Film Summary: Diversity In Hollywood

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Diversity in Hollywood In 2015, actress Viola Davis made history for being the first African American female to win an Emmy for “Best Actress in a Drama.” The Emmys is an award show that has been around for 67 years. She did not play the role of a slave or a jezebel, typical woman of color stereotypes, but a well-educated lawyer for the popular TV drama How to Get Away with Murder. In 2012-13, statistics have shown that ethnic minorities made up about 17 percent of actors with lead roles in films and television shows that portray them in a non-stereotypical way (Hunt and Roman). The next generation will turn on the television and assume the imagery portrayed is destined to be their future.
When talking about diversity in Hollywood it starts …show more content…

African Americans are often seen as unintelligent, oppressed, or looking for a helping hand all of which are negative. It fuels misperceptions and facilitate misunderstanding among racial or culture groups (Dates and Mascaro, 52). In the film, Akeelah and the Bee the lead character is seen as an academic from a low social class who is in need of being rescued; which is a typical stereotype about the African American community. Many of the scenes in the film showed her living in poverty, causing many non-African American viewers to think that is the life of the average person of color. African American youth would look at the film as their reality. Instead of putting Akeelah in a degraded neighborhood, why not place her in the average middle class family, showing the world that not all persons of color live in …show more content…

Effie Brown, a female director, states on the television show Project Greenlight that there should be diversity in front of and behind the camera. Matt Damon, who is also a director, argued that “diversity should happen in the casting and not the show.” Effie’s and Matt’s statements started the conversation about diversity on and off the screen. Matt believes that it does not matter who is behind the camera, but who is in front of it. When talking about diversity behind the camera some writers, producers, and directors tend to write about something they are comfortable with. It is easy to cast an African American as a thug, a Hispanic as a gardener or Asian as the smart one, all of which are stereotypes. A diverse casting crew can help change the way a person view different