Mexico.- From an Afro-American mermaid to a Latino superhero, the Hollywood industry tries to convey an image of openness to diversity to minorities that, according to experts, still far from reality.
This boost from companies like Disney, with the human version of “The Little Mermaid” (“La Sirenita”), or Warner Bros., with the Mexican-American superhero “Blue Beetle”, has not been accidental, since studies such as the Informe de Diversity in Hollywood 2023 from the University of California (UCLA) show that audiences are more interested in plural content.
Films released in 2022 that had a cast in which at least one in three actors came from a minority were more successful at the box office, while films that only had such representation in a tenth were those that perceived the worst earnings, according to UCLA research.
In addition, the Black, Latino, and Asian communities accounted for the majority of national movie ticket sales.
“Although there is progress, we have seen that Hollywood always makes the least effort to achieve diversity,” said Ana-Christina Ramón, director of the UCLA Entertainment and Media Research initiative and co-author of the report, in statements to EFE.
From his point of view, the diversity norms that have been dictated by reputable film organizations, such as the Hollywood Academy, set very easy standards to achieve that do not always meet the true needs of a globalized world.
“There is a misunderstanding on the part of the executives regarding their audiences, especially the Latin American one. It is also important that there is more diversity in positions of power, not just in front of the screen”, he added.
SMALL TRIUMPHS AND BIG LAGGAGES
The advances in inclusion have been more tangible for people from the black community, which accounts for 12.4% of the US population, who have gained ground on the big screen to the point of being overrepresented in 2022, data from the UCLA.
For Claire Sisco King, a professor of Communication Studies at Vanderbilt University, this disparity with respect to other communities is the result of the narrow vision people have of what diversity really is in the country.
“In the United States, when talking about racial problems, it is usually reduced to black and white terms and of course it is important, but we should not only focus on this, there are other groups that suffer discrimination (Asians, Latinos, indigenous people, the LGBT+ community, people with disabilities, etc.),” he stated.
Although Ramón applauds the efforts of this community to generate their own projects, he assures that their achievements continue to be on the surface, having not achieved relevant victories in leadership positions.
LATINOS, UNDERREPRESENTED
Despite being the largest minority in the United States and making up 18% of its population, the representation goals for the Latino community continue to loom far: only 5.5% of them were in front of movie screens and a 6.6% in “streaming”, while only 1.1% directed a project for cinema and 5% for platforms.
The reluctance to include it has also been experienced by the public, who have criticized the changes that classic stories have faced in the new audiovisual versions.
The clearest example is the wave of racist and cruel comments that broke out after the announcement that the little mermaid Ariel would be played by the African-American actress Halle Bailey.
Another similar example is that of the actors Ismael Cruz Córdova (Puerto Rico) and Sophia Nomvete (England) from the series “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power”, who were singled out for their skin color on social media.
“People get tied to representations of what they have seen in the past and have a very narrow view of what diversity is. That is why examples of films that make us rethink the narratives that white culture has perpetuated are important,” Cisco said.
Robert Thompson, a professor at Syracuse University and founder of the Bleier Center for Television, believes that physical or plot change in classic stories is not only valid, but even “necessary.”
“One of the ways to keep stories and characters alive is by retelling them in different contexts. so that they remain relevant in the time they live”, he mentioned, and explained that when it comes to fiction, the reproduction of past products is not necessary.
Finally, Ramón explained that the representation on the screen is “vital” for the development of communities and the creation of identity of those who comprise them.
“The media are a mirror of the world to know how society perceives you and if you are valued. If a group is not represented it is a way of telling them that they are not important to society, ”she pointed out.
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