Forums

I will start by providing you with Viola Davis' Emmy speech:

As the first black woman to win an Emmy, I think what she has to say about the industry rings very true. She says that the only difference between black women and everyone else, is opportunity. And she's absolutely right, there is a distinct lack of representation of people of colour in television and film.

What's even worse is when you realize that a lot of the movies based on real life minorities are being portrayed by white actors. So while Viola calls for opportunity by writing more roles for people of colour, the response is to give those same opportunities to white actors.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/26-times-white-actors-played-people-of-color-and-no-one-really-gave-a-sht_us_56cf57e2e4b0bf0dab313ffc

Obviously this goes much deeper into the history of film and the minstrel show, but I think this is a good start to discussion.

And then arguably the most troublesome case of a casting choice is in an upcoming biopic about Nina Simone, a black singer who faced a lot of prejudice based the darkness of her skin tone. In the upcoming movie, Zoe Saldana will be portraying the jazz singer, but there's a huge problem with that. Physically, Saldana bears no resemblance to the icon and none of the options present have been appealing to moviegoers: either Saldana maintains her natural appearance and offers an inaccurate portrayal of the star, or the actress would be made to appear darker. In production photos, it seems that the team behind “Nina” chose to go with the second option.

A lot of critiques are calling this blackface, and arguing that there are plenty of amazing black women who are the right skin tone to portray Nina. So while this was a role written specifically for a black actress, it falls flat by choosing an actress who simply does not satisfy.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3474176/Zoe-Saldana-fire-blackface-trailer-new-Nina-Simone-biopic-legendary-singer-civil-rights-activist-s-family-tell-actress-hell.html

I really like what you guys had to contribute on this issue. Viola Davis is truly an inspiration to all women; she stands up for what she believes in and is not scared to say so. The ambiance in the room after she won was extremely beautiful and supportive – actress Taraji P. Henson (also nominated for being Lead Actress in a Drama Series) was very proud to see a black woman win such a prestigious award.
What she says on stage is extremely accurate – black women need the opportunity to be shown and given roles. This issue just leads to a greater one that was very controversial as well. Many people blasted and boycotted the Oscars this year because of the all-white nominations. When reading an article from The Guardian, I was amazed to learn that only one woman of colour has won as Best Actress and less than 7% of males who win are people of colour. These numbers seem ridiculous to me; how does this even work out? What does a person need to do to be considered worthy of an award?
There is a lack of representation for POC in media in general. Clearly more work needs to be done in the industry to account for people of all colours, sexual orientation or identity.
http://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/jan/18/hollywoods-race-problem-film-industry-actors-of-colour

Stephen, I disagree that comic and super hero related references are not intellectual references. They are the pinnacle of what Hollywood is based off of today. Think about such major franchises as The Avengers, The Walking Dead, Batman, Superman, etc. All of these movies and television shows bring in millions upon millions of dollars, but what do we have to show for it? Isn't Hollywood sick of the same old, white dudes succeeding on the big screen? Nearly 45% of America's population is made up of POCs and yet our television screens imply otherwise. The issue of mis- and underrepresentation in Hollywood is incredibly huge and, although it has been addressed countless times in the Media (especially after such influential and popular events as The Oscars), the problem has yet to be fixed. The only movies and television shows we see today with POCs in the foreground, it seems, are movies about the mistreatment of African Americans throughout North American history. Hollywood likes to promote representation, but only through stereotypical and mainstream ways that paint people as "black" rather than just people. Never, do we challenge the notion that an African American might play an underprivileged person living on the street or in association with gangs, nor do we question the tired role of the Indian geek who writes computer codes, but can't get girls. We NEVER question these ridiculous stereotypes that Hollywood throws at us, guised as being "diverse." Will we ever see a POC as the lead role in a movie that doesn't solely reflect their race? Of course, movies like this are important because they often teach us and remind of our complicated and destructive history. However, while we are making movies about the effects of racism, which are seemingly made in order to create awareness and destroy racism, can't we also make movies and television shows that encompass these values?

I would like to shed some light on the lack of roles in Hollywood for other POC as well. There has been a lot of discussion about the lack of roles for African American actors in Hollywood during the #Oscarssowhite campaign and the same can be said for Asian actors in Hollywood as well. I recently heard about a movie that is out in theaters called “The Forest” which is a film that takes place in Japan. This movie is about a very sensitive topic because it is set in Aokigahara Forest which is nicknamed suicide Forest in Japan due to the high number of suicides that take place in the forest every year. The main problem with this movie is that the lead female character is played by a white female. A lot of people are outraged by this because they believe that since the story is taking place in Japan and it is dealing with a sensitive cultural problem, then the main actors should at least fit the setting and issue at hand. I also believe that the main characters in this movie should be played by Japanese actors. It doesn't make sense to me that a story about issues facing Japanese people should be played by a white person.

I think it interesting that lack of representation continues to be so prominent in this day and age. With the increased acceptance of diversity it is easy to believe that this is an issue of the past; unfortunately however, this is far from the case. Following the mention of an "ideal world" I'd like to bring up the Declaration of Independence. America's claim of identity and individuality is also rooted in failure to provide equal representation. Three influential and important groups are blatantly left out of this founding document: Native Americans, African Americans, and Women. In this way, America has come to be founded on "white male" ideals and it seems as though this origin is impossible to shake. The issue however is so vast because this subjugation is written in the foundation of American ideals - the Declaration. Thus, any movement away from this can be seen as "reformation" and, as reformation usually is, inherently up for debate. These attitudes have thus fostered a hierarchy which places Caucasian (males mostly) in positions of power. It is upsetting, angering, and frustrating that this wrong has not yet been made right; and though it seems to be going in the right direction it is unforeseen how long this issue will prevail. America celebrates its identity with a grave lack of recognition toward its ignorant beginnings which still filter into media and society centuries later.