Hollywood Slammed as ‘Epicenter’ of ‘Inequality’ in USC Diversity Report

Hollywood Slammed as ‘Epicenter’ of ‘Inequality’ in USC Diversity Report
Variety
Variety
Brent Lang
7 hrs ago

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Despite the diversity debate raging around Hollywood, the movies that major studios produce are still stubbornly dominated by white men.

Minorities, women, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender characters remain the exception, not the rule, and their representation in movies falls short of population norms, according to a blistering new report by USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. Calling Hollywood “the epicenter of cultural inequality,” the report’s authors found that women comprised a mere 31.4% of the 4,370 speaking or named characters in the top 100 grossing films last year despite making up more than half of the population. The study discovered that 49 of these films lacked a speaking or named Asian or Asian-American characters, 17 had no black or African American characters, 45 films failed to have characters with disabilities, and 82 lacked lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender characters.

The research hits as the movie business has been engulfed in a debate about how to better promote diverse voices. Last year’s Oscars lacked any black nominees in any major acting categories for the second year in a row and sparked a social media protest centered around the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite. At the same time, actresses such as Patricia Arquette and Jennifer Lawrence have drawn attention to the pay gap between male and female performers.

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