Ryan Lachelt Thesis Hollywood has a very apparent bias towards using white actorsactresses in the majority of their roles even if in the source material that same role was a minority White Black Asian Hispanic Other ID: 443227
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Slide1
White Bias in Hollywood
Ryan LacheltSlide2
Thesis
Hollywood has a very apparent bias towards using white actors/actresses in the majority of their roles, even if in the source material that same role was a minority. Slide3
White Black Asian Hispanic Other
% of white characters
78 - 2007
71- 2008
76 - 2009
78 - 2010
76 - 2012
74 - 2013
73 - 2014Slide4
Whitewashing
White actors playing another race/ethnicity.
Happened
more frequently in early film
years (Birth of a Nation).
Cut back in the 60’s.Happens today in less offensive ways. Slide5
In 2014, of the top 100 films, a study (University of Southern California) showed that only 17 featured non-white leads or co-leads.
Hollywood seems to think that people of color have ethnic experiences and not universal experiences.
Easier to use a well known white actor.
Roles that
have
to be played by minorities are the ones they
are guaranteed to
get. (12 Years a Slave, Malcolm X)Slide6
Modern Examples
2001
– A Beautiful Mind Jennifer Connelly – Alicia Nash/Hispanic
2009
–
Dragonball
: Evolution Justin
Chatwin
–
Goku/Japanese2010 – Prince Of Persia Jake Gyllenhaal – Dastan/Middle Eastern2010 – Avatar TLA Pretty much everyone
2012 – Argo Ben Affleck – Tony Mendez/Mexican Descent2015 – Aloha Emma Stone – Allison Ng/ChineseSlide7Slide8
More info
White actors/actresses are usually more “bankable”.
Easy to get away with, even with more backlash.
Whites have the “widest appeal”
Anyone can be a hero. Or can they?Not inherently racist (Exodus: Gods and Kings)
“I can’t mount a film of this budget, where I have to rely on tax rebates in Spain, and say that my lead actor is Mohammad so-and-so from such-and-such,” Scott says. “I’m just not going to get it financed. So the question doesn’t even come up.”Slide9
White Savior & Closing
White person helps a person of color (or minority) from their plight.
Popular film genre, can be problematic.
Presents minorities as helpless, incompetent.
Can be historically accurate.
Does it matter?Slide10
Sources
Ruimy
, Jordan. "11 Worst Examples of Whitewashing in Movies."
Screen Rant
. ScreenRant, 22 Sept. 2015. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.Santhanam, Laura, and Megan Hickey. "Out of 30,000 Hollywood Film Characters, Here’s How Many Weren’t White."
PBS. PBS, 22 Sept. 2015. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.Scherker, Amanda. "Whitewashing Was One Of Hollywood's Worst Habits. So Why Is It Still Happening?"
The Huffington Post
. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 10 Oct. 2014. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.
Wilson, Clint C.,
Félix Gutiérrez, Lena M. Chao, and Clint C. Wilson. Racism, Sexism, and the Media: The Rise of Class Communication in Multicultural America. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2003. Print.