Race in modern films plays a huge role in the way society views what is entertaining today. Some very popular films over the past decade would be Iron Man and Into the Woods. Although not easily recognizable with today’s standards of the film industry, there is a huge difference between the number of prominent white actors compared to those of other races. This shines some light on the entertainment industry, as to which races are preferred on the big screen.
In continuation, the preferences by the entertainment companies today do not stop at race alone. They go on to cast these minority actors in a less favorable light than those of their coworkers. In Iron Man, the antagonist is white along with his love interest, his friends, and his boss. However, the secondary protagonist also known as War Machine, is African American. This goes along with Heather Neff in her statement that “’action’ films depict white super-males who engage in larger-than-life exploits, quite often set in
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The only time we see even a peak of another race is when the camera pans around to the villagers after Cinderella gets married. Here, the minority races are dressed in rag like clothing and they look dirty. Hall reasons that although this is not verbal, it is still language used to express that the minority races are inferior to the white race (16). Neff also touches on this subject by mentioning Americas past with minorities in labor positions and how it set racial prejudices for media today (90). Hall also mentions there are many stories that we hear that “we fully understand but which are entirely fictional or fantasy and refer to worlds which are wholly imaginary”. For example, all the common childhood stories that are depicted in Into the Woods are well known and can be told verbally without pictures. Due to this, I do not believe it would make a large difference or change the plot if they were to cast minorities in leading