DEAR FILM INDUSTRY,
We have a problem.
The creators of the media that we see everyday aren't as diverse as the audience they reach, or even the actors that they direct.
“But the last 4 Oscar winners weren't white!” I hear you cry. While it is true that the three recipients for the Oscars for best director in the years 2012-15 (Ang Lee, Alfonso Cuarón, Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu) were all non white and non American, and that should be celebrated in its own right, none of them represent one of the largest racial minorities in the US: Black people.
We have a problem.
The creators of the media that we see everyday aren't as diverse as the audience they reach, or even the actors that they direct.
“But the last 4 Oscar winners weren't white!” I hear you cry. While it is true that the three recipients for the Oscars for best director in the years 2012-15 (Ang Lee, Alfonso Cuarón, Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu) were all non white and non American, and that should be celebrated in its own right, none of them represent one of the largest racial minorities in the US: Black people.
In the entire history of the Best Director Academy Award, only 3 of the nominations have gone to black directors. The same is seen in the Golden Globes (with 2 different directors), and you have to move to the lesser-renowned awards, the Emmys and the Tonys, to get Black directors winning awards. It's not even a case of “there aren't any good directors!”, it's the fact that YOU are ignoring them. Those directors nominated for academy awards? Don't include some of the most well known black directors ever, Spike Lee and Tyler Perry. They also include no female directors. The Golden Globes' list is only slightly different, acknowleging Spike Lee and Ava DuVernay, but both disregard so many talented directors who just haven't broken into the mainstream, or haven't been given the platform to show their talent.
The content of their films is also important. The films that generate the most praise are stories of Black people. Boyz n the Hood, Precious, 12 Years a Slave, Do The Right Thing, all of them and more are stories of B0lack people told by Black creators. Is that why you reject them? Think about it, those directors of colour that you have rewarded are, generally, telling stories about white people. Gravity? White people. The Revenant? White people. Birdman? White people. Ang Lee is, in the last decade at least, the exception, with Life of Pi is one of the only films led by a person of color to win an Oscar. Why are you so against praising minority creators for creating stories about minorities? Especially when you so easily reward white directors for telling the stories of non-white people. Think about it, Slumdog Millionaire, one of the biggest surprise Oscar successes in the last decade, is set in India with an Indian cast but was directed by Danny Boyle - a white man. The same goes for The Color Purple, another story of Black Americans, directed by Steven Spielberg, Taylor Hackford's Ray, Clint Eastwood's Letters from Iwo Jima - although at least that was a collaborative effort - and Benh Zeitlin's Beasts of the Southern Wild, the list could go on. Let minorities tell their own stories. Whether they are Black, Hispanic, Asian, or any other minority, let them tell it. They know it better.
I am neither Black nor a director, so of course you shouldn't just take my word for it. Here are some Black creators talking about being directors in Hollywood.
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