MANIFESTO: We have a problem. A representation problem. Both in front of and behind the camera, people of color are mistreated and passed over. In 2014, five of of 107 directors were Black, and only twelve of the 435 Best Director Oscar nominations have gone to non-white directors since 1927. It is not uncommon for major Hollywood films to feature no Black actors. When Black actors are depicted in films, they often either play background characters, harmful stereotypes, or both. Often, these characters are simply killed off in the beginning of the film. Even the animation sector is guilty of these issues; many children’s animation films only feature Black voice actors when their characters are goofy sidekicks. Clearly, there is a lack of adequate Black representation throughout the entire film industry, both in front of and behind the camera. This project, Dear Film Industry, serves as both an open letter to Hollywood and an archive which highlights the lack of Black representation and the misrepresentation in film, TV, and animation.
The message behind Dear Film Industry is that change needs to occur in creating not just more representation of Black people and other people of color, but specifically positive representation that moves away from stereotyping. While the lack of decent Black representation mentioned above goes largely unnoticed by audiences and creators alike, there are instances of pushback that aims to shed light on this issue. Media activist artworks such as the YouTube series “Every Single Word” highlights the lack of dialogue and screen time people of color have in mainstream movies, something that may not be obvious to the audience on the first viewing-- or maybe even on the second, third or tenth. The audience most likely to take notice are those who are failing to be represented accurately. Although viewers may not be paying attention to the lack of representation, it is beyond harmful for the underrepresented people because it can ultimately erase the idea that they even exist. Negative stereotypes that are often used in media to portray Black people -- thugs, the angry Black woman, and the mammy stereotype -- are ingrained in people’s minds, and these are just a few examples of harmful stereotypes of Black people and people of color in general. This is how media consumers start seeing others. This is the dialogue that “Every Single Word” engages with, and is just one of many examples that our project will mention. Other media projects will include the info graphics and photos displaying the issues of Black representation.
These media demonstrations bring visibility to what needs to be fixed in modern day film, television, animation, and media in general. Therefore, it is imperative that they be shared as widely as possible, particularly within Hollywood circles which include White producers, executives, and members of the Academy.
We wanted to explore this as we are active media consumers and Media Studies majors and minors. We wanted to further educate ourselves and others on how media is intensely problematic in its depiction of race and on how how whitewashed mainstream media is. Our goal is to create an archive of images, videos, and general information regarding lack of representation and stereotyping in the media industry both in all creative aspects of film production. Not only will our project serve as an archive, it will also serve as a series of open letters to Hollywood and the media industry in general. We feel that the issues of representation we have discussed may be due, in part, to a general lack of education and understanding of the issues. Therefore, we hope that this letter and media compilation will serve to educate those in the Industry who may be able to make a positive change.
The layout of our project will be a series of online open letters that directly address the media industry. We will additionally create a petition that members of the community can sign to show their support in changing the media industries. Throughout the letters, we will discuss the various ways in which representation of people of color in media is problematic. Specifically, we will focus on four areas: film directors, film actors, stereotypes, and issues in animation. Because these letters will be on a website, we will be able to add graphics, images, and videos within the project to emphasise our points. These examples--which will take the form of relatable content such as YouTube videos--will serve as an archive of various media projects that deal with issues of Black representation. We believe this approach of actively addressing the root of the problem will be innovative because sometimes media campaigns do not go directly to the cause of the problem. We, of course, want to make viewers informed of what is happening in the media regarding race, but educating them only makes them aware of the problems, it does not change the actual content being created. By writing letters to Hollywood content creators, we are able to able to address the problem at the source.
We hope to change the minds of those in Hollywood and inspire them to make a positive difference, while also making the viewers more aware of this issue.
The message behind Dear Film Industry is that change needs to occur in creating not just more representation of Black people and other people of color, but specifically positive representation that moves away from stereotyping. While the lack of decent Black representation mentioned above goes largely unnoticed by audiences and creators alike, there are instances of pushback that aims to shed light on this issue. Media activist artworks such as the YouTube series “Every Single Word” highlights the lack of dialogue and screen time people of color have in mainstream movies, something that may not be obvious to the audience on the first viewing-- or maybe even on the second, third or tenth. The audience most likely to take notice are those who are failing to be represented accurately. Although viewers may not be paying attention to the lack of representation, it is beyond harmful for the underrepresented people because it can ultimately erase the idea that they even exist. Negative stereotypes that are often used in media to portray Black people -- thugs, the angry Black woman, and the mammy stereotype -- are ingrained in people’s minds, and these are just a few examples of harmful stereotypes of Black people and people of color in general. This is how media consumers start seeing others. This is the dialogue that “Every Single Word” engages with, and is just one of many examples that our project will mention. Other media projects will include the info graphics and photos displaying the issues of Black representation.
These media demonstrations bring visibility to what needs to be fixed in modern day film, television, animation, and media in general. Therefore, it is imperative that they be shared as widely as possible, particularly within Hollywood circles which include White producers, executives, and members of the Academy.
We wanted to explore this as we are active media consumers and Media Studies majors and minors. We wanted to further educate ourselves and others on how media is intensely problematic in its depiction of race and on how how whitewashed mainstream media is. Our goal is to create an archive of images, videos, and general information regarding lack of representation and stereotyping in the media industry both in all creative aspects of film production. Not only will our project serve as an archive, it will also serve as a series of open letters to Hollywood and the media industry in general. We feel that the issues of representation we have discussed may be due, in part, to a general lack of education and understanding of the issues. Therefore, we hope that this letter and media compilation will serve to educate those in the Industry who may be able to make a positive change.
The layout of our project will be a series of online open letters that directly address the media industry. We will additionally create a petition that members of the community can sign to show their support in changing the media industries. Throughout the letters, we will discuss the various ways in which representation of people of color in media is problematic. Specifically, we will focus on four areas: film directors, film actors, stereotypes, and issues in animation. Because these letters will be on a website, we will be able to add graphics, images, and videos within the project to emphasise our points. These examples--which will take the form of relatable content such as YouTube videos--will serve as an archive of various media projects that deal with issues of Black representation. We believe this approach of actively addressing the root of the problem will be innovative because sometimes media campaigns do not go directly to the cause of the problem. We, of course, want to make viewers informed of what is happening in the media regarding race, but educating them only makes them aware of the problems, it does not change the actual content being created. By writing letters to Hollywood content creators, we are able to able to address the problem at the source.
We hope to change the minds of those in Hollywood and inspire them to make a positive difference, while also making the viewers more aware of this issue.