African-Americans In Hollywood
In a world where the paleness of one's skin determined success minorities, especially African-Americans, seldom have the opportunity to prosper in the industries of today, such as Hollywood. Hollywood has grown into a pivotal commodity of the human society that not only entertains us as audiences, but shapes our beliefs and views as well. Hollywood racism, despite the denial of its existence, presets itself through the underrepresentation of African-American talent as well as the repeated recognition of said figures solely in racially discriminating roles, thus deterring societal advancement by fueling the prejudice of the “ideal” black person. With the ever-growing rise of minorities,especially African-Americans, in American population demographics it would be within good reasoning to expect an increase in blacks on the big screen. African-Americans roughly make up 12.2% of on-screen speaking characters which, some might argue, balances with the 12.4% of blacks making up the overall American population (Smith et al.). However, when reviewing the recognition of black talent through the Oscars, we see these statistics
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destabilize. As infographics editor Hanna Sender has noted, only 31 black men and women have taken home one of Hollywood’s highest accolades—less than 5% of Oscar Awards throughout its 88 years running. Oscar award voters present themselves as the primary cause of African-American underrepresentation within the industry. As reported by Keegan of the LA Times, the average Oscar voter is a 63-year-old white male who,judging by age alone, grew up among the racism-fueled American years.
Academy president, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, addresses the, “predominately white institution,” with an extensive list of new and innovative rules which succeed only in inadequately acknowledging African-Americans in the industry once again(qtd. in Keegan). This call to change was put forth to settle intense aggression towards the industry for selecting,once more, an all-white slate of nominees. Hashtags like #OscarsSoWhite swept across the nation through celebrities like Will Smith, who has never won an Oscar despite having over 21 black box hits under his belt. In his interview with Keegan, Isaacs emphasizes his plan to double minority roles and limit the lifelong academy voter term. Despite this, Isaacs’s proposition still falls short of America’s 2020 projected ethnic demographics (Keegan). Award-winning filmmaker, Stanley Nelson, addresses the deception of, “[one] of the most racist institutions in the country,”—Hollywood:
There’s a difference between the Oscars … there’s a difference between nominating African-Americans or [sic] scattering them around the audience so we see them. So it looks like there are some African-Americans involved, but they’re really not. (qtd in Maule)
The mistreatment of African Americans in the Hollywood industry no longer poses alarm due to its familiar presence among films.
Motion pictures featuring more than one black character are often associated with dehumanizing roles and centralized around themes of slavery. In Disney’s animation, Song of the South, slavery is presented through jolly plantation worker Uncle Remus and his stories depicting many black stereotypes. Song of the South features its sole black character,Uncle Remus, as slow and downright idiotic. The black characters of the animation are represented through negative bodies such as a fox and the more racially upsetting “tar baby”. Song of the South, which was geared towards child audiences, was quickly pulled from public eye by Walt Disney Studios and never turned into a source of revenue due to its controversial
nature.
Author and poet, Olive Cole, points out the racially biased nature of casting opportunities available to black actors. She discusses the degradation and limitations posed on black actors in films such as Beasts of No Nation and Hotel Rwanda, the only sources of black casts in films of significant Hollywood capital. Mandingo, a 1975 motion picture, serves as one of the first examples of black actors limited to morally upsetting roles. Mandingo uses the black man to perform actions which reflect poorly upon the race, in this case a rapist and a slave. Nevertheless, research into the historical period of 1975 reveals extreme prejudice towards blacks throughout society at the time, which would explain the Mandingo roles. However, with movies like 12 Years a Slave showcasing the same black humiliation in the year 2013, questions arise.
While the practice of racism is not an unfamiliar custom to American soils, the development of its modern day form can be traced back to the influence of the Hollywood industry. The introduction of Hollywood entertainment instigated many changes to daily American life. However, with the establishment of racial prejudice via motion pictures, societal advancement beyond Jim Crow mindsets becomes deterred. In Richard Fleischer’s film, Mandingo, the black characters within the story are personified by stereotypes in every regard, down to the dialect in which they speak in. In Maule’s interview with Stanley Nelson, Nelson reveals that the black man on screen throughout his childhood never reflected reality. He expresses his concern over the disgusting nature surrounding African Americans involved in Hollywood and implies challenges caused by the color of his skin as well.
Another shortcoming of the industry is its false depiction of racism to the people of today. The evolution of racism to its modern day form is denied by repetitive films presenting it as a thing of the past. The big screen shows audiences that, “racism is just something... in the 1800’s [that] looks like horrific lava of lashes on a black human being’s back” (Cole). However, right beneath our noses the concept of racism has broadened into many different mediums including police shootings and campaign speeches.Through Hollywood, society is able to ignore the lucid presence of racism among its streets and pat themselves on the backs for promoting “equality”.
All of the gathered research indicates that racism is a challenge that has not been conquered by one of America's leading industries—Hollywood.Although Hollywood, through its abundant power, could prompt the changes necessary to overcome the discrimination of African Americans it has been made apparent that, that is not yet a priority of the industry. By allowing hard work and dedication to lead talent accreditation, rather than the color of skin, the industry would find itself in a better way. In order to do this, society must first establish equality among all individuals and smother prejudice views by first accepting that they are still an issue of this world.
destabilize. As infographics editor Hanna Sender has noted, only 31 black men and women have taken home one of Hollywood’s highest accolades—less than 5% of Oscar Awards throughout its 88 years running. Oscar award voters present themselves as the primary cause of African-American underrepresentation within the industry. As reported by Keegan of the LA Times, the average Oscar voter is a 63-year-old white male who,judging by age alone, grew up among the racism-fueled American years.
Academy president, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, addresses the, “predominately white institution,” with an extensive list of new and innovative rules which succeed only in inadequately acknowledging African-Americans in the industry once again(qtd. in Keegan). This call to change was put forth to settle intense aggression towards the industry for selecting,once more, an all-white slate of nominees. Hashtags like #OscarsSoWhite swept across the nation through celebrities like Will Smith, who has never won an Oscar despite having over 21 black box hits under his belt. In his interview with Keegan, Isaacs emphasizes his plan to double minority roles and limit the lifelong academy voter term. Despite this, Isaacs’s proposition still falls short of America’s 2020 projected ethnic demographics (Keegan). Award-winning filmmaker, Stanley Nelson, addresses the deception of, “[one] of the most racist institutions in the country,”—Hollywood:
There’s a difference between the Oscars … there’s a difference between nominating African-Americans or [sic] scattering them around the audience so we see them. So it looks like there are some African-Americans involved, but they’re really not. (qtd in Maule)
The mistreatment of African Americans in the Hollywood industry no longer poses alarm due to its familiar presence among films.
Motion pictures featuring more than one black character are often associated with dehumanizing roles and centralized around themes of slavery. In Disney’s animation, Song of the South, slavery is presented through jolly plantation worker Uncle Remus and his stories depicting many black stereotypes. Song of the South features its sole black character,Uncle Remus, as slow and downright idiotic. The black characters of the animation are represented through negative bodies such as a fox and the more racially upsetting “tar baby”. Song of the South, which was geared towards child audiences, was quickly pulled from public eye by Walt Disney Studios and never turned into a source of revenue due to its controversial
nature.
Author and poet, Olive Cole, points out the racially biased nature of casting opportunities available to black actors. She discusses the degradation and limitations posed on black actors in films such as Beasts of No Nation and Hotel Rwanda, the only sources of black casts in films of significant Hollywood capital. Mandingo, a 1975 motion picture, serves as one of the first examples of black actors limited to morally upsetting roles. Mandingo uses the black man to perform actions which reflect poorly upon the race, in this case a rapist and a slave. Nevertheless, research into the historical period of 1975 reveals extreme prejudice towards blacks throughout society at the time, which would explain the Mandingo roles. However, with movies like 12 Years a Slave showcasing the same black humiliation in the year 2013, questions arise.
While the practice of racism is not an unfamiliar custom to American soils, the development of its modern day form can be traced back to the influence of the Hollywood industry. The introduction of Hollywood entertainment instigated many changes to daily American life. However, with the establishment of racial prejudice via motion pictures, societal advancement beyond Jim Crow mindsets becomes deterred. In Richard Fleischer’s film, Mandingo, the black characters within the story are personified by stereotypes in every regard, down to the dialect in which they speak in. In Maule’s interview with Stanley Nelson, Nelson reveals that the black man on screen throughout his childhood never reflected reality. He expresses his concern over the disgusting nature surrounding African Americans involved in Hollywood and implies challenges caused by the color of his skin as well.
Another shortcoming of the industry is its false depiction of racism to the people of today. The evolution of racism to its modern day form is denied by repetitive films presenting it as a thing of the past. The big screen shows audiences that, “racism is just something... in the 1800’s [that] looks like horrific lava of lashes on a black human being’s back” (Cole). However, right beneath our noses the concept of racism has broadened into many different mediums including police shootings and campaign speeches.Through Hollywood, society is able to ignore the lucid presence of racism among its streets and pat themselves on the backs for promoting “equality”.
All of the gathered research indicates that racism is a challenge that has not been conquered by one of America's leading industries—Hollywood.Although Hollywood, through its abundant power, could prompt the changes necessary to overcome the discrimination of African Americans it has been made apparent that, that is not yet a priority of the industry. By allowing hard work and dedication to lead talent accreditation, rather than the color of skin, the industry would find itself in a better way. In order to do this, society must first establish equality among all individuals and smother prejudice views by first accepting that they are still an issue of this world.