UCLA – Susan X Jane

Yesterday, in case you didn’t feel the ground shake, the full length trailer for the New Star Wars movie premiered during Monday Night football. First, enjoy…

Fans of Star Wars crashed servers watching the hell out of the trailer, but it didn’t take long for the interwebz to raise one of its uglier heads. A hashtag # BoycottStarWars appeared just hours after the trailer debuted, accusing the film of promoting White genocide. Why the freak out?

The main character, played by John Boyega is –wait for it–a black man. The idea that a black man is a lead, a hero and alive in outer space seems to be sending some people, well, into outer space. Now, of course, these boycotters should feel stupid; it’s 2015, Black people are not some situation that Jim Webb controls and so you are going to see–thank God–some diversity in film.

But when you’re done shaking your head at how cray-cray these boycotters are, consider this: they are right in pointing out the significance of casting Boyega in the lead. We know already that there is a real drought when it comes to lead actors of color playing the hero. Go ahead–quick–name 5 movies with hero of color….I’ll wait while you Google it……..

The UCLA diversity report released in 2015 looked at films 2011-2013 and found that whites are overrepresented and minorities are underrepresented.

When we look even more closely at the most iconic heroes conquering the silver screen, there are even fewer characters of color. When Idris Elba’s name came up as a possible casting choice for the new James Bond, strong backlash erupted, and not just from internet trolls. James Bond author Anthony Horowitz called Elba “too street” to play Bond. Hey, hey, he wasn’t being racist, just saying that Idris- friggin-Elba is “not suave” enough. What?!

But I digress…. Celluloid heroes have always been white, sometime even when they were not supposed to be. Remember that above all, studios are looking for products they can bank on.

Rest easy, Star Wars producers. Casting John Boyega as the lead is not only a good move to increase the now-dismal diversity in Hollywood films, it turns out its also good for business. The same UCLA deviltry report found that films that featured 40% characters of color did better at the box office. Turns out, trolls, that diversity pays.

Hollywood and the smaller tubes around are taking note of the importance of embracing diversity in order to reflect an increasingly diverse audience watching in the real world. I’m not saying Hollywood is getting it right, but they have at least identified it as an area in need of improvement. In an increasingly diverse country, It makes good business to get out ahead of an unstoppable trend.

Make no mistake; Star Wars is no ordinary film. It is modern myth. Based on the work Hero With a Thousand Faces by anthropologist Joseph Campbell, Star Wars is not just the story of a hero, it is the story of all heroes. It is the right thing to do to create myths that reflect our culture. We live in a world with heroes of every race, and film is long overdue to reflect this.

Boycott if you want trolls–that just leaves more seats for the true fans–those who know space has no limits.

In the round up of 2014’s mass media themes, many critics pointed to an increase in diversity. Shonda Rhimes’ Scandal magic, lovely Lupita and Selma marching into theaters it seems like a flood of great media representations of black, right?

Sure it’s great to see characters from all different back grounds displayed across network TV and in the wondrous world of scripted cable drama. Yea. But if it sounds like I’m doing the slow clap its because I can’t help but feel like our forward progress may be an illusion at best, and at worst? Well, keep reading.

The past year has seen its share of memorable milestones towards a more diverse media: SNL cast its first woman of color in seven years; the major networks aired shows with minority lead characters—like ABC’s Blackish and How To Get Away With Murder, NBC’s crime drama ensembles and even Fox’s Octavia Spenser drama.

Directors and show runners like the ubiquitous Shonda Rhimes, rising star Tim Story (Think Like a Man) and Hollywood heavyweight Tyler Perry proved that there is even some color behind the camera. With these high-visibility success stories, audiences may increasingly feeling like they already see a post racial America on their screens at home.

Except, its not true.

Remember when we elected a black president and believed that this would magically bring about racial harmony and understanding? It did’t. In the same way, seeing a few black faces on your screens may make you think that we are entering a post racial Hollywood. The truth is, it won’t.

People of color continue to be woefully underrepresented and misrepresented in media. A comprehensive survey of mass Media published last year out of UCLA showed that minorities are underrepresented in Hollywood films by a factor of 3, and in TV by a factor of anywhere from 2 to 7 . Behind the camera of your favorite TV show is even worse with minorities directing on 4.2% of all broadcast comedies and dramas.

When it comes to the best films—those that take home Oscar gold—100% of winning directors are white. That’s right, in the Academy Award’s 85 years a person of color has never won for best director. If the Selma snub at last nights Golden Globes is any indication we are unlikely to break the streak this year either.

Underrepresentation is just half the story. Accurate voice and representation is about number in front of and behind the camera, but its also about the quality of representation. Even if the number of minorities on TV were a dead match for census numbers, if those stories continue to reinforce old stereotypes, then we can’t call it progress.

On the quality front, 2014 was looking more like 1974—a black woman serving up sex for her powerful master, happy faces shucking and jiving to a laugh track, and Queen B twerking for the teens. And these aren’t the B and C-listers—this is what A-list black stars do to get that check.

The illusion of progress that we toasted at the end of the year masks the steady restabilization of racist narratives of the past. We end up celebrating just a fiercer crop of mammys and jezebels. Don’t settle just for Scandal. We need a diverse media that reflects out increasingly diverse country, but unless the industry starts making some changes in front of the camera and behind—especially in those writing rooms—we might find ourselves raising a glass to the same old same old.

Before you trash the idea of better media with your resolution to hit the gym, there is a glimmer of hope. You see, the same UCLA study that put numbers to the lack of diversity also showed that shows with more diverse casts are more profitable. Media is made by for profit companies, so listen up suits! It seems that more color equals more green.

Supporting media that celebrates diversity make sense. Vote for better media with your dollars. Go see Selma, and rent those series that get it right. Finally a New Year’s resolution you can keep? Watch TV and movies with diverse casts!

Tag: UCLA

Hero With A Thousand Faces: Deal With It

Scandal, Selma and a Black President