By Kieri Keys ‘24, Arts and Entertainment Staff Writer

Underrepresentation for people of color in the media and film industries is a multilayered issue. Representation for a race does not simply involve identifying one famous name with it. For this field in the beginning, not only was there a lack of POC, but also an intentional portrayal of stereotypes. The effects of racial segregation in our country had a lot to do with these roles. 

Systemic, structural, or institutional racism can all be loosely defined as the rules and systems of a society whose procedures functionally disadvantage those who are not the majority. The president of Race Forward and publisher of Colorlines, Glenn Harris, defines systemic racism as “the complex interaction of culture, policy and institutions that holds in place the outcomes we see in our lives.” A country built on the ideas that one group of people is superior to another will continue off that foundation unless real fundamental change is made. This means every product of that society either consciously or unconsciously carries those beliefs; in this instance, the film industry is just starting to see them. 

The Social Sciences department of UCLA conducted a study in 2018 called “Hollywood Diversity: Five Years of Progress and Missed Opportunities,” the fifth in a series discussing Hollywood’s relationship with diversity and profit. Contrary to the problem seen with minorities, there exists a concept called overrepresentation. The amount of White people in the population was 61.3% in 2016, yet the portrayal in films was larger- 78.1%. Black people, who made up 13.3% of the population, had representation close to their numbers: 12.5%. Other minority groups like the Latino, Asian, mixed, and Native peoples were severely underrepresented. As a whole, minorities made up 40% of the US population, with their film representation only accounting for 27.6% of blockbuster film leads. 

Fixing the biased nature of the film industry is slow going because what’s seen in theaters and streaming services is the end product. Each film produced passes through multiple departments before being released to the public. Essentially, seeing diversity on the screen isn’t the only goal for representation. The same study found that only 1.3 out of 10 film and TV show directors were people of color in 2016. The behind-the-scenes industry, featuring executives, producers, and directors, is dominated by the majority race. This is a thin line to walk, because producing something with a team that can’t understand the experiences they are portraying is slightly problematic. However, on the other hand, it gives POC acting opportunities that might not exist otherwise, however vague or stereotypical the roles may be. 

Still, movies with ethnic cultures or backgrounds have been produced despite a lack of actors from said culture or background. A taboo that is now modernly agreed upon even beyond the category of movies is the act of Black or Yellow face, when a person uses makeup or cosmetics to make themselves look of another race. It’s not as much a problem for scenarios where the race has no significance to the identity of the character or the plot, or if the role is being adapted to the availability of actors. However, there are actors available to play the role accurately: it would just require more effort to find them. 

Despite the slow going process and rocky beginnings, the film industry is starting to acknowledge and confront this problem. Movies with more diverse casts are attracting the attention of diverse audience members. A film that is praised for this is Crazy Rich Asians, a 2 hour romance comedy released in 2018. Not only was there a female lead, but the entire cast was completely of Asian descent. Similarly, movies like Black Panther, Hidden Figures, Moana, and Suicide Squad all had diverse characters of multiple ethnicities portrayed by actors of the appropriate race. A big achievement for the recognition of these films was when the Korean movie Parasite was awarded four Oscars at the 2020 Oscars event, repair from the years where minorities were passed over for awards. Despite these improvements, people of color in the film industry can’t be complacent with where they stand as there is still a long way to go.