By: Stephanie Blair Editor-in-Chief
Each year the Ralph J. Bunche Center publishes a “Hollywood Diversity Report” which examines the diversity of gender and race in all aspects of Hollywood, from writing to acting, directing to talent agencies. Despite minorities making up around 40 percent of America’s population, the film industry is underwhelmingly diverse. This is, in large part, due to the lack of diverse parts.
Viola Davis put it best in her 2015 Emmy speech: “You cannot win an Emmy for roles that are simply not there.”
Whitewashing in Hollywood isn’t a new problem, but the Asian community seems to receive the worst of it. There often aren’t Asian roles, and when there are, they are often still given to white people. While yellow-face seems outrageous to most now, it’s present in a classic film: the most racist acting I’ve ever seen comes from Mickey Rooney in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” What’s disappointing is that this is still happening over half a century after that disgusting performance, yellow-face may have disappeared but now, instead, race is simply being visually erased.
The stereotypes are not the sole focus of the characters anymore, but even when there is an Asian role, it’s often given to a white actor. Recent examples of this include Emma Stone, a freckle-covered red-head, being cast as a half-Asian character in “Aloha” and Scarlett Johansson being cast as Motoko Kusanagi in “Ghost in the Shell.”
And this goes beyond race; Deaf representation is severely lacking in Hollywood as well. In the 2016 film “Hush” Kate Siegel, a hearing actress, plays a deaf character. While her acting was convincing to a hearing audience, there are a plethora of deaf actresses who could have played the part just as easily. This film didn’t even have the excuse that they wanted a well-known actress to lead; Siegel, who co-wrote the film, decided to play the part herself rather than cast a deaf actress.
The danger of casting hearing people in Deaf roles is the misrepresentation. Last year, Ben Jarashow came to Western to give a talk titled “The Cycle of Ideology: The Image of Deaf People in Hollywood.” In the presentation, Jarashow shared some of the common misrepresentations of Deaf people in films and television from the start of film to the present because this is a very real problem still facing the Deaf community.
These decisions erase identity for people of color, the LGBTQ+ community, the Deaf community and countless other societal groups. They can also perpetuate wrong information and harmful stereotypes. The Bunche Center’s 2015 report stated that “films with relatively diverse casts enjoyed the highest median global box office receipts and the highest median return on investment.” There’s not even an economical reason not to include more diverse roles.
So, what can a lowly college student do to affect Hollywood? Boycott! This is a time honored tradition that works.
In June of 2016, a stage production of “Prince of Egypt” was in the works as a park concert that would potentially head for Broadway later on. However, in a play about Egyptians and middle-eastern Jews, the cast was entirely white. This sparked controversy and backlash online which ultimately led to the concert being cancelled.
Speaking out about representation can work, boycotting can work, but only if people take part. Don’t support films that whitewash and that don’t represent a character and help support minority communities.
Contact the author at sblair13@mail.wou.edu
