Diversity In Australia

Rhimes is often praised for her revolutionary casting and taking risks. However, after being inducted in to the National Association of Broadcasters’ Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2015, Rhimes gave a speech in which she said: diverse casting is not brave, it is human. She is proof that a successful black woman behind the scenes of multiple hit TV shows means that there can also be successful shows on television with nontraditional casts. But why doesn’t this happen with someone like a white male behind a TV show? The 2015 Hollywood Diversity Report also studied why white males might not cast a person of color as a lead. “Individual stakeholders in the industry (typically white and male) look to surround themselves with other individuals with whom they feel comfortable, with whom they feel they have the best prospects for producing a successful project,” (Hollywood Diversity Report, 54). If shows and movies with minority representation have proven to be successful when done right, then it seems strange that there is still such an over representation of nonwhites in mainstream entertainment.

Australia is a very culturally diverse country, meaning that it consists of many cultures and ethnicities from around the world. This diversity is mostly due to immigration,

Shameless is a Golden-Globe nominated show with a white dominated cast. One of the siblings on the show is black, but is identified as a White male contrary to the character’s skin tone. “When it comes to representations of Blacks on television, the 1980s can be seen as a decade of elevated inclusion both in terms of the quantity and quality of roles -- which remains the norm today. (Tukachinsky, Mastro, & Yarchi, 2015). Over the years, we will see more shows gearing their audiences to the black community. Producers add in a few social issues to reel viewers in, but the fact remains the same that a prime time heavy hitting shows, will most likely have less than 20% of their cast of African descent. In consonance with researchers, blacks currently constitute between 14-17 percent of the prime-time population. (Tukachinsky, Mastro, & Yarchi, 2015). The lack of representation in the media can lead to some interpreting that the Caucasian race is the superior race, and in retrospect, can influence the attitudes and beliefs of viewers. Prior research has shown that exposure to counter stereotypic exemplars in the media can have a positive effect on inter-group relations. (Scharrer, & Ramasubramanian, 2015) In order to reduce the misrepresentation from taking over the media, we must depict a positive image on the lives of minorities and portray them as successful, thriving human beings. By

Australian film and television deal with such themes by accepting the reality of Australian contexts. The Australian demographic are known for their rough humour and approach, hence the depiction of an Australian man, or woman, can be taken lightly and not offensively. At the same time, film and television are careful in representing Indigenous Australian as opposed to stereotypical white Australians. It is these historical, political, socio-economic ideologies that shape Australia’s national ‘type’.

roles would be lost to Caucasian actors so as to resonate with American audiences. It is

In surveying Australian film production over the last century, what visibly occurs is a general evasion of Aboriginal issues and an absence of any balanced representation of Australia’s notable Indigenous population. But I need to add, that things are changing. Several recent films seek to redress this imbalance and provide a substantial Indigenous storyline.

Auburn is a suburb in western Sydney in the state of New South Wales Australia which had major changes that occurred over the years, the three major changes are transport population and culture.

Over the years television has been known to be one of the major educating and socializing institution in America. Television in today’s society is able to play a powerful key through which individuals can be informed, hold forums, and voice their opinion‘s. Television is also important because it offers us glimpses into minority life and minority figures. When sociologists examine minorities in television they document how minorities are portrayed and how those portrayals have changed over the years. Through time, minorities in television have been able to make moderate gains whether they are in front of or behind cameras. However, they continue to remain significantly underrepresented as leading actors in films, as writers, and as TV show creators. Even though minorities are significantly underrepresented in today’s society the TV industry has been pushing to give an opportunity to many minority groups in succeeding in the media. Several TV shows and commercials have succeeded in the TV industry to try and change how minorities are underrepresented, however, there are also shows that reinforce stereotypes and are prejudice towards minorities.

During the process of producing a television series, the demand for the producers to introduce their characters with only their highlighted traits make it impossible for viewers to gain a deep understanding of the community that the characters represent. One of the stereotypic traits that is usually seen on movies and television shows is societal difference that each race is placed into. Michael Omi in his article In Living Color: Race and American Culture stated that “in contemporary television and film, there is a tendency to present and equate racial minority groups and individuals with specific social problems” (546). There are many films and television shows found today that ground racial minorities into a specific social problems that are related to the color of their skin. It can be inferred from the current popular culture that this stereotype still persists.

Australian films, are well known for their outback landscapes, unique Australian animals, indigenous heritage and the unmissable quirky characters But are these stereotypes portrayed in Australian movies politically and culturally correct? Is Australia really only about a bunch of Bogan’s kicking their feet around in the red sand, wrestling crocodiles and going walk about with a few stereotyped aboriginals?

Asian American actors in modern media deal with whitewashed film and television, underrepresentation in major works, and casting in stereotypical roles. These three problems are rooted in the history of Asian American actors in film and television, and have been perpetrated by stereotypes that continue to this day. The purpose of this memo is to examine the modern industry of film and television through the eyes of Asian American actors, viewing the stereotypes and stigmas these actors face, and looking forward to see what can be done by casting directors to reduce harmful stereotyping and increase diversity in film and television.

The view of POCs (People of Color) within mainstream media has always been strewed. From the roles of Flora Robson as a Haitian maid in Saratoga Trunk to Mickey Rooney as I. Y. Yunioshi, the view of POCs in American popular culture has always been warped to portray an often negative or demeaning stereotype that appeases the white audience of American pop culture. Although many races are negatively impacted by the conceptions of the white American public, the portrayal of Asian American stereotypes in television has especially given an illusion to the American public on what to assume when facing an Asian American. Even with the growth of the Asian American voice in television and the increase in representation through new shows such as “Fresh Off the Boat” and “Marco

Whether it is on TV screens of movie cinemas, the predominant casting of Whites has always been prevalent in the media. It has made many people raise questions about the lack of Asian representation and other people of colour. The few roles that are cast to Asians or Blacks are featured in their stereotypical images (Bonilla-Silva 179). Even in advertising, Asians are placed in different settings than their White counterparts (Taylor and Stern 50). Most research has been analyzed on movies, but rarely on a comedic television series. I will be acknowledging this lack of research by analyzing a TV show, Fresh Off the Boat, was released last year which features an Asian family. The show has received fairly positive reviews, partly due to the

By casting more diverse actors, the American entertainment industry is able to increase viewership in both television and film. To begin with, diverse casting allows for higher television show ratings. For example,

Although media representation of the LGBTQ community has increased in recent years, the quality of representation in mainstream cinema has not increased at the same rate. Certainly, gay and lesbian oriented cinema has provided vital validating and realistic portrayals of the queer community; however, conventional film has failed to take the final step in normalizing