Racial Diversity In Hollywood Movies

Movies produced in Hollywood do not reflect America’s racial makeup. The majority of Hollywood films consist of completely white casts directed by white directors. Unfortunately, most multicultural Hollywood films struggle to obtain financing from big studios. Furthermore, scarcely any diverse films that receive funding ever receive nominations for awards. Indeed, Hollywood movies do not reflect the racial diversity of American audiences as evidenced by casts and directors, funding, and awards.
As a matter of fact, movies produced in Hollywood lack casts that mirror the diversity of their audiences. During opening weekend of the latest blockbuster movie Furious 7, over seventy-five percent of the movie’s audience was nonwhite (Dockterman). In fact, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates a “majority-minority” population in less than thirty years (Lee). However, whites perform the majority of lead roles in Hollywood films (Shah). In 2013, 74.1% of top-grossing films had a completely white cast (Smith, Chouetti, Pieper). In addition, over thirty-six percent …show more content…
In 2011, only twelve percent of director positions were filled with racially diverse directors (Kang, Thompson, Harwell). Of the one hundred top-grossing films, only seven of the directors are nonwhite. Of these seven directors, all of them are African American. (Smith, Chouetti, Pieper). In 2013, there were only five easily recognizable African American directors in Hollywood (Smith, Chouetti, Pieper). Minorities in director roles are underrepresented by a factor of three to one in Hollywood studios (Hunt, Ramon, Price). However, minority directors hire diverse casts 35.2% more often than white directors for Hollywood films (Smith, Chouetti, Pieper). Obviously, without minority directors behind the camera, diverse casts will remain uncommon (Smith, Chouetti, Pieper). Clearly, films need financial support to hire diverse casts and