Blogger: Charles Antwi-Boasiako
Studies by McKinsey and Company have shown that the racial inequality within the entertainment industry is costing the sector roughly $10 billion a year. This was a six-month study into the barriers black professionals were facing between the years 2015 and 2019. Mckinsey found that if the racial inequality issues were addressed appropriately with regards to who makes content and how the content is marketed/distributed there could be a 7% increase in annual revenues across the board. (Vary., 2021)
Furthermore, this is as a result of the fact that fewer, black-led stories are allowed to be documented, and when they are documented the projects have been consistently underfunded and undervalued, despite the fact higher returns are sought back relative to other projects. This stems from the fact that black creatives who are in prominent off-screen roles find themselves tasked with finding other black off-screen talent. Unless at least one senior member of the production team is black, black talent is largely shut off from critical roles. (Dunn, 2021)
Moreover, it was found to ensure diverse representation, there needs to be expansion into recruiting HBCU’s and state schools. This would mean looking beyond Los Angeles or New York to formalize mentorship and sponsorship programs. Also., transparency and accountability can be increased through frequent and public intersectional reporting. In addition to this, black stories can be supported by dedicating a larger share of upfront funding which ensures an increase in diverse content and talent.
As well as this, an independent organization should be made in pure dedication to advancing racial equality. This could help develop ideal practices and report the progress across several industries. (Lyn, 2021)
Not only has this been used to try and combat the inequality being faced. There has also been calls to defund and cancel reality tv shows such as Cops and Live PD which some would argue glorify police violence. Without realising this could promote cop violence outside of the entertainment industry as well. As well as this the comedy cop show Brooklyn Nine- Nine has also changed one of its seasons to reflect the protests, aiming to leave a significant message for all viewers. In addition to this, dozens of tv shows/episodes which featured the blackface are being scrubbed from several streaming services. Several other tv shows such as Little Britain and Summer heights have also been removed. (Chow, 2020)
Other ways the inequality issue within the Hollywood Industry can be combatted include appointing black people to the seats on the board of directors, in proportion to the number of black people reflected in their audiences, subscribers or consumer base.
They can also promote and hire black people to fill C-suite and senior creative executive positions. This will enable them to be advocates for diverse ideas and they will have the power to see these ideas produced and distributed.
So what about racial inequalities within the Uk film Industry?
UCl recently launched a £1 million pound research project into the links between racism, racial inequality, diversity and policy within the UK film industry, working closely with the British Film Institute, the UK’s lead organisation for the film and moving image! This longitudinal study will be led by Dr Clive Nwonka and Professor Sarita Malik, who are both recognised as two of the UK’s leading academic researchers in the study of race, racism diversity and Black British/Asian identity in film and television. Dr Nwonka states that despite nearly three decades of policy initiatives, racial inequalities within the film industry remain a significant social problem. (Bolger, 2021)
Bibliography
Bolger, J., 2021. Major study of racial inequality in UK film industry, s.l.: UCL.
Chow, A. R., 2020. How the Entertainment Industry Is Reckoning With Racism, From Changing Band Names to Canceling TV Shows, s.l.: TIME.
Dunn, J., 2021. Black representation in film and TV: The challenges and impact of increasing diversity, s.l.: Mckinsey&Company.
Lyn, S., 2021. Why we need to tackle racial inequality in TV and film, s.l.: World Economic Forum.
Vary., A. B., 2021. Hollywood Losing $10 Billion Annually to Racial Inequality, New Study Shows, s.l.: Variety.