Diversity in Film and Media

By: Rylie Klain '21

Each year The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences collectively decides who to

nominate for each Oscar award. Sidney Poitier was the first African American male to win an

Oscar for his role in Lilies of the Field in 1963. This is significant because the Academy Awards

were first held in 1929. Meaning that it took 34 years for someone other than a Caucasian to win

any Oscar. This is shocking, as there have been multiple races, sexualities, and genders in films

for hundreds of years, but why did it take 34 years for one African American to win an award for

his role. Is Hollywood racist?

In 1919, Oscar Micheaux was the first African American to write, direct, and produce, his

own film, the silent motion picture, The Homesteader, starring the African American actress,

Evelyn Preer. Louis De Prince produced the first ever film in 1888. For those 31 years, all of the

art from film to stage was produced by Caucasian actors and actresses. Was this because African

Americans didn't want to act or were directors and producers racists when casting early films?

The early history of show business can be classified in three eras: Humiliation (1905-42), Protest

(1942-49), and The Struggle for Equality (1949-2016). The Humiliation era was simply a time

where most, if not all of the movies made had entirely Caucasian casts. This was a hard time for

minorities who wanted to act because they weren't given the opportunity to get their foot in the

door and audition for some of these amazing roles. The protest era happened around the time of

World War 2. Films from this time displayed grotesque images of things that were happening in

the war. Even after the Humiliation era, minorities tried to gain entry into the entertainment

industry and began to protest about the lack of inclusion. Most recently in the Struggle For

Equality era, minorities struggled to get into the industry. At this time, people began to realize

that there was a problem and races were not equal in the entertainment industry. They fought

alongside the minorities to offer them equal rights within the entertainment industry. Although a

lot has changed since the first film in 1888, it is still difficult for minorities to book roles. Sure

the times have changed, but there are still racist people in the world and this fact is not going to

change overnight. Whitewashing has been a present practice in the film industry for as long as

film and TV have been around. Whitewashing is when Hollywood casts white actors in non-white

roles and characters. In 1915, the first movie ever screened in the White House, The Birth of a

Nation featured multiple actors in blackface. In the credits, Walter Long’s character was listed as

“renegade Negro.” Another classic example of whitewashing was casting Natalie Wood as Maria

in West Side Story in 1961. It made no sense that a Caucasian actress was starring as a classically

Puerto Rican role. This enraged audiences because they were excited to see their culture shared

on the big screen but to have it shared by a Caucasian was rightfully frustrating. Rito Moreno,

one of the only original cast members of Puerto Rican descent, told the In The Thick podcast that

at the time she felt uncomfortable with everyone's "extremely dark" make-up. Why is

whitewashing so bad? By doing this, Hollywood is taking away thousands of minorities'

opportunities to star in movies about their own cultures. Doing this also takes away the reach the

movie could bring to so many children who were excited to learn more about their culture on the

big screen.

Sure we have heard of whitewashing but has it ever happened the other way around,

minorities playing roles that are classically causcasian. One of the most notable movies where this happened was the 2014 remake of Annie starring Quvenzhané Wallis and Jamie Foxx. In the

original Annie movie in 1982, Aileen Quinn was seen with the classic curly red hair but,

director, Will Gluck wanted to switch this up, he wanted to make this cast multiracial, so instead

of having our classic Caucasian little girl with red hair, the movie was starred by Quvenzhané

Wallis, the youngest Oscar nominee in history with an Afro. It was definitely an interesting twist

on the classic movie but there were a lot of harsh controversial reviews. Some people enjoyed

the movie and explained that it was a breath of fresh air compared to all of the bad things

happening in the world during that year, “this "Annie" is a gigantic smiley face, arriving on

screens at the tail end of one of the most miserable years in recent American history—a year

whose uninterrupted flood of not just bad but national-identity-challenging, often racially toxic

news made even some of the most optimistic among us want to crawl into bed, pull the covers

up, and stay there until the calendar rolled over.” (Matt Zoller Seitz par. 3) Others just focused

on the flaws that they experienced from this film, “Cheap, cheesy knock off of what was a great

musical. Horrible acting and worse directing. Just goes to show Hollywood is running out of

original ideas so they are destroying well done classics and taunting them with corny jokes are

bad actors. Don't waste your time. Watch the original with Albert Finney and Carol Burnett.

Better than any remake.” (Sob-41694, IMDb).

As previously explained, audiences were frustrated that Natalie Wood was cast as Maria

in West Side Story because she is Caucasian and the character is classically Latino. It was

announced nearly two years ago that Steven Spielberg was going to remake the classic film, but

he wanted a fully Latino cast to star, which he did. He made every character accurate to the way

they were intended to be. This pleased viewers all across the world because finally, minorities

were given the opportunity to present their culture on the big screen and inspire others. This movie is set to be released on December 10, 2021 and viewers believe that when it does come

out it will be a step in the right direction for the film industry because if Steven Spielberg can

show his inclusivity in his casting choices, then everyone else can as well.

In order for studios and directors to diversify their casts they need to establish specific

committees, staff positions, and hiring plans dedicated to increasing the representation of people

of color. Besides just diversifying the cast, directors and networks should diversify their staff and

casting directors. Minorities may feel more comfortable onset if they see more people who look

like them around and not only Caucasian men and women. Studios and networks can also focus

on retaining people of color by offering networking and mentoring programs. This could also

help the actors feel comfortable accepting the job because after all it is a commitment and they

shouldn't have to feel uncomfortable on set everyday. “By generating social success, Hollywood

is likely to attract more talent of color” (Quora par. 4).

Over the past 30 years or so there have been a lot of changes regarding minorities in

films. Several directors and studios have become a lot more open to casting minorities in

characters specifically written for them and some that even weren’t. Even some of the most well

known characters in film are people of color such as Black Panther in the Marvel franchise or

Lando Carlissian in the Star Wars franchise. Black Panther played by Chadwick Boseman was a

turning stone for African Americans in the Marvel franchise. Sure there were a few here and

there but finally people of color got their own movie in this incredible franchise. The movie was

a smashing success and there is expected to be a sequel in 2022. This goes to show that you need

to give these actors and actresses a chance because like any other actor they are talented, they

just need to be given the opportunity to display their talents to the casting directors.

By breaking the barriers that past filmmakers put up around the diversity stigma, we

would have a lot less stress regarding the topic. Equality would be relevant more than ever

because if it is seen in film and TV, people may be encouraged to embrace it in real life. Although

it could take several years, breaking the stigma now will prepare us for a better future of

diversity and equality in the entertainment industry. There may still be some whitewashing and

black-facing but over the past few decades you can clearly see how much we have improved as a

society overall. To answer the question, Is Hollywood racist? All of my research points that

Hollywood was misled and is used to the ways things have always been and is possibly scared of

breaking the barriers that original filmmakers put up. But by breaking the barriers, the

entertainment industry would improve for people of color and audiences across the world alike

because it would show how we are changing as a society to become inclusive of everyone

regardless of race, gender, or sexuality.

Works Cited

The 1st Academy Awards: 1929. (n.d.). Retrieved December 06, 2020, from

https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1929

Ambrosino, B. (2014, December 23). The remake of Annie really, really wants you to think

it's cool. Retrieved December 07, 2020, from

https://www.vox.com/2014/12/23/7439671/annie-review-2014

Annie. (n.d.). Retrieved December 07, 2020, from

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1823664/reviews

Gaydos, S. (2016, February 23). A Telling Look Back at the Century-Old Quest for

Diversity in Entertainment. Retrieved December 07, 2020, from

https://variety.com/2016/film/news/diversity-history-movies-tv-1201712294/

Gray, T. (2020, February 05). How Does Oscar Voting Work? Retrieved December 06,

2020, from

https://variety.com/feature/who-votes-on-oscars-academy-awards-how-voting-works-1203

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Quora. (2019, May 23). What Needs To Change In Hollywood To Increase Diversity?

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https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2019/05/23/what-needs-to-change-in-hollywood-to-inc

rease-diversity/?sh=64d5bb5a589e

Ramos, D. (2020, January 04). Film & TV Diversity: What Changed In 2019 And What's

Next In 2020. Retrieved December 07, 2020, from

https://deadline.com/2020/01/hollywood-diversity-2009-strides-film-tv-representation-incl

usion-1202817299/

Says:, B., Says:, P., Says:, A., Says:, I., Says:, U., Says:, B., . . . Says:, C. (2017, November

16). What Was the First Movie Ever Made? Retrieved December 07, 2020, from

https://headsup.boyslife.org/what-was-the-first-movie-ever-made/

Scheib, R. (2014, December 14). Film Review: 'Annie'. Retrieved December 07, 2020,

from https://variety.com/2014/film/reviews/film-review-annie-1201377921/

Seitz, M. (n.d.). Annie movie review & film summary (2014): Roger Ebert. Retrieved

December 07, 2020, from https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/annie-2014

Sidney Poitier wins Best Actor Oscar for "Lilies of the Field". (2009, November 13).

Retrieved December 06, 2020, from

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/sidney-poitier-wins-best-actor-oscar-for-lilies-

of-the-field

Simons, M. (2019, March 01). 100 times a white actor played someone who wasn't white.

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/01/28/100-times-a-white-actor-

played-someone-who-wasnt-white/

West Side Story: High school student cast as Maria in Spielberg remake. (2019, January

15). Retrieved December 07, 2020, from

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46875067

West Side Story: High school student cast as Maria in Spielberg remake. (2019, January

15). Retrieved December 07, 2020, from

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46875067