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| The movie-going audience is more diverse than the movies that are being made in Hollywood. |
It's telling that in the last few years, we've seen what appears to be a blossoming of Asian representation in movies and television to the point where some have called this a "golden age" for Asian American actors.
Sparked by movie successes The Big Sick, Black Panther and Crazy Rich Asians, Hollywood, notorious for jumping on trends and copying successful formulas, we are seeing more Asians in leading roles, but a closer look at the actual numbers of the top 200 films of the year, what appears to be golden era may only be an illusion.
The actual numbers as shown in the 2020 "Hollywood Diversity Report 2020: A Tale of Two Hollywoods" covering the years of 2018-2019, the US movie and television industry still has a long way ago to reflect the real racial and gender diversity of America.
The study 'Hollywood Diversity Report 2020: A Tale of Two Hollywoods', released Thursday, Feb. 6, suggests that people of color and women are underrepresented in films. For behind-the-camera positions such as directors, writers or other executives, the gap is even greater.
One only has to watch the Oscars telecast (Sunday 2 p.m. EST) to see that despite efforts by the Academy and the industry, most nominees in the four acting categories are overwhelmingly white.
“As of 2019, both women and minorities are within striking distance of proportionate representation when it comes to lead roles and total cast,” said Darnell Hunt, dean of the UCLA College division of social sciences and the report’s co-author.
“Behind the scenes, it’s a very different story," says Hunt. "That begs the question: Are we actually seeing systematic change, or is Hollywood just appealing to diverse audiences through casting, but without fundamentally altering the way studios do business behind the camera?”
There has been progress, and we don't want to belittle that, but the growth rate for actors of color in lead roles is slower than the growth of the minority population of the US. A majority of the nation’s population will be minorities by 2050, according to U.S. Census estimates.
According to the study, the representation of people of colour in theatrical films was 12.2 per cent in 2011. By 2017, that number has increased to 21. 5%. Meanwhile, minorities make up about 40% of the general population.
The numbers are even grimmer for people of color as directors, writers and producers.
Perhaps the biggest reason Hollywood is moving towards more diversity in its casting is that the report found that the majority of the movie-going audience are people of color. And the report found that movies with diverse casts, make more money for its investors.
Despite that buying power, the analysis suggests, fundamental systemic change in Hollywood has not occurred, especially in the upper echelons of the filmmaking industry.
Perhaps the reason for the snail's pace of diversifying the movie industry is that the big decisions -- what movies get greenlit -- are being overwhelmingly made by white studio execs.
“Behind the scenes, it’s a very different story," says Hunt. "That begs the question: Are we actually seeing systematic change, or is Hollywood just appealing to diverse audiences through casting, but without fundamentally altering the way studios do business behind the camera?”
There has been progress, and we don't want to belittle that, but the growth rate for actors of color in lead roles is slower than the growth of the minority population of the US. A majority of the nation’s population will be minorities by 2050, according to U.S. Census estimates.
According to the study, the representation of people of colour in theatrical films was 12.2 per cent in 2011. By 2017, that number has increased to 21. 5%. Meanwhile, minorities make up about 40% of the general population.
The numbers are even grimmer for people of color as directors, writers and producers.
Perhaps the biggest reason Hollywood is moving towards more diversity in its casting is that the report found that the majority of the movie-going audience are people of color. And the report found that movies with diverse casts, make more money for its investors.
People of color bought at least 50% of domestic tickets for six of the top 10 films in 2018. In 2019, minorities bought at least 50% of tickets for nine of the top 10 films.
In 2018, films with casts made up of 21% to 30% minority actors had the highest median global ticket receipts. In 2019, the films that tended to perform the best at the box office were even more diverse, with casts in the 41% to 50% minority range.
Despite that buying power, the analysis suggests, fundamental systemic change in Hollywood has not occurred, especially in the upper echelons of the filmmaking industry.
Perhaps the reason for the snail's pace of diversifying the movie industry is that the big decisions -- what movies get greenlit -- are being overwhelmingly made by white studio execs.
The UCLA report also includes a workplace analysis of 11 major and mid-major studios, which found that 91% of C-level positions are held by white people and 82% are held by men. Among all senior executive positions, 93% percent are held by white people and 80% by men.
Those top executives largely determine what stories get told and who gets the all-important jobs in front of and behind the camera, said the report’s co-author, Ana-Christina Ramon, director of research and civic engagement for the UCLA College division of social sciences.
“What’s being green-lit matters,” said the report’s co-author, Ramon continued. “And although the industry is changing in front of the camera, white men are still doing the overwhelming majority of the green-lighting and making the major decisions behind the scenes at the studios.”
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