Diversity In Film

A decade in review...

Like any art form, film is universal. It has no boundaries and does not discriminate. The stories we all love, and those which grasp our imagination are meant for all to enjoy, no matter our race, colour, religion, or gender. Themes such as heroism and courage, greed and failure and more, transcend cultures, and the power of world cinema means audiences have enjoyed these stories for multiple generations in a variety of forms. But in the ever more globalised and diverse society we live in, diverse storytelling is crucial for inspiration, education, and a thriving film industry. As one of the most prominent gatekeepers of pop-culture, the film industry plays an integral role in shaping the society we live in.

Diversity in film is arguably the single biggest challenge facing the film industry today. And when I say “diversity” I don’t just mean whose face we see in a movie, but also the faces behind the camera, the executives, producers, writers, cinematographers and everyone in between. This piece isn’t going to be me demanding that those who are white and male shouldn’t be hired, or that films should be made with a checklist. No, in fact quite the opposite. For me, true diversity means equal opportunity for all in the industry, one where everyone’s primary focus is to give audiences the best story possible…that for me is real diversity. But I know things aren’t as simple as that, and the changes needed will take decades to come to fruition, but nevertheless it’s something we should still be striving for.

Discrimination has taken many forms over the years, but the past decade has seen passionate discussion and debate around mainly two forms of discrimination: gender and ethnicity. Both are problems of equal importance and depth, and share similar solutions. But the role of women and people of colour in western film has long been a problem which the industry has yet to truly face up to. As with most things in film, a lot of the problems are driven my financial motivation, with studios historically being nervous as to whether a film could succeed financially if the lead character/s were female or of colour. Thankfully, recent successes such as Wonder Women and Black Panther have proven this mentality wrong, but by no means are we close to solving these issues.

When Wonder Women was released in 2017, I wrote a blog about its importance to film, and how the industry can’t become complacent after just one hit. It’s good to see the progress made this past decade, with more and more blockbuster films starring female characters in leading roles. Star Wars is a great example, with Daisy Ridley’s character Rey being the focal point of the sequel trilogy. But one trend which I haven’t been a fan of is franchises - like Ghostbusters and the Oceans trilogy – being rebooted with all-female casts, not because female leads are inherently bad but because I feel it undermines the role of women in film, serving as a cheap “win” for studios. Barbara Broccoli, producer of the James Bond franchise explained it best when asked whether James Bond could ever be played by a women:

“I believe we should be creating new characters for women — strong female characters. I’m not particularly interested in taking a male character and having a woman play it. I think women are far more interesting than that.”

Powerful words from the veteran producer, and to me she’s completely right. I want studios to create new, exciting, and unique stories where female characters can inspire the next generation of film fans, without the weight of audience expectation and scrutiny that would come with a cheap female version of a beloved franchise. But like I said before, true diversity isn’t just about the actors, it’s about everyone involved and putting the story first. A character shouldn’t be female just because the studio is under societal pressure, or to just reach a quota. A character should be female if it is right for the story. And this is where the problem lies in the industry being so male dominated.

I’m certain the majority of men who work in Hollywood don’t have a problem with women, and actively champion creating more stories around female characters. But there is an inherent problem of men telling female stories - they aren’t female! Naturally, men will have a deeper understanding of what it means to be a man, the pressures we face, the emotions we carry, the joy and hurt we feel. Men relate more to male stories and have a deeper understanding of what a man would do, how they would act, and what they would say. But when it comes to writing/directing female characters, men would naturally have a lesser understanding of the female experience, and therefore the characters written may miss the nuance and subtleties of what it means to be a woman. And that’s the issue! For so many years men have been telling stories about women even though they can never truly understand the female experience. Naturally, this has led to female characters being misrepresented as they are portrayed through a male lens. We the audience have been so under-served in experiencing female driven stories by actual women. And that is why it’s not enough to have a female actor, because we also need female writers, directors, producers, concept artists, VFX artists and so much more!

Unfortunately it’s not easy to get a job in the film, and there are so many hurdles both inside and outside the industry which women and people of colour face when trying to get their break. And this is where I feel #MeToo - the most defining movement of the decade – highlighted issues which were for years tragically overlooked. The #MeToo movement spread worldwide following the exposure of the widespread sexual-abuse allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. I’m not going to go into detail on the case as you’ve probably heard all about it, but the reason I bring it up (apart from it being such a defining moment of the past decade) is that it highlights the struggle women have always faced in the world of work (film included). Many of Weinstein’s victims felt they couldn’t speak out against him as it would ruin any potential career they were pursuing in the industry. That fear, that helplessness is something no one should ever have to experience for simply wanting to pursue their dreams. This type of misogyny is thankfully dying out, but we would be foolish to say it doesn’t exist anymore. The more steps the industry takes in stamping this type of behaviour out, the better off we are as films fans, and humans too.

I’m conscious I’ve wrote a lot about women in film so far, but like I said, the issues facing both women and people of colour share the same problems and also solutions. Just like women, people of colour of have consistently been overlooked and underrepresented in major studio films, or play cliché characters types such as villains and crooks. I know some actors just naturally make great villains, but it happens far too often. Actors like Dev Patel have the capacity to play a multitude of roles, including ones where he being brown is not fundamental to the story. With diverse storytelling comes diverse emotions, experiences, and much more. And as mentioned above, true diversity is when people have an equal opportunity to pursue careers in film in any capacity or role they want. And it’s because of this why I find the “Oscars So White” controversy is so frustrating. Arguably the second most prominent controversy in the film industry this past decade (after #MeToo), #OscarsSoWhite was founded (if that’s the right word) in 2015 after no people of colour were nominated for the 20 acting awards. It was the same in 2016, and people were rightly frustrated at the lack of diversity in the nominations. The Academy Awards faced a major backlash for this, prompting them to change the makeup of its members. Over the past 4 years, the Academy has instated new members with an emphasis on women and people of colour, and as of 2019, its membership is now 32% female and 16% people of colour, up from 25% and 8% respectively in 2015.

It makes sense to diversify the membership, as people naturally experience film in different ways, and having a more diverse membership can only mean a greater likelihood in diverse nominations. In the years since #OscarsSoWhite, people of colour have won acting awards (Rami Malik, Mahershala Ali, Viola Davis to name a few), but the vast majority of acting nominations have still been white, whilst a female director has still not been nominated for best director during this time. In fact, the 2020 Oscars only had one person of colour receive an acting nomination, whilst the BAFTA’s had zero. And this is where my frustration comes in, and it comes down to two things:

1. It is not the job of awards bodies like the BAFTA’s or Oscars to ensure diversity in nominations. Their job is to nominate the best in film, regardless of gender or ethnicity. If a member feels the 20 best actors in a given year were all white, it shouldn’t be a problem. If we force diversity onto award nominations, it undermines the prestige and validity of the award itself. Any award should always be handed to the most deserving winner, no matter who they are.
2. Like I’ve said throughout this piece, to have true diversity means equal opportunities for all, and putting the story first. If we really want diversity in nominations (and trust me I do), our energy should be focused on ensuring people from all backgrounds have a fair chance to tell the stories they want to tell. And that means lobbying big studios and corporate executives, not awards bodies.

I understand the problems are complicated and intrinsically intertwined, but we still need to be putting energy in ensuring the hiring process is as fair as possible. Once this is accomplished, I have no doubt we will see increasingly diverse nominations at awards. If only a small percentage of all major blockbusters have people of colour in a leading role, it makes more sense to point the finger at the studio system, rather than the Oscars. Some of you may disagree with what I’ve just said and that is totally fine, but that’s the beauty of being different…it means diverse thinking which can only be a good thing.

If this decade has taught us anything, it’s that the film industry must change in order to remain relevant. Diversity is just one aspect (but a crucial one) where this change needs to occur. I know I’ve continuously stated this, but I really feel it’s important to make this point… true diversity means equal opportunity for all in the industry, one where decisions revolve around what is best for the story, nothing else. And this means having a diverse workforce in front and behind the camera, only then will we see and experience more diverse stories. And the great thing is, things are changing! In 2018, Rachel Morrison became the first female cinematographer nominated for best cinematographer in Oscar’s history. In the same year, Jordan Peele became the first black screenwriter to win the Oscar for best original screenplay for Get Out. And in 2020, five of the year’s biggest films – Birds of Prey, Mulan, Wonder Woman 1984, Black Widow, and Eternals – are all directed by women. It may be a slow process, but things are definitely heading in the right direction. When you have diverse filmmakers the results can be extraordinary e.g. Spiderman: Into The Spiderverse, Us, Little Women, Dolemite Is My Name, The Shape Of Water, Wonder Women, do I need to go on? Diversity in film is crucial if we want to make society inclusive for all, and film is a fantastic avenue to present this to audiences the world over. To champion diversity is to champion even richer storytelling, and as I’ve said throughout…story is the most important thing of all.

This piece is part of a series of blog posts reviewing the decade in film. Click here to discover more posts in this series.