By Monica Rubalcava |
Los Angeles (USA) (EFE).- From an Afro-American mermaid to a Latino superhero, the Hollywood industry tries to transmit an image of openness to diversity to minorities that, according to experts, is still far from the reality.
This boost from companies like Disney, with the human version of “The Little Mermaid” or Warner Bros., with the Mexican-American superhero “Blue Beetle”, has not been accidental, since studies such as the Diversity Report in Hollywood 2023 from the University of California (UCLA) show that audiences are more interested in plural content.
Films released in 2022 that featured a cast in which at least one in three actors came from a minority were more successful at the box office.
While the films that only had such representation in a tenth part were the ones that received the worst income, according to the UCLA research.
UCLA Study on Diversity in Hollywood
In addition, the Black, Latino, and Asian communities accounted for the majority of national movie ticket sales.
“Although there is progress, we have seen that Hollywood always makes the least effort to achieve diversity,” said Ana-Christina Ramón, director of the UCLA Entertainment and Media Research initiative and co-author of the report, in statements to EFE. .
From his point of view, the diversity norms that have been dictated by reputable film organizations, such as the Hollywood Academy, set very easy standards to achieve that do not always meet the true needs of a globalized world.
“There is a misunderstanding on the part of the executives regarding their audiences, especially the Latin American one. It is also important that there is more diversity in positions of power, not just in front of the screen”, he added.
Small wins and big laps
The gains in inclusion have been most tangible for people in the black community. It represents 12.4% of the US population, who have gained ground on the big screen to the point of being overrepresented in 2022, UCLA data points out.
For Claire Sisco King, a professor of Communication Studies at Vanderbilt University, this disparity with respect to other communities is the result of the narrow vision people have of what diversity really is in the country.
“In the United States, when talking about racial problems, it is usually reduced to black and white terms and of course it is important, but we should not only focus on this, there are other groups that suffer discrimination (Asians, Latinos, indigenous people, the LGBT+ community, people with disabilities, etc.)”, he stated.
Although Ramón applauds the efforts of said community to generate their own projects. He assures that his achievements are still on the surface, having not achieved relevant victories in leadership positions.
Latinos, underrepresented
Despite being the largest minority in the United States and making up 18% of its population. The goals of representation for the Latino community continue to loom far away. Only 5.5% of them were in front of movie screens and 6.6% in streaming. While only 1.1% directed a project for cinema and 5% for platforms.
The reluctance to include it has also been experienced by the public, who have criticized the changes that classic stories have faced in the new audiovisual versions.
The clearest example is the wave of racist and cruel comments that broke out after the announcement that the little mermaid Ariel would be played by the African-American actress Halle Bailey.
Another similar example is that of the actors Ismael Cruz Córdova (Puerto Rico) and Sophia Nomvete (England) from the series “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power”, designated by their skin color on social networks.
“People get stuck in representations of what they have seen in the past. And they have a very closed vision of what diversity is. That is why examples of films that make us rethink the narratives that white culture has perpetuated are important,” Cisco said.
Diversity in Hollywood
Robert Thompson, a professor at Syracuse University and founder of the Bleier Center for Television, believes that physical or plot change in classic stories is not only valid, but even “necessary.”
“One of the ways to keep the stories and the characters alive is by retelling them in different contexts so that they remain relevant in the time they live,” he mentioned, explaining that when it comes to fiction, it is not necessary to reproduce past products. .
Finally, Ramón explained that the representation on the screen is “vital” for the development of communities and the creation of identity of those who comprise them.
“The media are a mirror of the world to know how society perceives you and if you are valued. If a group is not represented it is a way of telling them that they are not important to society, ”she pointed out.