Report shows Hollywood still struggles with diversity by casting based on looks
With the success of films like Crazy Rich Asians, it’s good to see diversity being seen more on screen. But, Hollywood still has a lot of work to do in being inclusive.
Hollywood still has a long way to go when it comes to diversity. There have luckily been many strides made, and it has been amazing to see the success of films such as Black Panther and Crazy Rich Asians. But, when it comes to diverse casting and diverse stories of all kinds, there is still a lot that needs to be done.
Even though there are some guidelines in place to keep Hollywood from discriminating, it’s not always that simple
The Screen Actors Guild has guidelines against discrimination that make it so casting directors don’t ask what an actor’s ethnicity is. But, instead, casting is often done on how someone looks. anyway
In an article by NBC News, Jennifer Bedner, director of Central Casting said, “We cast by how they look. It is based on look rather than actual background.”
This news article also goes into detail about the issues of colorism in Hollywood. Colorism and racism often go along with one another, and actors and actresses of color are hoping that addressing racism in casting will also address issues of colorism.
This issue also came up related to Black Panther when actress Amandla Stenberg said in an interview that she walked away from an audition because, “it would have just been off to see me as a biracial American with a Nigerian accent just pretending that I’m the same color as everyone else in the movie.”
Colorism is an issue that impacts Hollywood castings on many levels, and one that isn’t likely to go away quickly.
Talking about colorism, Darnell Hunt, director of UCLA’s Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies said to NBC News, “It goes hand-in-hand with racism, to the degree that we are addressing racism or adjusting our practices in ways to try to offset the effects of racism, we will likely impact colorism as well.”
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While efforts are being made to make films more diverse, Hollywood still has a long way to go. We hope that more films and TV shows will continue to be made that feature diverse casts and complex stories for people of color. The success of films like Black Panther and Crazy Rich Asians shows that audiences are craving these kinds of movies and are ready for more.