Audience Perception of Diversity in Film & TV
In order to gauge an audience's perception of diversity in film and television, I set up a survey which asked questions about their thoughts on racial, gender, and sexuality diversity. Split into two sections, the survey comprised of 10 questions. The first three questions were used to gauge the demographic of the audience through age, gender, and race, followed by two questions each on the subject of race, gender, and sexuality representation. The final question asked whether or not the individuals taking the survey felt as though they themselves were properly represented on the screen. The survey used a mix of quantitative and qualitative techniques through yes or no questions and open text boxes. I did toy with the idea of presenting this information in three parts (with one blog post on each of the three main subjects of the survey), however I thought it would be more practical for readers to find all of the information in one place.
From the first three questions, it's clear to see that in total, 45 people completed the survey. Of these people, 80% were aged 18-24, 80% were female, and 75.56% were white, making this the main demographic of the study. I posted the survey on my personal Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat accounts, so while limited, this demographic is no surprise to me.
Question 4 of the survey asked participants "Do you think there is enough racial diversity on our screens?". Following the question was a text box to answer and give reasons. The majority of answers said there wasn't, with many people pointing out "overwhelmingly white" casts, as well as noting that the push for diversity can wrongly cause "token" characters and damaging "stereotypes".
A few respondents noted that they have seen change recently, but there is still "a long way to go" when it comes to properly representing racial diversity on the screen. Some of the participants also pointed out that despite the growing - yet still lacking - representation amongst black people, there is still an unfair lack of representation for other people of colour, mostly with Asian actors. There were also mentions of whitewashing in a number of Hollywood films. One interesting response stated "I believe that there shouldn’t be an explicit focus on the race of those on the screen but more so on the story itself.". Curiously, this participant identified as mixed race and was in the 18-24 age bracket. This part of the survey shows that regardless of the age, gender, or race of the respondents, they mostly all noted that there was a lack of racial diversity in one way or another.
Question 5 in this survey provided the participants with statistics on the relationship between cast diversity and success at the box office. "A 2016 study by the Creative Arts Agency found that at every budget level, films with a 'truly diverse' (30% non-white) cast performed better at the box office. Does this surprise you?". This study was mentioned in my first blog post.
The results saw that a sweeping majority (77.78%) were not surprised by these statistics, showing that the participants were aware that where there are diverse audiences, there is a demand for diverse stories and characters. There was a difference in response however from those of a white background to those who identified as a person of colour. Contrary to what people may presume, in the white demographic, 14.71% ticked 'Yes' and 85.29% ticked 'No', whereas in the others, 45.45% ticked 'Yes' and 54.55 ticked 'No'. This could suggest that POC are so used to seeing white led film and TV that they assume - and they are told - that is that is what sells, due to the large majority of white people in leading roles. These findings may be insignificant however due to the lack of minority respondents in the survey.
Question 6 was another question with a text box response. The participants were asked "Do you think more needs to be done to make sure women are hired as Film & TV directors?".
The general consensus amongst the respondents in Question 6 was that more does need to be done to make sure women are hired as directors in film and TV. Many stated that by doing so, it would have a ripple effect, creating more opportunities for women within the film industry by destroying the stereotype that a film director must be male. Other participants mentioned that female directors would help to create more "nuanced", "insightful", and "realistic" female characters on our screens through their own experiences. A few of the respondents (mostly those who identified as female) noted that women shouldn't be hired based off of their gender, but due to merit, however they did say more women should be able to make it to those higher up roles within the industry.
Question 7 was a simple 'Yes' or 'No' task, providing participants with statistics from a Directors UK report. Participants were presented with this: "A 2017 report by Directors UK found that 50.1% of film students in the UK are women, yet only 3.3% of big-budget (£30+ million) feature films are directed by women. Does this surprise you?". This study from Directors UK can be found mentioned in my sixth blog post, talking about female directors in Hollywood.
As can been seen on this graph, the majority of respondents (73.33%) were not surprised by this outcome, realising the struggles that women face in being hired in the more 'male dominated' roles within the industry. In this part of the survey, both men and women answered similarly, with a small difference, as 5% more men voted 'No' than the women taking the survey did, and vice versa.
Question 8 of the survey aimed to tackle the issue of the representation of those in the LGBTQ community, asking participants "Do you feel there needs to be more positive and diverse representation of LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer) people in film & television?", followed by a text box to allow the respondents to explain their answers.
The majority of the responses from participants show that they are in favour of more positive and diverse representation of the LGBTQ community. Many of the respondents noted that the storylines surrounding the majority of these characters were negative and based solely on their sexuality, with one respondent saying "when a character is LGBTQ+ they tend to have bigger issues and be troubled characters - this puts a negative light on the representation of LGBTQ+ people, not many characters can be LGBTQ+ without it being their main attribute, rather than something that's normalised and simply there". Other participants mentioned that the positive portrayal of LGBTQ characters could be seen as educational and informative, changing the mindsets of those who may not otherwise see LGBTQ people in a positive light.
There were also comments on the lack of racial and gender diversity, bisexuality and transgender characters, as well as whitewashing in this part of the survey. There was only one negative response to this part of the survey, where a participant said more positive and diverse representation of LGBTQ characters could be detrimental as "some might believe it sets out a bad example for the younger generations", but overall people were in favour of more positive representation.
Question 9 of the survey provided participants with data from a GLAAD report, with a 'Yes' or 'No' response option. "In 2017, GLAAD found that from the 125 feature films released by the major studios in 2016, only 23 featured LGBTQ characters (the majority (80%) of which were white). Does this surprise you?".
This part of the survey was the least divisive, with a large majority (82.22%) of respondents choosing 'No', that they were not surprised at the lack of - and race of - LGBTQ characters featured in films released by the major Hollywood studios in 2016. Unfortunately, as I didn't ask about the respondent's sexuality in the first set of questions, I am unaware of the statistics on how people within and out of the LGBTQ community voted, however, looking at men and women, there were some differences. A unanimous 100% of the male respondents ticked 'No', saying they weren't surprised by this data, whereas fewer (77.78% of) women ticked 'No'. While this is an interesting finding, it may be insignificant due to the lack of male participants in the survey.
The tenth and final question in this survey asked the respondents "Do you feel as though people like YOU are properly represented on screen?" and left them with a text box to fully expand on their answers.
This section of the survey garnered the widest range of responses due to the personal nature of the question. Most of the participants who identified as white said that their race was probably the most positively and widely represented on our screens, with some of the white female respondents saying their gender was at times not accurately or positively represented. The general theme amongst the people of colour that took the survey was that the majority of the people that looked like them in film and TV were "stereotypes" and "token" characters, noting that these characters were rarely pivotal to the story, nor were they the main focus. With the people who identified themselves as part of the LGBTQ community in this part of the survey, many of them mentioned their hopes for more diverse and positively presented LGBTQ characters in mainstream media. There was a large call for more bisexual characters who weren't presented as "cheats" or "greedy", and for lesbian couples that weren't "over-sexualised". One transgender respondent noted that there was "nothing but erasure" in regard to using cisgender actors to play trans characters in film and television.
Some other interesting responses from this section of the survey include a woman wishing to see over 50s female characters that lead "an active and fun life where the main priority is not getting a man", and other female participants wanting to see more diversity amongst women's bodies, with a UK size 10-12 woman saying "I rarely ever see female characters of this size playing roles in films and TV - especially not those who are being depicted as 'pretty'". These findings truly show that those who don't identify as a straight, white male are largely underrepresented on screen.
The overall consensus of the survey was that there is not enough racial, gender, and sexuality diversity on the screen and behind it - or if there was, it wasn't positive or accurate enough. Most of the participants seem to think that (unless the character is a middle-class, white, straight, cisgender male) there needs to be much more positive and diverse representation of characters and employees within the film and television industries in Hollywood and the UK. On reflection, it may have been wise to ask the participants sexual orientation, however, many did mention it in their responses to questions 8 and 10. Overall, I believe that whilst this questionnaire was somewhat limited due to the number of responses, it was successful in proving that the large majority of people want greater and more positive representation of those marginalised in our society.
 |
| Question 1 of my survey on Diversity in Film & TV. (source). |
 |
| Question 2 of my survey on Diversity in Film & TV. (source). |
 |
| Question 3 of my survey on Diversity in Film & TV. (source). |
From the first three questions, it's clear to see that in total, 45 people completed the survey. Of these people, 80% were aged 18-24, 80% were female, and 75.56% were white, making this the main demographic of the study. I posted the survey on my personal Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat accounts, so while limited, this demographic is no surprise to me.
Question 4 of the survey asked participants "Do you think there is enough racial diversity on our screens?". Following the question was a text box to answer and give reasons. The majority of answers said there wasn't, with many people pointing out "overwhelmingly white" casts, as well as noting that the push for diversity can wrongly cause "token" characters and damaging "stereotypes".
 | |
|
A few respondents noted that they have seen change recently, but there is still "a long way to go" when it comes to properly representing racial diversity on the screen. Some of the participants also pointed out that despite the growing - yet still lacking - representation amongst black people, there is still an unfair lack of representation for other people of colour, mostly with Asian actors. There were also mentions of whitewashing in a number of Hollywood films. One interesting response stated "I believe that there shouldn’t be an explicit focus on the race of those on the screen but more so on the story itself.". Curiously, this participant identified as mixed race and was in the 18-24 age bracket. This part of the survey shows that regardless of the age, gender, or race of the respondents, they mostly all noted that there was a lack of racial diversity in one way or another.
Question 5 in this survey provided the participants with statistics on the relationship between cast diversity and success at the box office. "A 2016 study by the Creative Arts Agency found that at every budget level, films with a 'truly diverse' (30% non-white) cast performed better at the box office. Does this surprise you?". This study was mentioned in my first blog post.
 |
| Question 5 of my survey on Diversity in Film & TV. (source). |
The results saw that a sweeping majority (77.78%) were not surprised by these statistics, showing that the participants were aware that where there are diverse audiences, there is a demand for diverse stories and characters. There was a difference in response however from those of a white background to those who identified as a person of colour. Contrary to what people may presume, in the white demographic, 14.71% ticked 'Yes' and 85.29% ticked 'No', whereas in the others, 45.45% ticked 'Yes' and 54.55 ticked 'No'. This could suggest that POC are so used to seeing white led film and TV that they assume - and they are told - that is that is what sells, due to the large majority of white people in leading roles. These findings may be insignificant however due to the lack of minority respondents in the survey.
Question 6 was another question with a text box response. The participants were asked "Do you think more needs to be done to make sure women are hired as Film & TV directors?".
 |
| Question 6 of my survey on Diversity in Film & TV. (source). |
The general consensus amongst the respondents in Question 6 was that more does need to be done to make sure women are hired as directors in film and TV. Many stated that by doing so, it would have a ripple effect, creating more opportunities for women within the film industry by destroying the stereotype that a film director must be male. Other participants mentioned that female directors would help to create more "nuanced", "insightful", and "realistic" female characters on our screens through their own experiences. A few of the respondents (mostly those who identified as female) noted that women shouldn't be hired based off of their gender, but due to merit, however they did say more women should be able to make it to those higher up roles within the industry.
Question 7 was a simple 'Yes' or 'No' task, providing participants with statistics from a Directors UK report. Participants were presented with this: "A 2017 report by Directors UK found that 50.1% of film students in the UK are women, yet only 3.3% of big-budget (£30+ million) feature films are directed by women. Does this surprise you?". This study from Directors UK can be found mentioned in my sixth blog post, talking about female directors in Hollywood.
 |
| Question 7 of my survey on Diversity in Film & TV. (source). |
As can been seen on this graph, the majority of respondents (73.33%) were not surprised by this outcome, realising the struggles that women face in being hired in the more 'male dominated' roles within the industry. In this part of the survey, both men and women answered similarly, with a small difference, as 5% more men voted 'No' than the women taking the survey did, and vice versa.
Question 8 of the survey aimed to tackle the issue of the representation of those in the LGBTQ community, asking participants "Do you feel there needs to be more positive and diverse representation of LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer) people in film & television?", followed by a text box to allow the respondents to explain their answers.
 |
| Question 8 of my survey on Diversity in Film & TV. (source). |
The majority of the responses from participants show that they are in favour of more positive and diverse representation of the LGBTQ community. Many of the respondents noted that the storylines surrounding the majority of these characters were negative and based solely on their sexuality, with one respondent saying "when a character is LGBTQ+ they tend to have bigger issues and be troubled characters - this puts a negative light on the representation of LGBTQ+ people, not many characters can be LGBTQ+ without it being their main attribute, rather than something that's normalised and simply there". Other participants mentioned that the positive portrayal of LGBTQ characters could be seen as educational and informative, changing the mindsets of those who may not otherwise see LGBTQ people in a positive light.
There were also comments on the lack of racial and gender diversity, bisexuality and transgender characters, as well as whitewashing in this part of the survey. There was only one negative response to this part of the survey, where a participant said more positive and diverse representation of LGBTQ characters could be detrimental as "some might believe it sets out a bad example for the younger generations", but overall people were in favour of more positive representation.
Question 9 of the survey provided participants with data from a GLAAD report, with a 'Yes' or 'No' response option. "In 2017, GLAAD found that from the 125 feature films released by the major studios in 2016, only 23 featured LGBTQ characters (the majority (80%) of which were white). Does this surprise you?".
 |
| Question 9 of my survey on Diversity in Film & TV. (source). |
This part of the survey was the least divisive, with a large majority (82.22%) of respondents choosing 'No', that they were not surprised at the lack of - and race of - LGBTQ characters featured in films released by the major Hollywood studios in 2016. Unfortunately, as I didn't ask about the respondent's sexuality in the first set of questions, I am unaware of the statistics on how people within and out of the LGBTQ community voted, however, looking at men and women, there were some differences. A unanimous 100% of the male respondents ticked 'No', saying they weren't surprised by this data, whereas fewer (77.78% of) women ticked 'No'. While this is an interesting finding, it may be insignificant due to the lack of male participants in the survey.
The tenth and final question in this survey asked the respondents "Do you feel as though people like YOU are properly represented on screen?" and left them with a text box to fully expand on their answers.
 |
| Question 10 of my survey on Diversity in Film & TV. (source). |
This section of the survey garnered the widest range of responses due to the personal nature of the question. Most of the participants who identified as white said that their race was probably the most positively and widely represented on our screens, with some of the white female respondents saying their gender was at times not accurately or positively represented. The general theme amongst the people of colour that took the survey was that the majority of the people that looked like them in film and TV were "stereotypes" and "token" characters, noting that these characters were rarely pivotal to the story, nor were they the main focus. With the people who identified themselves as part of the LGBTQ community in this part of the survey, many of them mentioned their hopes for more diverse and positively presented LGBTQ characters in mainstream media. There was a large call for more bisexual characters who weren't presented as "cheats" or "greedy", and for lesbian couples that weren't "over-sexualised". One transgender respondent noted that there was "nothing but erasure" in regard to using cisgender actors to play trans characters in film and television.
Some other interesting responses from this section of the survey include a woman wishing to see over 50s female characters that lead "an active and fun life where the main priority is not getting a man", and other female participants wanting to see more diversity amongst women's bodies, with a UK size 10-12 woman saying "I rarely ever see female characters of this size playing roles in films and TV - especially not those who are being depicted as 'pretty'". These findings truly show that those who don't identify as a straight, white male are largely underrepresented on screen.
The overall consensus of the survey was that there is not enough racial, gender, and sexuality diversity on the screen and behind it - or if there was, it wasn't positive or accurate enough. Most of the participants seem to think that (unless the character is a middle-class, white, straight, cisgender male) there needs to be much more positive and diverse representation of characters and employees within the film and television industries in Hollywood and the UK. On reflection, it may have been wise to ask the participants sexual orientation, however, many did mention it in their responses to questions 8 and 10. Overall, I believe that whilst this questionnaire was somewhat limited due to the number of responses, it was successful in proving that the large majority of people want greater and more positive representation of those marginalised in our society.
Comments
Post a Comment