Importance of Diversity in Film
While I’m working on a new post, I wanted to share this essay that I wrote for my English course last summer. It’s related to film which is why I am choosing to share it, and I’m also quite proud of it. It is a quick look at diversity in film and why inclusivity is important for making audiences more empathetic to people who are considered “different”. I hope you enjoy this read; feel free to comment with any thoughts and opinions.
Importance of Diversity in Film
For many decades, the entertainment industry has been dominated by white heterosexual men. For many decades, it was the norm to see these men as the main characters in movies and television shows. They dominated society, and no one could speak against that. However, as globalization increases, and more diverse groups of people move to the United States, the public is speaking up against the lack of representation in media. In recent years, the rise of social media has greatly increased the platform in which these marginalized communities can speak out against the industry and the lack of diverse characters on screen. Diversity, by the way, does not mean just race. It also includes varying gender identities and sexualities. Film can—and does— have a big impact on popular culture, and as the demographic of the U.S. becomes more diverse, it is important that movies reflect these changes and represent more of the population. Studies have shown that film can elicit empathy in an audience, which is incredibly important when discrimination is still an issue in our society. Conversely, some believe that focusing too hard on diversity can leave the stories flat and boring, and as a result, the diversity of the characters may come off as “forced”, or focusing too hard on the diversity aspect can lead to unwanted pressure on the work. Media has a way of influencing the public, which is why diversifying film becomes important since visual media can affect viewers and influence their views on marginalized identities and the perception of themselves and their identity, while also possibly being a lucrative business decision because more people are wanting to see stories that have a wide range of representation.
The most important aspect of film is its ability to influence its audience, and humans are very susceptible to these influences when it comes to consuming media. As mentioned before, social media has become a big part of our lives. Platforms range from Facebook to Twitter to Instagram, and all of these affect us in strong ways. One such way is the fact that it can affect how we perceive ourselves and what we deem is “ideal”. In “Recognizing the Beauty in Diversity: Exposure to Body-Positive Content on Social Media Broadens Women’s Concept of Ideal Body Weight”, a study conducted by Jan-Philipp Stein, results showed that “…online media can effectively contribute to more diverse body ideals if they depict a broader range of body shapes as physically attractive.” Of course, this pertains to social media, but it is still a form of media that people consume, and therefore, influenced by. If one channel of media can influence an audience, then it is safe to assume most other forms can as well. This study relates to film because painting other identities in a positive light can lead to the public becoming more accepting of people that are different from them, and more accepting of their own image and identity. This includes race, sexual orientation, gender identity, and even different physical traits.
Not only that, increasing representation for all communities can help with identity development in young people. Being able to see characters they identify with have positive traits and attributes – not stereotypes – can lead to a more positive self-image and overall better mental health. This statement is further proved by Tiffany Besana, who conducted research on the representation of Asian Americans in media. She writes: “… media can positively and negatively impact identity development, which is a fundamental cognitive, social, and developmental task related to understanding one’s place in the social world.” In her article, “Asian American Media Representation: A Film Analysis and Implications for Identity Development”, she discusses how challenging Asian American stereotypes found in film can positively influence how society views Asian Americans and how they view themselves. As pointed out before, conclusions like this don’t simply apply to one identity. Defying stereotypes and positive representation can be beneficial to all minorities and marginalized identities. Media has a strong effect on humans, and if addressing discrimination and racism in society is a serious goal, then the film industry must diversify the movies and television shows that it produces, and ensures those stories aren’t based on stereotypes and negativity.
To expand on this, it can also be predicted that, when people consume media that feature positive portrayals of LGBT individuals, their attitudes toward their LGBT-identifying peers tend to be more positive. In the article ““The Rippled Perceptions”: The Effects of LGBT-Inclusive TV on Own Attitudes and Perceived Attitudes of Peers Toward Lesbians and Gays”, Harry Yan concluded from his study: “The results demonstrate … people’s own attitudes are the “origin of peer perceptions”; media consumption and interpersonal contact predict participants’ own attitudes”. So, by using examining the media that people choose to consume, you can come to a conclusion about their perceptions of certain identities. Creating likable TV shows (or movies) with positive depictions of marginalized identities can lead to the audience having more positive perceptions of that community. The positive perception of race, sexuality, and gender identity can lead to more acceptance and understanding in society, and again, lead to more young people developing a healthy perception of themselves. Film and television are consumed by almost everybody, so it is important to increase the number of communities that are being represented on screen to encourage understanding and acceptance of other people and their cultures.
Another reason why diversifying film and television is simply because people want it. In the modern era, it is incredibly easy to voice your opinion on numerous social platforms. People can form a collective and amplify their voices so that they are heard by even more people. One such issue people discuss is the lack of diversity in Hollywood. There have been many times that people have spoken out about this topic, and they claim to want more diversity in the media that is produced and put out for consumption.
A prominent and recent example of the public expressing their disdain for predominantly white movies is the social media movement, “#OscarsSoWhite”. This hashtag started to gain momentum in 2016 when the Academy announced the nominations for the previous year’s movies. It revealed, for the second year in a row, that all 20 acting nominees were white, despite two of the largest hit movies that year having a large cast of people of color. The hashtag trended on Twitter, and celebrities announced that they would be boycotting the Oscars because of the lack of diversity in the nominees. This movement clearly expresses that the public wishes to see not only more diverse casts but for those movies to be treated fairly when it comes to being nominated for awards. As diversity in the United States increases, and social media becomes more influential, people will no longer settle for the lack of representation in media and will start to voice their concerns more and more until serious action is taken to diversify the industry.
Some research has also been conducted outside of social media to gauge the public’s opinion on diversity in film. In “Representing Race: The Race Spectrum Subjectivity of Diversity in Film”, Jesse King gathered and assessed information from a study that asked individuals about their opinion on the diversity of race in film. King concluded, “It is worthy to note that three of the groups desired diversity in film while the fourth did not care as long as the story was compelling.” Clearly, the public wants more diversity in the films that are being created. This reflects a larger portion of the population being “minorities” and their desire to see characters and stories that they can relate to.
Again, the public is more outspoken than ever, and they will vote with their wallets. This is why investing in the diversification of movies can be a lucrative business move. The population of minorities and marginalized communities in the United States continues to increase, and people want to see this shift reflected in the media that they consume. By appealing to this large population of people, studios can pull in more money from various sources whether that be at the box office or from subscriptions if the work is released on a streaming service. It is basic supply and demand. The demand for diversity is high, so the film industry must supply it, and in return receive more profits.
In fact, diverse movies tend to do better at the box office than nondiverse movies. According to UCLA’s 2022 Hollywood Diversity Report, most moviegoers were minorities and contributed to the success of the highest-grossing movies in 2021. In the article “UCLA’s 2022 Hollywood Diversity Report Illustrates the Impact of Diversity Across the Film Industry”, Dominick Fils-Aimé explains that “in 2021, films with casts that were 21 to 30 percent minority earned the highest media global box office receipts.” This fact is the perfect illustration of why diversifying movies and television can lead to financial gains for studios. Even though people of color make up only 47% of the United States population, they contribute heavily to how well or how bad a movie does at the box office. While this statistic only includes race, including characters with LGBT identities can also increase the audience size. So, by meeting their demands for more representation, studios and filmmakers can make a business decision that will lead to more financial success by appealing to this demographic’s desires and, in turn, reaching a larger audience.
Now, it is time to assess the opposition – more accurately described as concerns -- to increasing diversity in film. Many feel that increased diversity in movies and television feels “forced”, while others worry that it could “limit creativity” for the filmmakers who want to win awards for their work. In some instances, though, the opposition to diversifying is based solely on racist or homophobic views. Others believe that if there is going to be an increasing number of diverse films, then the focus of these projects should not be the diversity itself, but rather the story of the movie or show. Some of these concerns will be addressed, but no energy will be wasted in providing a rebuttal against a racist or homophobic argument.
As some might point out, it is not enough to just create a film with diversity but then leave those minority characters as two-dimensional and base them on stereotypes. This results in people claiming that the diversity in a movie is “forced”. They believe that “forced diversity” leads to boring and terrible stories. This is a valid concern, which is why it is important to also add diversity off-camera. There are so many sectors that are involved with making a movie and one of them is the writers’ room. It is not enough to open doors for actors from marginalized communities, but opportunities should also be given to writers from these communities. It is just a fact of life that people who have lived these experiences can write a better character and story than those who have not. The audience wants to connect with stories and characters, but that can be difficult to do when the writing isn’t coming from an authentic place. When it comes to diversifying the entertainment industry, it is important to open all the avenues to people of color and LGBT individuals so that their stories can be told with truth and complexity, instead of being two-dimensional and stereotypical. The more engaging and authentic that a movie or show is then the more likely people will come back and revisit it, and in turn bring in more money.
In addition to this thought, it is important to not have a laser focus on the fact that a film is diverse when promoting it. As Romesh Ranganathan pointed out in his article “Can We All Just Stop Banging on about Diversity in Films”, focusing so hard on promoting the diverse aspect of a movie could bring about unwanted pressure and prejudging of these films, which have every possibility of “flopping”, or performing poorly at the box office. This can have an adverse effect because it causes people to affirm their beliefs against the diversification of media. They can continue to believe that diverse movies are boring, poorly written, and they bring in bad reviews, which is not always the case. So as Hollywood shifts towards creating movies with more representation, the focus should be on writing a good story, while the characters also happen to be a different race or gender or sexuality than what is typically done in media.
Another possible concern is that increasing diversity can “limit the creativity” of a filmmaker. This concern is mostly in response to the Oscar’s new diversity requirements. Essentially, for a film to be nominated for an Academy Award, it must meet a set of requirements that revolve around diversity and inclusion of marginalized identities for the cast and the crew. Some say this move will “limit the creativity” of a filmmaker but that is not true. Filmmakers can still make whatever they want. However, if they want to win a prestigious award, then they should probably create a story that is more inclusive and a better representation of the U.S. demographic. In fact, it opens up more room for creativity because there will be so much more drama, conflict, and ideas to explore. Not to mention, this can serve as a creative challenge for the filmmaker and push them out of their comfort zone. This argument is not very strong and serves as a way for people to hide behind old ideas, so they don’t have to be responsible for creating refreshing and new stories; they refuse to face any creative challenges, and possibly gatekeep the industry.
To wrap up, there are many positives to increasing diversity in the film and television industry. The demographics of the United States are rapidly changing and the media we consume should reflect this change. Increasing diversity doesn’t mean just opening the doors for actors of differing identities, but also writers and directors and other important roles that go into creating a good film or show. The stories should be truthful to the experiences these communities go through, and the characters should be complex instead of flat and stereotypical. The public’s voice is increasingly getting louder and their demand to see stories they can relate to is growing. Studios can capitalize off this demand by funding projects that audiences want to see, and in turn, make a profit as more people buy tickets and subscriptions to view the work. Though there are some dissenting voices against increasing diversity, or that diversity in media is “forced”, many more people are concerned with genuine and well-written stories, and many also wish to see characters they can identify with. Diversity in film adds dimension and color to the media we consume, and accurate depictions can lead us all to be more empathic and accepting towards each other.
Works Cited
Besana, Tiffany, et al. “Asian American Media Representation: A Film Analysis and Implications for Identity Development.” Research in Human Development, vol. 16, no. 3–4, 2019, pp. 201–225, https://doi.org/10.1080/15427609.2020.1711680.
Bigelow, Tory, et al. #OscarsSoWhite - #MoveMe, moveme.berkeley.edu/project/oscarssowhite/. Accessed 16 July 2023.
Fils-Aimé, Dominick. “UCLA’s 2022 Hollywood Diversity Report Illustrates the Impact of Diversity across the Film Industry.” ANA, 19 Apr. 2023, www.ana.net/miccontent/show/id/ii-2023-04-hollywood-diversity-report#:~:text=In%202021%2C%20films%20with%20casts,minority%20casts%20performed%20the%20worst.
King, Jesse, et al. “Representing Race: The Race Spectrum Subjectivity of Diversity in Film.” Ethnic & Racial Studies, vol. 44, no. 2, Feb. 2021, pp. 334–351. Ethnic Diversity Source, EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2020.1740290.
Ranganathan, Romesh. “Can We All Just Stop Banging on about Diversity in Films?” The Guardian, 24 Mar. 2018, www.theguardian.com/film/2018/mar/24/diversity-in-films-a-wrinkle-in-time.
Stein, Jan-Philipp, et al. “Recognizing the Beauty in Diversity: Exposure to Body-Positive Content on Social Media Broadens Women’s Concept of Ideal Body Weight.” Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 11 May 2023. APA PsycArticles, EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0001397
Yan, Harry Yaojun. “‘The Rippled Perceptions’: The Effects of LGBT-Inclusive TV on Own Attitudes and Perceived Attitudes of Peers Toward Lesbians and Gays.” Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, vol. 96, no. 3, Sept. 2019, pp. 848–871. Communication & Mass Media Complete, EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.1177/1077699018821327.