Argumentative Essay On Whitewashing In Film

The 2015 Hollywood Diversity Report, published by UCLA’s Ralph J. Bunche Center, said that while minorities account for more than half of frequent US moviegoers, the representation of those minorities has dipped since 2013. The report describes that year as a “breakout year” for black films, including 12 Years a Slave and The Butler. In 2015, Straight Outta Compton made over $60m, which was $20m higher than expected. (Hollywood Diversity Report). The report says black audiences are repeatedly undervalued. What the report is proving is that the lack of diversity in the film industry is actually costing Hollywood money. The problem and solution seem almost obvious when looking at these specific examples – do not underestimate minority audiences and how much money they will collectively spend watching movies with diverse

Asians have been invisible in Hollywood lead roles. There have been many situations where another race has played an Asian role. When Asians do land a lead role it is very common to see pay difference between other ethnicity lead roles. Asian’s are very fimilar with service roles and not lead roles in films. Asian actors are still only a one percent of Hollywood’s leading roles. “According to a study that University of California, Los Angeles did out of the top 100 films in 2015, 49 of those films did not consist an Asian character and zero leading roles went to Asians (Levin 2017).” Asians seem be invisible when auditioning for lead roles.

Whether it is on TV or movie screens, the faces of white actors and actresses have always been prevalent in the media. For generations, many teenagers have been exposed to countless movies with white people in major roles. Moreover, the few roles that are cast to minorities feature the characters in their stereotypical personas (Bonilla-Silva 179). Even in advertising, Asians are placed in business settings, upholding the hard-working Asian stereotype (Taylor and Stern 50). As Taylor and Stern mention in their paper, the “model minority” has made the issue of stereotyping seem less important for Asians. The majority of these actors that are examined, regardless of race, are typically middle-age and well established in their acting careers. However, there is a lack of research behind Asian youth acting and their perceived roles. To account for this knowledge deficit, I examine how whiteness influences the media to portray youth actors as individuals that stray from their stereotypes in an attempt to achieve whiteness. My research site centres around Fresh Off the Boat (FOB), a comedic television series featuring a Taiwanese family. The title of the show Fresh Off the Boat or “FOB” is also a term used to describe a person that is considered too ethnic and as a term of denigration. I utilize Pyke and Dang’s categorization of “FOB” and “whitewashed” to analyze the narrator, Eddie Huang. I chose to limit my research primarily to the first “pilot” episode where the audience is

Three sources analyze the racial conflicts of white actors playing colored parts, and all agreed that it was not a trivial situation, for audiences, or actors. Racial tensions are very popular with the media. While there is some minor tension today, the movies and plays of Othello top the charts for most racial conflicts. First, The article, “Othello: the role that entices and engages actors of all skin colours,” by Andrew Dickson shows the history of the actors that played Othello, and when the actors were black, they were either not cast, due to segregationists, or were criticized in their performance for the same reason. Also, this article uses diction to convey the seriousness of white vs. minority crisis. Next, the video, “SHAKESPEARE UNCOVERED White Actors Playing Othello” by PBS, shows the performances of many Othello actors that were white. Additionally, the video shows one white actor who used makeup to make himself more than than black. The video uses hyperbole to describe the absurdity of Othello movies. For example, Laurence Olivier, the 1964 Othello was black-top showing how far film industries will go to cover-up racial tensions, and the narrator describes the makeup as ridiculous,and dramatic. Finally, the last article, “Aladdin: putting a white character in Disney’s live-action remake is offensive,” by Hannah Flint displays that film industries feel obligated to please a white audience, keeping the minorities second fiddle by adding characters white people

In 2013, Latinos accounted for only 4.9% of the roles in the top 100 films of the year. From the beginning, Hollywood had always been dominated by white men and women. However, as time progressed there was a very slight change in cultural and ethnic diversity. Though it is more likely now than ever to find a Latino or Latina in a Hollywood film, their roles are often small, stereotypical, and almost entirely unimportant. As if it wasn’t hard enough to get any role in any Hollywood film regardless of ethnicity, Latinos have to endure playing a harshly demeaning role. Latino men are often cast as comedic relief and play gardeners, janitors, or thugs. Latino women are often cast as maids or mistresses. Aside from this, when women are cast as mistresses they are often submissive to their white male partners, meaning that not only are these roles ethnically demeaning, but also sexist. Along with Latino female sexualisation, though, Latino men are also heavily sexualized. Both Latino women and men have to deal with the exploitation of their culture for stereotypical roles in a movie. However, these are only some of the vicious patterns that attribute to the everlasting ethnic misrepresentation in the biggest part of mass media, Hollywood.

Television and film is a huge part of American culture. As the “face” of America changes, it is expected for our media to reflect it. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Since the beginning of film, minorities have been misrepresented and underrepresented. While there has been a significant increase in minority actors since the beginning of film, there is still a huge underrepresentation present in American television and film. Our media needs to reflect out diverse country. This topic is always important and relevant because race, gender, and sexuality, in general, have been issues throughout the growth of television and film. Even today, minorities are subject to

In the 2017 media article “How Fair is Hollywood” the main problem is the lack of inclusion that Hollywood has been using throughout their movies . This problem can be solved by having an actor play the role of the corresponding race of his/her character.As noted by Media Mix news in paragraph 1, the author explicitly describes “People have reported frustration with Hollywood’s casting process. That’s because they see non-white actors repeatedly kept out of the spotlight. There is also the phenomenon called “whitewashing,” when roles are written for minorities are given to white actors”. This indicates that people are being displeased by the fact that Hollywood has been doing negative things to put actors to play a  different race from what

The case is that if you believe that there is no racism in Hollywood, then you have already been influenced by it. The small racial representation can continue to affect our future generations, this means your future children. We as the viewers need to make our voices heard by demonstrating that a film of color can be as successful as a predominantly white film. Therefore, I encourage you to go watch films that portray a person of color in a positive way and consist of actors of color; we need to exceed the box-office, since in the end a large impulse of any business is to have a large income and show the Oscars that actors of color are also very talented and deserve at least a

For the last two years, the Oscars have come under fire in the last two years with their lack of nominations of people with color. The Oscars otherwise known as the Academy Awards is an award show to highlight and give praise to the best movies and short films of the year, including in this prestigious awards are the actors and actresses that star in these blockbusters and they are, as well as their movies praised on the highest level for their craft. However what has become under scrutiny is the so-called “White Wash” that has come across the ceremony.

I have chosen the issue of “miss/underrepresentation of minorities in American television and film.” As America has changed over the years to become much more accepting and inclusive, American media seems to be a bit behind. There are countless instances in which characters from a book or graphic novel has been white-washed once they make it to the big screen. Some may argue these choices are made because the actor is very strong at their craft or they are a star and will bring in the big bucks in theaters. While this may be true, it completely discredits not only the original art and meaning of the work but also the community of talented non-white artist in America. I want to delve deep into the reason this can be happening in a generally

Whitewashing can be referred to as the misrepresentation of minorities in film, specifically referring to placing racially diverse rolls into stereotypical parts. The misrepresentation of racial diversity is a recurring theme in today’s Hollywood movies. It is more likely for someone to land a job in Hollywood if they are a white

However, their acting careers are quite different; therefore, I will explore how in Hollywood film industry there is still a strong color bias. First of all, I will give an introduction about how skin color has being given privileges within Afro-American community, and then I will analyze how this affects on Hollywood film

Whitewashing is the casting practice in the film industry in which white actors are cast to play a role or character of a person that should be of colour. Early hollywood’s films were far from racially or culturally sensitive. As this industry in the past and present is known for often casting white actors for roles that should be portrayed by non-white actors. For example whitewashing can be seen in a great amount of hollywood films. Movies like “Aloha” that took places on a Hawaii island where major of the population is non-white yet the main cast were distinctly white. A lot of people had an issue with the main actor being white due to the fact that is was stated that her character was

In a study of 414 films and television series, only 33 percent of all characters were women, and only 28 percent were of racial minority status (Associated Press). Casting diversely in entertainment has been an issue for years and has recently spawned many controversies such as the 2016 Oscar Controversy where an outrage occurred due to a lack of minority Oscar winners. Many cultures and races fell underrepresented and cast aside by film and television. The entertainment industry should cast more diverse actors because it increases viewership, provides a broader perspective, and creates a more realistic setting.

“Oscars So White” a phrase that began trending on social media sites after the 2016 Academy Awards announce their nominees for Best Actor and Best Actress, it was predominately white for a second year in a row. The movie industry is no stranger to controversy and since its inception it’s constantly been guilty of underrepresenting ethnic people. It’s evident that film is a type of mass media that has a certifiable amount of power to influence audience’s views, yet this platform constantly disregards the need for diversity in favor of stereotypes. Movies such as Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961), Scarface (1983), and Pan (2015) are all guilty of this. The depiction of non-American characters in Hollywood movies are constructed around racial