Behind the Screen: Diversity in Film & TV

There's a long way to go... Over the past few months of writing this blog, it's clear to see that whilst the representation of the underrepresented in our society is less than favourable, there is change coming in the form charters , riders , and initiatives . There is a deeply rooted problem with inequality and a lack of diversity  that t he UK and US film and television industries have only just started to try and solve. There is a long way to go before all of the wrongs have been made right. Nominees at the 2018 Academy Awards were more diverse than usual. ( source ). As a young, working-class, mixed race male who is a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I hope that my chances of entering these industries aren't hindered by backwards ideas and mindsets, but instead perhaps helped by the initiatives set in place to help people like me find their feet in this world that is lead by straight, white men. Data and statistics from Directors UK , Diamond: The First Cut , a...

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. Question 1 of my survey on Diversity i...

Women directing successful, big-budget feature films seems to be a rarity, but why is this? Even rarer is a woman picking up an award for directing. Do women not have an interest in directing, or is it a sexism problem within the industry? Since the first Oscar statues were handed out in 1929, only five women have been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director, and even worse, only one woman (Kathryn Bigelow) has won. Following suit, the Golden Globe for Best Director has only been won by one woman (Barbra Streisand), with only five women being nominated. Despite the current conversations surrounding the gender pay gap, #MeToo, and #TimesUp, Hollywood is still choosing to disregard the accomplishments of women by snubbing them during awards season. Kathryn Bigelow with her Oscar for Best Director for  The Hurt Locker  (2008). ( source ) While it looks like things may be changing, with the likes of Greta Gerwig, Ava DuVernay, Patty Jenkins, and Dee Rees al...

While the people at the top of the food chain - the ones that get the awards, big deals with studios, and recognition - are mostly straight white men, many Drama, Screenwriting, and Filmmaking students are from minority backgrounds ( Green, 2017 ). This leaves me to question where the point comes that leaves us with the majority of films being made by white people, for white people? Looking at my own university (The University of York, UK), it's clear to see there is a diverse range of students . There is an almost 50% male to female split in my cohort on the Film and Television Production course, suggesting that there is definitely interest from an equal amount of men and women to enter the industry. So where does the p oint come that makes it so that only 3.3% of big budget (£30+ million) feature films are directed by women? ( Directors UK, 2016 ) This mini-doc from The Guardian looks at the amount of students there are at prestigious creative arts schools in the UK, the amo...