Nontraditional Casting

In the early 1990s, the Communication Law Centre and the Media Entertainment and Arts Allegiance aka Actors Equity (MEAAA), with some assistance from the Office of Multicultural Affairs began a campaign to address what they felt was poor record of achievement when it came to the proper portrayal of cultural diversity in popular television drama. This came after research into the representation of non-English speaking people in Australian television drama. At that time, it was estimated that less than 2% of available roles were given to performers of culturally diverse backgrounds and there were no continuing or recurring roles for indigenous performers (May, 2001). Australian TV networks are failing to represent the people who make up the majority of this country’s population; it being one of the most culturally diverse countries on the planet. One of the main excuses given by producers and directors when asked why they don’t cast ethnic/LGBTQIA actors is that there are no actors from those two communities who want the job. That is a lie. If you go to any Performing Arts schools or centres in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth or all of Australia, you will find actors of colour as well as LGBTQIA actors waiting for a chance to be cast in a good role, or any role available. Another excuse that is regularly given out is that they would not know what to do with such characters. They would not know how to properly

INTRO: Prompt: What should “diversity on campus” mean and why? Hook: Does diversity help liberate narrow-mindedness? What exactly is diversity? To say that diversity is approached on school campuses is an understatement to the level of understanding in this increasingly globalized world. By its definition, “diversity” requires inclusion. Are school’s really working toward the inclusion of everyone? This means including color, national origin, socio-economic status, and sexual orientation. Looking at court cases and polls shown in the short articles, “Introduction from Place, Not Race: A New Vision of Opportunity in America” and “The Trouble with Diversity: How We Learned to Love Identity and Ignore Inequality,” their approach to strengthening

Companies and educational institutions greatly benefit from the guidelines of affirmative action because they profit from the different ideas, work styles, and contributions unique to each diverse individual. As quoted in Paul Connors’s compilation, Affirmative Action, President of Columbia University, Lee Bollinger, addresses the importance of a diverse educational system by stating, “The experience of arriving on a campus to live and study with classmates from a diverse range of backgrounds is essential to students' training for this new world, nurturing in them an instinct to reach out instead of clinging to the comforts of what seems natural or familiar” (12-13). A statement by Southeastern Oklahoma State University further supports the idea that success in modern day society stems from diversity saying, “Our country is strong because of the rich diversity of our culture, not in spite of it” (Affirmative Action).

This class has been challenging in many ways and has encouraged me to look at ethics and cultural diversity in many different ways. Institutional discrimination, racial discrimination, age discrimination, and gender discrimination is some of the information about diversity in the United States that has helped me better understand and relate to others in ways that I may not have before taking this course.

A conversation needs to be had regarding the effects of diversity. Diversity in practical terms is the inclusion of people from different walks of life whether it be color, race, or heritage. This topic is one that is sensitive for many people because of the history attached to this subject. In the past decade there has been instances where the supreme court has had to address the topic of “Diversity” to justify this ongoing debate. Like in the supreme court, college campuses have also discussed diversity in their college for a multitude of reasons. Additionally, they too have found many reoccurring problems relating to diversity, which will be addressed in this paper.

Our racial ethnicity is influential in what we do in life, whether it be with school, personal relations, or even job opportunities. There are some, Americans today who hold racial prejudice against people of different color and ethnicity, which as a result narrows opportunities that minorities can actually have. In the essay “Race in America: “We Would Like To Believe We Are Over The Problem” Maryann Cusimano Love, an associate professor of international relations in the Politics Department at Catholic University, addresses the idea that “To get over racial problems” we need to acknowledge them as well as the history of difficult racial problems in order to move forward as a multicultural society.(387) Love reveals a study conducted

diversity in US today is not limited to ethnicity, race – other factors: social class (SES or socio-economic status), education, size of group, religion, language

Our racial ethnicity is influential in what we do in life, whether it would be with school, personal relations, or even job opportunities. There are many Americans today that hold racial prejudice against people of different color and different ethnicity, which as a result narrows many opportunities that minorities can actually have. In the essay “Race in America: “We Would Like To Believe We Are Over The Problem” Maryann Cusimano Love an associate professor of international relations in the Politics Department at Catholic University, addresses “To “get over” racial problems” (Love 387) we need to acknowledge them as well as the history of those racial problems in order to move forward as a multicultural society. Love reveals a study conducted by The University of Connecticut which shows “19 percent of the 14,000 college

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

Course Description: Ethnic Studies is designed to bring awareness and understanding of the problems facing the American people in the area of race and ethnic relations, primarily focusing on ethnic minorities. Ethnic Studies will focus on the nature and scope of relationships between minority groups and majority group in the United States.

Broadway is no longer for the hearing after introducing deaf actors in the revival of “Spring Awakening.” The show is now looked at from a new angle since both hearing and deaf actors share the stage. Usually, the roles are divided with one person signing and another singing. NYT Critics describe the show as “thrilling” and “inventive” and in “Review: ‘Spring Awakening’ by Deaf West Theater Brings a New Sensation to Broadway” they agree that deaf actors in a musical may sound bizarre; however, the viewer will become “immersed...in a first-rate production of a transporting musical.”

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.

Films have the power to both influence and reflect society. The stereotypes prevalent throughout American culture are reflected in most films. While the United States is becoming an increasingly diverse country, this diversity is not portrayed within American cinema. Minority figures often occupy

These casting trends have spread across a wide variety of venues, from professional theaters in Boston, to college productions. African Americans, Native Americans, Argentines, Jewish, Spanish and many other races have been played by white actors. On the other hand, many roles that were originally

“Cast the best actors not the best looks” I would add to this as High School teachers that grade level is not the best indication of maturity level. I have also learned that casting at the High School level can be challenging because the students time is often not their own. Homework, other activities and parental obligations can make casting a minefield of hazards waiting to blow up a production. I have often felt I have better than average judgement when it comes to casting, I have seen co-workers belabor the choices for days or even weeks, once over the whole summer! Normally I have a good idea before the end of the first day. I use call-backs to fine tune casting decisions.