F for Film: Hollywood's Diversity Problem

words: George White

Screen co-Editor George White explores the problem of underrepresentation in cinema...

There has rightly been a lot of emphasis on the importance of diversity in recent weeks, and in this regard, Hollywood certainly needs to shape up. For too long, white men have run the show in front of the camera and behind the scenes. While things may have shown signs of improvement in recent years, now is the time for films to more accurately reflect the audience that consumes them.

Only 9% of film roles were filled by black actors in 2017, 68% lower than the figure for white people

Looking at filmmaking statistics is always sobering as far as equal representation is concerned – in that there is very little equality whatsoever. Only 9% of film roles were filled by black actors in 2017, 68% lower than the figure for white people. Even worse, only nine of the top 1,200 highest-grossing films between 2007 and 2018 were directed by women of colour, equating to just 0.0075%. Such shocking figures emphasise how little Hollywood is supporting diverse storytelling, and this needs to change.

Film critic Helen O’Hara sums up why studios are so reluctant to support BAME directors, saying: “There’s been a long-standing belief that diverse filmmaking doesn’t sell. There are all of these very toxic myths that happen to benefit white men, and the problem is that there have been so few examples to say otherwise that it's quite hard to rebut those myths.”

Despite the disheartening statistics though, Helen believes there is cause for hope. “I think we're getting to the point now where we've got a handful of these counterexamples. We've got Black Panther, we’ve got Moonlight,” she says, “so I think we're beginning to take those kinds of myths apart.”

The push for more equal representation in Hollywood is absolutely vital. Now is the time to take these myths apart with greater conviction and bring diverse storytelling to the fore.