Next Steps Towards an Inclusive Hollywood
A few weeks have gone by since the death of George Floyd and the start of various Black Lives Matter protests. Even though the amount of social media postings surrounding the subject may be dwindling down, the fervor for the cause should not. This article looks at the different ways the film industry, filmmakers, actors, and others have spoken out, using their platform to respond to these recent tragic events and show support for the protests and the Black Lives Matter movement.
For all of June, Warner Bros. is currently making free their film Just Mercy, which stars Michael B. Jordan as Bryan Stevenson, a civil rights attorney, and Jamie Foxx as Walter McMillian, who is wrongly accused of murder. Warner Bros. attached a statement to a social media post on the film’s Twitter account. The statement highlights the importance of the film, then urges audiences to educate themselves and others.
A few days later, Paramount Pictures offered the Ava DuVernay’s 2014 film Selma for free streaming. Civil rights-focused documentaries like “Toni Morrison: The Pieces I am” and others have also become accessible along with titles from the Criterion Collection.
On June 12, Los Angeles gave the green light for film production to continue, giving out a list of safety procedures to follow. With this in mind, the non-profit organization, Women in Film, Los Angeles (WIF) has started a fund called “Hire Her Back”, which “call[s] for entertainment employers to achieve gender and racial equality as they move toward returning to film and television production.” Anyone can donate to offer grants to women and people of color in the film industry after having their careers affected by COVID-19. If someone can’t donate, they can help share information on various social media platforms.
Though it may seem like a small act from studios, everything actually goes a long way. People need to know the essential information before they can take action. As most probably know, watching films allows audiences to connect and sympathize with characters and the conflicts they endure. As for WIF and other organizations seeking donations, even just contributing a couple of dollars helps. Every amount can pile up to reach that grant for that one person who needs it.
While it is just as important that we explore the ways audiences, anyone, can work to actively be anti-racist, we should also be looking at how major film stars, businesses, agencies, and, organizations, who have more power and a much larger platform, are also doing their part.
So, are these agencies and companies stepping up? Agencies like APA and TalentWorks and companies like ViacomCBS participated in Blackout Tuesday, which occurred on June 2. Some of them wrote and posted statements prior to Black Out Tuesday, showing their respect towards the community and the cause.
Actor Michael B. Jordan delivered a powerful speech at the Black Lives Matter protest in Los Angeles on June 6, gathering a crowd around him. He first looked back on his filmography, recounting the films he starred in and produced that had a large influence on him. Of those films, he referred to the 2013 film Fruitvale Station, in which he played Oscar Grant, a man unjustly killed by a police officer. He also mentioned Just Mercy as mentioned previously.
Not only did he reflect on his own career, but Jordan continued, pushing for more work to be done from Hollywood. “Where is the challenge to commit to Black hiring?” he inquires. “Black content led by Black Executives, Black consultants. Are you policing our storytelling as well? Let us bring our darkness to the light. Black culture: the sneakers, sports, comedic culture that you guys love so much. We’ve dealt with discrimination at every turn. Can you help fund Black brands, companies, cultural leaders, Black organizations?”
Jordan’s questions resonate. An example of the discrimination he refers to just surfaced in recent news. Filmmaker Josh Trank recently revealed some extremely shocking reports about his 2015 reboot of Fantastic Four. In an episode of “The Meaning Of” podcast, Trank discussed how the studio turned down his proposal for a black actress to be cast as the heroine Sue Storm. Since the two characters are biological brother and sister in the comics, Trank was questioned why a black woman was not cast for the part when Michael B. Jordan was playing Johnny Storm. Trank’s response: “When you’re dealing with a studio on a massive movie like that, everybody wants to keep an open mind to like who the big stars are going to be […] I found a lot of pretty heavy pushback on casting a black woman in that role.”
A response from the studio is nowhere to be found. How can we not grow and learn from our mistakes if we cannot own up to them in the first place? I hope that Hollywood and these major studios have learned and continue to realize that the film industry is not all about making money, but also creating stories and casting actors that represent the nation. People enjoy seeing themselves on the screen. Promoting diverse storytelling is one of the simplest ways to break down barriers and make films feel a little more like reality.
The incident with Fantastic Four was just five years ago. Jump five years into the present day. What is Hollywood doing to ensure problems like this never happen again? According to The Hollywood Reporter, The Academy is apparently working this year to diversify its membership. The Academy has set in place their ‘A2020’ initiative, which apparently works to double the number of women and people of color members they initially had. What’s the setback with that? it doesn’t actually create an equal number of women and people members along with the white male members. More than half of its members are still white men. The Academy’s idea is a step, but there is more to be done.
Academy Award-winning director Roger Ross Williams is a member of the Board of Governors of the Academy, and more specifically, the Chairman for the documentary Diversity Committee. In an interview with IndieWire, he stated, “I need to build a production company that actually is providing content and giving opportunities to black filmmakers and those from underrepresented communities. I need to do it on a bigger scale, to compete with the biggest guys in town.”
As for what Hollywood and the Academy can do, Williams finds the positive in all of this, declaring, “For the first time, people are listening to us — to the black community, to black filmmakers. While we have everyone’s attention, because it’s not going to last, this is the time to really try to change the fabric of a system built on racism.”
As the days go by and move farther from the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and others, that should not stop us from continually working to combat racism and promote inclusion. It should not stop the film industry from making progress to diversify both in front of and behind the camera. Everyone should have the opportunity to tell their story. Continue to educate yourselves, watch a film to help you do so. Every day, there occurs at least one incident of racism in the world. Most times, it goes unnoticed or overlooked. Don’t let it go unnoticed. Now is the time to be aware and speak up. There’s always something that we – everyone – can do to do better and be better.
