I watched the TEDtalk titled “My identity is a superpower-not an obstacle” by actress America Ferrera. I watched this TEDtalk before for another class and was inspired of how she overcame her obstacles she had to experience as she worked to reach Hollywood. She spoke about her experiences of being an actress of color and having to work against the adversities agencies and Hollywood has against people of color. No directors wanted to hire her because unless she played a role that fit their idea of a stereotypical Latina (sassy, aggressive, dumb, broken English), they did not see her useful for the part. The need for more of these narratives is necessary to increase diversity and inclusivity in Hollywood.
Similar to most industries in America, there is a lack of diversity within leadership roles in the film industry as well. Looking at actors and those who win academy awards, the majority are white males. America was rejected a part in a movie because “the movie [was] not financeable” without casting the main white role first. Those that lead in Hollywood refuse to cast diversely. This creates a lack of representation for all other people who watch films that are not white, males, or rich.
Here is the video for anyone would like to watch:
There is a lot of talk about the Hollywood industry having major problems in diversity, but hearing the first hand experiences of actresses and actors adds another level of understanding to the inequities. My research paper talked about some of the racial discrimination in reality television, and I read a lot of articles about combating and overcoming these obstacles. Even if one does not want to go into acting or television, these issues still affect everyone. We are impacted by the shows and movies we watch and it would help large bases of implicit biases if casts were diverse and inclusive.