caused people to boycott popular movies or television shows. The public has accepted the lack of representation for people of color as the norm, or even worse as a necessary evil. I don’t know how long the push for diversity after the Oscars will last. The anger and publicity for the problem comes and goes in cycles, and while there have been some reasons to be optimistic, change has been slower than acceptable and it doesn’t seem to be speeding up.
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