Whitewashing: The Melting Pot Myth

Films and media have been a source of entertainment since the 1800s. Everyone has some exposure of media through news and entertainment, and we see how people perceive others around us. Some concepts, a most prominent one, coined “whitewashing”, is heavily in films and develops heavy prejudice towards other races aside from the more dominant white population. Whitewashing began during the early development of films across the United States, the castings of white actors and actresses gaining controversy and were heavily criticized. Whitewashing was considered offensive to others, because of the amount of it that was done during those times. These Hollywood films and social media place a stance on the role of other races in the societies all

Not only is this act done in the United States, but it is also done in different countries as well. With the idea of whitewashing all over the world, it shows the bias towards a certain group of people. The melting pot myth is a myth in which those apart from the dominant race are included into their community so they can also be considered American. With a connection for the melting pot myth, what became the main motive to media whitewash, and how does it fit into the myth itself? Does it go with it or against it?

Whitewashing began as early as the 1900s, Whitewashing has manifested into a trending media topic that the society has become accustomed to and has become “socially accepted” by some people. Instead of working together to reduce the growth of whitewash, everyone is rather blind to see that it is expanding. There have been many controversies in the entertainment industry and our films, viewed as a problematic action when casting white actors for non-white characters, especially if the film was derived from another culture. From Huffpost, they state this to be a “bad habit” of Hollywood. The most controversial aspect of Whitewashing in America today is actresses and actors who play a whitewashed role sometimes often win Oscar awards, for example

But with the newer films being brought into the industry such as Disney films “Moana”, or “Princess and the Frog”, there is the idea that the melting pot myth is going away. These films are just as popular as the movies with whitewashed actors, so why is it any different? With different cultured princesses, it offers a new idea or view that any race is capable of any role. The writers of Huffpost believe that there is hope for a change in the whitewashing industry, because of the amount of backlash many films have been receiving. It is stated by Whitewashing in Hollywood that “Though whitewashing has not substantially harmed films’ commercial success, it also has not improved it.” Whitewashing has not improved in the industry because it is a controversy that receives backlash every time there is news about a new film. With the incorporation of different cultures being main characters for either an animated or live action movie, it could change some viewpoints on how some cultures are seen and can change the industry. The article states that generally films that have whitewashed have not done well and have often failed, rather than succeeded. They generally fail because of that lack in diversity. The lack of diversity proves the understanding as to why the film failed, because the interests of the film