Hollywood. Technically just another district in the city of Los Angeles, with barely 150 thousand people. It covers roughly 30 miles in a city of more than 500 square, but the myth and reach of Hollywood stretches a lot farther. Although people have settled there since 1853, what we call “Hollywood” didn’t spring up until 1902– And the first film wasn’t made there until 1908: The Count of Monte Cristo. Ever since “Hollywood” has become the chronicler of North American culture – and with that comes great power. You know the line: with great power comes great responsibility. Intended or not, Hollywood holds the reins of history and decides who will be revered, who will be remembered, who will inspire fear… and who will be left out entirely.

Just the facts, Ma’am

Around the time that Hollywood was making its first pictures, the United States was taking its thirteenth census, and surprise: The U.S. was nearly 89% White. That had a huge impact on the way Hollywood would develop over the next one hundred and thirteen years. The country was about 11% Black, 0.9% Hispanic, 0.3% Indigenous, and 0.2% Asian. Fast forward to 2021: The country is around 59% White, 18.5% Hispanic, 13.4% Black, 5.9% Asian, 1.5% Indigenous, and about 2.8% Mixed Race. Very different numbers. Yet, the films and shows coming out of Hollywood haven’t changed with the pace.

In 2011, American diversity in film was tracked for the first time. Most films fell into the lowest diversity bracket– less than 11%. In 2020, however, nearly 29% of all American films had a cast diversity level of 50% or more—- Quite an improvement. But all in all, that still means that 71% of American films were hardly diverse at all. And if you consider that for many Hollywood films “diversity” means the minority characters are glorified extras or so whitewashed themselves you’d be hard-pressed to even notice their minority status, even that 29% starts to look suspect.

The one with the all-White cast

Only in the most recent of the last eleven consecutive decades has diversity been a real goal in “Tinsel Town”; before then you’d get the occasional multi-cultural hit, such as ‘Rush Hour’ (Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker), ‘Lethal Weapon’ (Mel Gibson, Danny Glover), and ‘Men in Black’ (Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones), but more likely you’d get movies like ‘Back to the Future’ and ‘Dirty Dancing’, and tv shows like ‘Seinfeld’ and ‘Friends’. I could easily list one hundred movies and Tv shows that somehow make the United States appear magically one race. Shows like ‘How I Met Your Mother’ depict New York City—- one of the most diverse cities in the world—- as completely one-note. As someone who spent over a decade living in Manhattan, I can tell you many tourists are genuinely surprised when they realize that nearly 6 of the 8 million people in NYC aren’t White. Lee Atwater coined the famous phrase, “Perception is reality”. Which means with representation in the U.S.A. being what it is, American minorities are marginal… or don’t exist.

Show me the money

Every studio swears they are committed to providing diverse film casts, but something tells me their newfound commitment isn’t completely altruistic: Movies that were made up of 41% to 50% minorities had the highest median global box office receipts; Films with less than 11% minorities performed the worst. In recent years projects such as Black Panther (Grossed $1.3 BILLION, Budget $200m) and Crazy Rich Asians (Grossed $238m, Budget $30m) have been turning the heads of Studio executives, and a tidal wave of diversity may be coming. A clear sign of change lies in the fact that people of Color made up 39.7% of film leads in 2020 – a substantial leap from just 10.5% in 2011. However, there’s still a lot of room for growth behind the camera: Across 886 directors from the top 800 grossing films from 2007 to 2015 (excluding 2011), only 5.5% were Black and 2.8% were Asian. 

Houston, we have a problem

Aside from diversity issues in general, lies the problem of the true re-writing of history: Whitewashing. From the nearly all-White cast of ‘Gods of Egypt’ to Angelina Jolie playing an Afro-Chinese-Cuban-Jewish woman (‘A Mighty Heart’), some minority roles have been literally appropriated by White performers.

In The Human Stain, Anthony Hopkins plays an African American professor that has apparently been passing for White since college. Yes, the argument could be made that if he could pass for White, why not get a famous White actor to play him? Why indeed, aside from the fact that it’s not remotely believable that Hopkins comes from a Black family, and there are plenty of light-skinned Black actors that would have done justice to the role. Passing as White does not indeed make you White, and there was no part of Hopkins performance that conveyed any level of Blackness.

Even when it’s inspired by a true story, such as in Stuck, based on the story of a Black woman who hit a homeless man, but was cast as White in the film, or Ring of Fire, the story of Johnny Cash in which his Black Italian first wife was played by the same woman who portrayed Snow White on the tv series Once Upon A Time, minority characters are unapologetically replaced by White ones. Here’s a quick sample, but the examples are countless:

Tom Cruise, ‘Edge of Tomorrow’: The Japanese character Keiji Kiriya was changed to Major William “Bill” Cage.

Rooney Mara, ‘Pan’: The Indigenous American character “Tiger Lily” is played by White actress Rooney Mara.

Ben Affleck, ‘Argo’: Ben played the part of Tony Mendez, based on a real-life Hispanic CIA agent.

Bye, Felisha

Throughout this article, each section is prefaced with an old movie or tv quote, all of which has come from a traditionally “White” film; This last one I pulled from a Black movie just to make a point: Many of you won’t know it. This film (‘Friday’) had some of the best comedic actors of their time— Chris Tucker, Bernie Mac, & John Witherspoon to name a few— but until now “Black” movies & shows are considered for Black people only, while “White” films are thought to be for everyone; This way of thinking created one of the biggest cultural divides in our country. After nearly 530 years of sharing this country with each other, White America still hasn’t bridged the cultural divide. Everyone says that America is a melting pot but until now, it’s been more like oil and water. But if we continue this trend of diversity, easing the (sometimes unintentional, sometimes not) grip White Supremacy has had on Hollywood, if we open our eyes to each other, and welcome each other’s stories into our lives and our living rooms, I think that we would suddenly realize that what they say is true— There is only One Race: The Human Race.

Also Read: BLACK to the Future: The Rise of AfroFuturism

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Growing up in Dudley and being the son of Jamaican parents, Henry was a minority in his community. He has said that he was one of only three black children in his school and when he began performing on stage as a comedian in the 1970s, he was the target of many racist comments. At the time, opportunities for black people within the entertainment industry were so small, Henry even appeared on The black and white minstrel show (1958), one of the most racist shows in British shows in history, for which he has expressed regrets. Over the years, Henry has begun shifting away from comedy, towards serious acting roles and activism for underrepresented people within the entertainment industry.

This culminated earlier this month when the star delivered a letter to Downing Street calling for tax breaks for industry companies thatemploy more women, BAME and disabled people. In hopes of encouraging diversity, he delivered this letter alongside Meera Syal and Adrian Lester. The letter was signed by 80 prominent figures in the UK film and TV industry, including Dame Emma Thompson, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Thandie Newton, David Oyelowo, and Jodie Whittaker. So what does this letter mean to the UK entertainment world and what could it lead to?

Film & TV Representation: Positives and Negatives

While Henry himself has been quite vocal about the industry’s “atrocious” representation for women, BAME, and disabled people, the industry has begun taking steps towards better representation in front of and behind the camera. Organisations such as the BFI have made it so that films applying for funding must demonstrate a commitment to diversity through on-screen representation and creative leadership. The BBC also plans for “its employees to comprise 50% women, 8% disabled people, 8% lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender people and 15% people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds” by 2020. And there has also been a big push towards shows and films fronted by underrepresented parties. The new series of Doctor Who is probably the best example of this. With Jodie Whitaker leading a diverse cast of different races, genders, and abilities, this is a big step forward for one of the cornerstones of British television history.

But Henry’s letter points out “only 2% of UK television is made by directors from BAME backgrounds”. Meaning the UK industry still lacks significant input from non-white creative voices. And the latest statistics show that the representation for women, BAME and disabled people in the industry is still shocking. So, in modern times, what are the barriers that are still halting progress towards a truly diverse workforce?

Modern Barriers

According to research from the Work Foundation, there are several obstacles that impede underrepresented groups from succeeding in the industry. These include the lack of visible screen role models. Which make others from similar backgrounds hesitant to work within the industry. Lack of clear knowledge about the opportunities that are available. Employers are often inflexible about adjusting to suit certain candidates. The prevalence of networks that support nepotism over skill, perceived cultural prejudices and of course, finance. So, what could these tax breaks do to help future underrepresented media workers?

Tax Relief: Positives and Negatives

The extra money will allow companies to make adjustments to suit disabled candidates, as well as pregnant candidates and those with families. And the tax breaks call for more diversity in front of the camera may help break the aspirational barrier. As viewers will be given more diverse role models, they can aspire to be like them. The promise of financial relief could even encourage companies to provide clearer advertisements to allow for a wide range of applicants for available positions.

However, the inclusion of financial incentives for businesses does not deal with the other problems mentioned. Such as exclusivity within the industry, which still leaves a large proportion of applicants, particularly women, feeling locked out. The lack of financial support for workers still favours people from more advantaged backgrounds. And while position advertisements may become clearer, this may have the unfortunate side effect of making applicant choices feel like obligations for extra money rather than a genuine desire to promote diversity, which helps to further perceived cultural prejudices. It is a step forward for representation, but one that helps the companies more than it does the workers and the public.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Henry’s proposal for industry tax breaks provides a great opportunity to boost representation for non-white, male and abled people. But potentially only serves as a short-term solution to benefit entertainment businesses rather than current and future workers. Representation is important, and tax breaks would be a good start. But more long-term plans are needed to improve overall diversity within the industry. Should this be done through education? Dedicated work programmes to drive diversity? Investment in services to help those with specific needs? Or should the organisational structure of the industry change? I cannot say. But as the outcry continues, things will need to change. And solutions will have to be found sooner rather than later.

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