The study of the just-concluded 2017-18 season, released Thursday, shows 31% (63) of first-time hires in the 2017-18 season were directors of color — an increase from 27% in the 2016-17 season; 41% (82) of first-time hires were women, up 33% from the prior season, with 13% (27) of first-time hires being women of color for a 9% gain.
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In a world where everyday we hear stories of how minorities and women are discriminated against due to their race, sex or nationality, this article is a source of a relief in that environment.
This article is an evidence of how the society is progressing. Not only are certain sections of the society progressing, the "other" people are also been given the chance to progress.
Although it is evident from the article that the change is small, it is still a step in the right direction. Women and minorities struggle to gain equality in a platter of areas and by achieving something in the entertainment field just symbolizes how those days are not far away when this will be the case in all fields. And all this is because of the efforts of the suppressed to break through and of the people in power who want to the path for such a breakthrough.
Although this movement needs more supporters to reach out to everyone, the present data hints that that will also happen someday.
It’s wonderful that there are statistics that show improvement. These increases are significant and show that there are non-white males people ready direct. Hopefully this study will encourage companies to hire racial minorities and women. To me, the most important statistic is that 71% of the first time directors were hired for another show. This says that there is talent and that once they get their foot in the door, more opportunities arose. Hopefully this trend continues and these directors get more and more work. We need people who want to be directors to guide TV show through. Additionally, I hope that this will be a message to other industries. It is says the obvious thing, that we all to often ignore: bringing a new perspective that is interested in the project is beneficial. Yet people are often willing to ignore the facts to do what is easy. The only thing that I wish the article had was the rating for the episodes that first time directors had directed. I wonder what these numbers would have added to the article.
I think that although there have been improvements in the field, there is still work to be done. Women and people of color continuously struggle to break into a field that is dominated by white males, and although this article says that there were a lot of new directors, many were already affiliated with the show before. Career track directors have a hard time breaking into the entertainment business. I think there are a lot of practices that need to change, and more ‘outsiders’ should be hired. Regardless of race, gender, etc., their ideas are valuable and their perspective may bring the show to a whole new level instead of continuously hiring the people that are already affiliated. As a woman of color, I am grateful that advancements are being made and that the entertainment business as a whole seems to be more open and accepting of working with directors who are women and/or people of color.
Clearly, what we are seeing here is the diversity ‘trend’ taking effect. In the last few years more and more people have been pushing for women and minority led entertainment, not just in terms of casting, but in terms of writing and directing. This has clearly caused a surge in new hires. But the work cannot stop there. The rest of the report notes that while there is an increase in first time women and minority directors, it’s also much harder for these directors to get hired again. Essentially, they’ve got their foot in the door, but they need to keep pushing to keep it open. And that’s where audience engagement comes in. Not only do we need to watch movies written and directed by women and people of color, we need to become a fan base. Google the director, find out what other projects they have coming up, and see those too. Find 5 emerging directors of color and/or women directors that you like and follow their twitter. Make an effort to see their next projects. The worst thing that can happen is that there is a jump in diversity in the youngbloods of Hollywood, only for them to fade into obscurity. We need to be creating Hollywood staples and legends, not just the new hot one-hit-wonder. This is a win, but a win that means there’s more work to be done.
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