Introduction:
The film industry is a very vast and competitive ground. Actors for every role are chosen for their talent and popularity. It is very hard for new emerging actors to get a good start. Producers and directors choose actors who fit the role exactly. Sometimes they may choose the exact same race as the role and sometimes they might not. The main factors considered in selecting an actor for a particular role are talent, relevant skills, experience, references, and being malleable for a variety of roles. Thus, race is not the main factor in the casting process. The world has been progressing to more diversified culture but not the Hollywood industry. The Hollywood is light years behind the contemporary world, the main goal in Hollywood
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Producers and Directors choose to cast white actors sometimes because they feel that casting a white actor will make the American audience, which is mostly dominated by white people, feel related to actor and hence to the experiences of people of other races’. America is a very ethnically diverse country, most of the time directors cast popular white actors in historical roles of different ethnicities, which is basically whitewashing the film industry as there are not a lot of famous Asian actors to cast in lead roles. Most of the controversies about casting white actors in Asian roles are brought to light because the cast of white actors is in lead roles. People don’t bother much if that was the same for a supporting actor. But the directors and producer want to cast renowned actors in lead roles to make money, which happens to be white actors. In an article “Hollywood's glaring problem: White actors playing Asian characters”, published in Los Angeles Times, the author mentions about the cast of the ‘ancient one’ in doctor strange, the cast of this Asian character is a white female, this character was one of the lead roles in the movie. A lot of articles popped up because of the cast. There was an Asian actor in the same movie who played an important character but not a lead, he was a librarian at a monk, no one noticed the cast of an Asian actor. So, it is not completely true that directors and producers are whitewashing
The Portrayal of Young Black Men in Hollywood Films Black Knight is a film starring Martin Lawrence which is a DreamWorks production released in July 2002 by AOL Time Warner. DreamWorks and AOL Time Warner are large companies that have achieved high levels of recognition and status within the film industry. The fact it was produced by two large companies connotes that it is a film with a large budget so any special effects are likely to be impressive, and have the ability to employ high budget actors/actresses which will bring in bigger crowds. The fact it is produced by a reputable company also means that the film should not be discriminatory or prejudiced. Black Knight is a text of the comedy genre but provides a mixed representation of young black males, as it opposes the dominant ideology yet also, eventually conforms to it.
African American representation in the film industry has always been a topic for discussion. Whether talking about character types and roles, the actors being cast or not cast, and the lack of diversity in front of and behind the camera. ‘The contemporary status of race in mainstream American culture is intimately bound to the process of representation within and through the mass media.’ (Rocchio, 2000, p. 4). Any role that was to be played by an African American kept in with the dominant stereotypes of the time of production; incompetent, child like, hyper-sexualised or criminal.
Back in the 1800’s, when calculating the population, African Americans were counted as 3/5 of a person (Antonia, p2). One would think that in the past two hundred years people’s beliefs would have changed a little bit, but the general white public are stuck into believing the common stereotypes commonly portrayed in movies. In films and television shows blacks are almost always portrayed as murderers, robbers, rapists, pretty much anything negative, like American History X, for example. Two black men are shown breaking into a white man’s car. People see this, and in turn believe that all black men will try and steal their car; as stupid as it may seem, it is true, and as a result, film producers try to incorporate this into their films. Very rarely, if ever, is it possible to see a minority depicted as a hero-type figure. Every once in a while, there will be an independent film from a minority director, but as Schultz states in Lyon’s piece, “We [blacks] are still being ghettoized in Hollywood, a serious black project of any scope is as difficult to get marketed today as it was in the ‘70s.” By making a barrier to entry for minorities in the film industry, it’s almost as if America is trying to keep black films out of the popular media. At first glimpse, it may appear that minorities are very hard to be seen in the filming industry, when in reality, they are becoming more and more apparent in America’s mainstream media culture, particularly in action movies.
Nationalities in society today have a stereotype that they are unfortunately characterized by. People assume that Asians are smart and good at martial arts, that the Irish swear too much and consume too much alcohol, that Americans are obese and lazy, and that African Americans are criminals into drugs and are in prison. These stereotypes make everyone of one nationality to be the same as individuals. There are, of course, people who fit the stereotype, which is how the stereotype came to be, but there is a large number of people who defy the stereotype of their race. The film industry helps to reiterate the stereotypes of certain races by matching the race of the actor with the character in the film for a certain effect. African Americans, specifically, in modern day films have been frequently seen to both
This tokenism featured in movies is not only damaging to the Black actors and actresses in the industry who accept those jobs because of lack of parts and ...
The media and is directors producers or anyone who has the responsibility of casting directing or anything that will be shown to the masses have a huge responsibility to every group of people to represent them in light that is not stereotyped in a negative manner. All the films discussed all show some form of stereotype each ethnic group has held over their heads. Ask yourself if we didn’t have film would we still have these stereotypes? In order to get over this racial profiling in film they should start showing what else these groups have accomplished not just the negative side. For example they could make a film of Madam C. J. Walker who was African American and also the first self-made female millionaire. Directors hold a huge responsibility and they owe it society to portray each ethnic group in fair
Diversity has always been one of Hollywood’s greatest weaknesses. For the most part, the industry absolutely strives with its rich narratives, beautiful cinematography, and moving performances but it fails when it comes to diversity. The representation of both women and people of colour have been lacklustre, often with poor characterisations and distasteful stereotypes and character tropes.
In today’s society, pre-existing assumptions and stereotypes of other ethnicities and individuals play a large part in the way we see others. This social construct of stereotypes has placed restrictions on many people’s lives which ultimately limits them from achieving certain goals. In this sense, stereotypes misrepresent and restrict people of colour to gain casting within the Hollywood film industry. The issue of how casting actors to certain roles and how these actors are forced to submit and represent these false stereotypes is one worthy of discussion. White Chicks (2004), directed by Keenan Wayans, illustrates this issue through the performance of Latrell, performed by Terry Crews, and his performance of the hyper-sexualised “buck” will be a prime example in this essay to discuss the racial politics and stereotypes in Hollywood casting.
...the power to influence people are the main reasons why the Hollywood writers and directors have a social responsibility to avoid stereotyping ethnic characters. The film producers should have done better in making films with Asian actors or Asian themes when they produce it using the right characters for it or better roles. Clearly, it shows a bad image for the Asian people and it degrades them to think that they are less than another ethnicity. Even though today it was gradually changing, it was still there and the people should be aware of that. Movie is a huge part of every people’s lives, so the movies can influence people in many ways. Thus, the roles and plot should be appropriate, fair and equal. In that way, the racism in the film industry can be lessened and people will start recognizing all ethnicities with the same capabilities in movies and in real life.
I gave several examples where Asian Americans were used to play very simple characters. These roles were defined by stereotypes that exist in America. I also researched instances on counter actions taken by Asian Americans to protest against these negative images. My research also has examples of Asians that have succeeded in breaking through the racial barriers in the media.
There has been a pressing issue of the lack of diversity in mainstream media in front and behind the camera. For many years the face of Hollywood was white, occupying roles as actors, directors, screenwriters and other prominent positions in the industry.
There 's nothing better than getting into your seat at a packed theater, settled in with your popcorn and snacks, and suddenly after just moments of the film you know it is going to blow you away. Many account the spectacular success in movies to the producers, directors, or actors, but how did they all find one another to make a spark on screen? A key player in making the connections and acting so amazing is the casting director, but many overlook this role. Essentially, casting is assigning a part in a movie, play, or other production, thus the casting director must find the perfect person for the job. What would be Forest Gump without Tom Hanks, or more recent parts such as Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss— we can 't image these roles played by anyone else. The casting directors picked them perfectly and knew what talent they would bring. Casting directors are crucial people when making a movie come to life and deserve more credit for their strenuous and imperative task.
The lack of diversity inclusion in the media and entertainment has become a major discussion in popular culture over recent years, specifically with the rise of trends such as #OscarsSoWhite. Although Hollywood has come a long way from the days of minstrel shows and having white actors use blackface to portray characters of color, it still has far to go before present-day media becomes truly representative of the diversity of America and the rest of the world we live in. For many years, actors of colors have struggled to find roles in Hollywood that were multidimensional, challenging, and impactful in the overall piece that they are performing in. Black women specifically are often confined to stereotypes such as the hypersexual jezebel,
Those who deny the existence of the racism rooted into modern day Hollywood are far from reality. They may think that in the United States we are getting closer to equality when it comes to casting but we in fact are not. While there is the belief that America has progressed when it comes to social issues, the percentage of roles held by black actors in film and TV has dropped from 15 to 13 percent from the early 2000’s to 2011 (McClintock and Apello 2).
The White Savior Complex is a damaging subconscious underlay of the Hollywood system, and more broadly all of western society. It is used to further separate the notions of “us” and “other” by creating a firm separation fueled by self-righteousness, and a sense of entitlement. Hollywood attempts to address race relations, but fails because of this trope. Kingsle, from the article “Does My Hero Look White In This?” described that both racism and colonialism are acknowledged, but not without reassuring that not only were white people against the system of racist power dynamics, but also were actively fighting against it in leadership roles (2013).