Jennifer Guallpa
Professor Ewan
FIQWS
1 May 2019
Minority Representation in the Entertainment Industry
The entertainment industry should positively increase representation of minorities because the United States is a melting pot, that includes many different cultures and backgrounds. Yet, the majority of these people don’t have much representation in the film/tv industry leading many people to believe stereotypes based on that race. The entertainment industry was created to entertain everyone, and the United States is made up of many cultures, nationalities, and ethnicities but with little representation of these minorities. The people in these communities are not usually able to see themselves or relate to the characters within the film/tv program as much as others. There should be an increase in minority representation in film/tv in the United States because the United States is known to be a melting pot, which should include all minorities and peoples of different cultures in the entertainment field.
In the entertainment industry there are many stereotypes that have labeled different types of minorities and it has also been seen through film/tv. In “Hollywood typecasting limits Latinas to sexualized role”, Sabrina Vourvoulias, explains how latin women and men are often casted to play sexualized roles in films/tv compared to any other race. A Latin women is often portrayed as sexy and exotic when they are casted in films/tv and their roles are often sexualized. Latina women have the highest percentage of women who are displayed in sexualized attire and a 37.5 percent to be shown partially or fully naked on screen (ibid.). Not only are women limited to stereotype but Latino men are also stereotype having the highest percentage within men to be seen in tight alluring clothing (ibid). Latino men and women are sexualized in films and television programs compared to any other race. Latino men and women are being depicted with a stereotype in the entertainment industry. Vourvoulias states, “Of the 3,932 speaking parts, 74.1 percent were White; 14.1 percent were Black; 4.9 percent were latinos; 4.4 percent were Asia.”(ibid.). The representation that latinos receive are depicted sexualized compared to other minority groups and non minority groups. With the large percentage of sexualization that latinos have they have a low percentage when it comes to speaking roles in films/television programs. Latino men and women are playing roles that follow stereotypes and display these stereotypes for the audience which can affect the rest of the community by stating that all Latinos are like this. Therefore, Latinos who are minorities should be represented as themselves, so that other people like them can relate instead of it being based on stereotypes.
Not seeing minority representation on big or little screens can lead children of these minorities feel different from others since they would not be able to compare to them. In “COLUMN: Recent films provide much needed minority representation” Ryann, Rael explains that when she was a little kid she looked up to Disney princesses who looked liked her but where not like her. As children look up to people who inspire them they can sometimes feel different and apart from that character or person because they may wonder why the character or other don’t look like them. Rael states, “But I, as a Hispanic, saw an animated Mexican boy on the big screen, immersed in Mexican culture, and felt an overwhelming and inspiring amount of pride….for the first time I saw a character from an adjacent culture to my own.” (ibid.). Being able to personally connect with others on the big screen can impact many minorities when there is more minority representation in films and in television programs. Rael states that as the minority population increase and as the largest ethnic group are Latinos Hollywood should be adapting minorities before they are left with a demographic that can not support them anymore (ibid.). Minorities should be seen in films and television programs so that all demographics can enjoy and relate to the film/tv show. As minorities increase so should the representation of minorities in film/tv too where everyone is able to see a part of them on either little or big screens.
Representing minorities using negative stereotypes on films and television programs can be seen as offensive and disrespectful to that groups history. In Actors’ Walkout, Anger Over Stereotypes, Cara, Buckley explains the impact and lack of Native American representation and how it portrays negative stereotypes towards Native Americans. Native Americans are often portrayed as savages, mystic, and more in films and televisions which impacts the views of the audience to assume that all Native Americans are like that (ibid.). Native Americans have been portrayed in negative ways and are not always represented in films/television programs which impacts the rest of the community, since they are not able to look up to the people representing them. An Adam Sandler film Ridiculous 6 has offended Native Americans and causing a walk out to occur on the set (Ibid.). Loren Anthony is an actor who walked out of the set states “Our people are still healing from historical trauma, Our children are still trying to figure out who they are, here they fit in this society. Kids are killing themselves. The are not proud of who they are.”(qtd. Buckley). With little Native American representation there are people who do not know where they fit in society since Native Americans are mostly being portrayed in a negative way in films/tv. These actions are unsuitable because Native Americans have been on the land of what is now the United States before anyone else and should be portrayed in a positive light instead of portraying them in a negative way.
Minority representation on the screen is currently changing and we are able to gradually see more representation. However, films and television programs still lack representation of minorities. In “Reality check; Crazy Rich Asians spurs debate over representation” Deepti, Hajela, explains how in the movie Crazy Rich Asians there was not enough representation for other ethnic groups in Singapore but that only Chinese-Singaporeans were being represented only . Hajela also explains the excitement that many Asian American experience because they were able to see people who look like them and representing them in a way that has not only impacted the film industry but also people. There was an increase of Asian representation on the big screen which is a great leap since it was loved by many people and it is a very known film. Although there was more representation of a minority group there the film that was very widely known only represented one ethnic group in a country that represents more than that one group of people. The entertainment industry should be including all minorities and other ethnic groups should be taken into consideration when filming begins since the groups can have similarities and differences within its culture and history.
Overall having more representation of minorities can break stereotypes and can help contribute to the communities. All minorities are part of the United States which is a reason why the United States is known as a melting pot. Minorities need more representation in films and television programs so that people can see other people who look like them on a screen. Sabrina, Vourvoulias, in order for minorities to relate to characters in movies they need to be seen more on the screens and should be empowering instead of sexualizing them or just portraying them as stereotypes. As the United States is known to be a melting pot it should represent all types of minorities within it equally so that it can live up to the reason why it was formed in the first place.
Works Cited:
Buckley, Cara. “In Actors’ Walkout, Anger Over Stereotypes.” The New York Times, May 5, 2015, https://advance-lexis-com.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/document/?pdmfid=1516831&crid=43cb3b9f-6cee-44b3-b0a2-549915400123&pddocfullpath=%2Fshared%2Fdocument%2Fnews%2Furn%3AcontentItem%3A5FX9-X5K1-JBG3-6042-00000-00&pddocid=urn%3AcontentItem%3A5FX9-X5K1-JBG3-6042-00000-00&pdcontentcomponentid=6742&pdteaserkey=sr0&pditab=allpods&ecomp=byyk&earg=sr0&prid=084fa526-ebb8-443f-87fa-3d68979405df. Accessed 29 April 2019.
Hajela, Deepti. “Reality Check; Crazy Rich Asians Spurs Debate over Representation.” Edmonton Journal, August 15 2018, https://advance-lexis-com.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/document/?pdmfid=1516831&crid=72f23230-529a-44da-bd2f-987ef3263332&pddocfullpath=%2Fshared%2Fdocument%2Fnews%2Furn%3AcontentItem%3A5T1S-WYN1-JBKR-14JG-00000-00&pddocid=urn%3AcontentItem%3A5T1S-WYN1-JBKR-14JG-00000-00&pdcontentcomponentid=249779&pdteaserkey=sr0&pditab=allpods&ecomp=byyk&earg=sr0&prid=b944e30c-707e-49aa-85ff-2430e44b39b5. Accessed 23 April 2019.
Rael, Ryann. “COLUMN: Recent Films Provide Much Needed Minority Representation.” University Wire, 2018, University Wire, Mar 1, 2018. https://advance-lexis-com.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/document/?pdmfid=1516831&crid=df5a29e9-aa03-4a25-bf41-f627ec9de96b&pddocfullpath=%2Fshared%2Fdocument%2Fnews%2Furn%3AcontentItem%3A5TD6-TVF1-DY7P-T25B-00000-00&pddocid=urn%3AcontentItem%3A5TD6-TVF1-DY7P-T25B-00000-00&pdcontentcomponentid=172244&pdteaserkey=sr0&pditab=allpods&ecomp=byyk&earg=sr0&prid=eb64bb0c-df49-42dd-8787-70d9cbd48a64 Accessed 23 April 2019.
Vourvoulias, Sabrina. “Hollywood Typecasting Limits Latinas to Sexualized Roles.” The Boston Banner, August 2014, https://search-proquest-com.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/docview/1558538322?accountid=9967&rfr_id=info%3Axri%2Fsid%3Aprimo. Accessed 21 April 2019.
