Hollywood's Lack of Diversity

This collage of photos are from films that have white actors playing a specific nationality

Photo Credited : Hollywood-has-a-long-history-of-racial-whitewashing-Twitter

In this modern age, the production of films with diverse culture is proving to excite the audience, however, the lack of actual diverse actors turn them off. For films such as Exodus: Gods and Kings, Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, and The Last Air-bender , many viewers were not only disappointed but also upset with the casting choices made by the directors.

Although the reasoning behind

why some directors cast the actors they do is understandable. In the article, The Lack of Diversity in the Film Industry, by Sung

Gyung Lee, she explains how in

Ghost in the Shell, which is based on a Japanese manga (comic book) starred Scarlett Johansson, who is not of Japanese heritage. "There are likely many motives for this decision, one being that it is still considered socially unacceptable and commercially unprofitable to hire Asian actors/actresses, or almost any minority, as roles in films."

A clip from the movie: Ghost in the Shell starring Scarlett Johansson

Photo Credited: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1219827/

Most minorities in films are presented in a stereotypical aspect. For example, roles for Africa-American individuals are usually to portray as slaves, gangsters, or segregation activist.

This short clip demonstrates some of the typical roles black men portray in most films

With Latino roles, male characters are seen as violent drug lords while Latinas are portrayed as seductresses. Most times Latino actors are seen as immigrants who are hiding from the government or cannot speak English. Finally you have Asians who are the smart tech nerds, perverts, or criminal masterminds.

This short clip demonstrates some of the roles portrayed by Latinos and how white individuals react to portraying certain roles.

Although most Hollywood films lack diversity, I believe that it will change to appease to the audience. The most recent Marvel film, Black Panther, is receiving major approval for most people just for having a mostly colored cast that does not fit the stereotype set up in films. It helps the audience to believe in the cultural atmosphere set up by the directors and screenwriters.

In the article, Hollywood's Lack of Diversity is Costing It Millions, by Edwin Rios and Brandon Patterson claim that," University of California-Los Angeles found that films with more diverse casts have higher global box office sales and a better return on investment than their less diverse counterparts." And this is definitely happening for Black Panther.

Poster for the Black Panther film Photo Credited: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1825683/?ref_=nv_sr_1

The world wants to see more diversity in films and it is time for Hollywood to catch up. Even using big time actors/actresses does not seem like a leading factor anymore to casting roles.