Hollywood, Define Equal For Us
The television industry of the United States of America should increase their positive representations of minorities because the U.S. is a country that strives for equality. So therefore positive television representations should also be equal. Many of the shows and movies people watch show minorities in stereotypical ways. On most shows women are shown to be housewives who cook and clean for their husbands. Often times Hispanics, African Americans and other minorities are seen as a supporting role similar to a sidekick. In order for the country to progress, things like whitewashing need to end. Lately, the country has been struggling with equality. Movements such as “Black Lives Matter” and the “Me Too” movement are attempts of minorities taking a stand to make a change in this unequal society. However, it shouldn’t just be ordinary minorities standing up for themselves. Big companies have a huge influence over people. They can use such influences to help minorities get the respect and equality that they deserve.
One minority that is often misrepresented on the television screen are Latinos. Latinos are often represented as extremely loud and chaotic. One of the TV representations are seductive Latinos. In films and shows Latinos are one of the major races that take part in affairs and scandals. Often the story is that a respectable white male or female is seduced by a Latino. The hit TV show Modern Family, casts Sofia Vergara as the young Hispanic wife to Jay, an older white man. In the show she wears revealing clothes and is often very seductive. Her character goes from being a trophy wife to a stay at home mom. She has no job and isn’t seen doing much to help the family’s economic status. The article “Hollywood typecasting limits Latinas to sexualized roles” by Sabrina Vourvoulias speaks about the different ways Hispanic women are being exposed on the television screen and how it affects the public’s views of said Latinas. Vourvoulias states that in film and TV, “most female characters are… hypersexualized like…Sofia Vergara in Modern Family, who exudes the spicy Latina trope”. Hispanic women are mostly seen on TV exposing themselves. Young Hispanic women look at shows that portray Hispanic women in this form and they then begin to feel that, that is how people believe Hispanic women should act. It is important to allow and encourage youth to be whatever they want to be. If they see a majority of people who are like them act a certain way, it is possible that they will begin to act in that same way.
Today in society people hear about beauty standards for all women. Clothing lines and make-up brands produce ads showing people what the “ideal” woman is supposed to look like. More times than others, the women in these ads are olive skin colored, skinny, and no trace of scars on their bodies. Recently there has been a movement to change this. For Latinas the body stereotype is that they are supposed to have significant curves, with a big chest and an even bigger behind. Most Latina women are proud of this shape, others long for small thighs and a lower bra size. Most young women are constantly trying to change their body shape because they want to be considered pretty in the eyes of society.
Another pressing issue is the matter of whitewashing in television. Directors have began to hire more and more white actors for roles that are traditionally played by other ethnic groups. It can’t be known for certain why directors whitewash but it is not right. Directors claim that the white actor is more qualified to play the role but perhaps if directors spent more time searching they could find an actor that not only matches the ethnicity of the character but is equally or even more qualified than the white actor. Netflix’s hit show On My Block received a lot of criticism for who they chose to cast for one of their roles. The show focuses on four friends who are trying to survive high school and the gang wars in their neighborhood. The American actress Ronni Hawk was casted to play a teenage Mexican girl on the show. Although this happens a lot on the television screen, what really set people off was her support of Trump. Hawk had the audacity to play a Mexican girl whose parent have been deported while she supports Trump’s building of the wall keeping Mexicans out. There is most likely thousands of Mexican actors capable of fulfilling the role, but perhaps the opportunity just isn’t given to them. White actors already take up most of the TV and film roles, for them to now take the little roles that are given to other ethnic groups is unacceptable.
Recently whitewashing has been brought to society’s attention even more than it was in the past. In an article called “Ed Skrein Shows Us How It’s Done: THE ACTOR TURNED DOWN A ROLE IN “HELLBOY” TO COMBAT HOLLYWOOD WHITEWASHING.(DIVERSITY)” author Alex Ates speaks about the importance of an actor standing up to whitewashing. The English actor, Ed Skrein was casted for the new movie HellBoy, a movie about a half-demon that is raised on earth and helps defeat evil forces. Skrein was casted to play the role of Ben Daimio, an Japanese-American ex-Marine who has the ability to transform into a jaguar. As soon as fans started to hear about the casting news, there was a lot of social media protests about the casting. Skrein replied to all the commotion by saying; “I accepted the role unaware that the character in the original comics was of mixed Asian heritage…. I must do what I feel is right” (Ates). He went to producers Larry Gordon and Lloyd Levin and told them he would be stepping down from the role (ibid.). Gordon and Levin responded by saying that they completely understand his decision and did not mean to upset so many fans with their casting decision (ibid.). Although they didn’t mean any disrespect, issues like these can not be ignored. There most likely aren’t many actors who would do what Skrein did. Other actors would probably accept the role even though the don’t bring the same level of authenticity as someone else could. Since there most likely isn’t many actors like Skrein it should be the job of the directors and the producers to make sure that the actor that they cast is as close to the real character as possible. The role was re-casted and now the Korean actor Daniel Dae Kim is playing the role of Ben Daimio.
Even if a non-white actor is given an important role they often don’t receive they recognition that they deserve. For example, lead actress Lana Condor plays an Asian-American girl in the movie To All The Boys I’ve Ever Loved, a movie about a teenage girl that writes secret letters to all her crushes through the years and somehow the letters are sent to her crushes. Lana Condor is Vietnamese, so at least the she gave the role a touch of authenticity. For a very short while after the movie she had lots of eyes on her. Everyone then moved their attention to her co-star, Noah Centineo. The article “Hollywood diversity still falling short” states “Almost immediately after the release of the film, the internet began to gush and rave over the newest heartthrob, the white co-star Noah Centineo Despite being the star of the movie, Condor has received only a small piece of the media hype compared to her white male counterpart”. Centineo is an American actor who has had a few roles before the movie was released but not too many. After the movie he was asked to do several movies. Since the movie was released (in 2018), he has played a role in Sierra Burgess is a Loser, The Perfect Date and has already started working on two more movies. However, since the movie Lana Condor was just offered a supporting role in a TV show.
The need for equality has always been an issue. Whether it was for equality for people of color or equality for women, the issue has not gone away. The day America separated from Great Britain, the declaration of independence was signed. A legal document that says all men were created equal. What happened to happened to the equality of women? Was that not thought of ? America likes to believe that they provide people with justice, prosperity and equality, but they can’t just fake it till they make it. If America wants to be equal a change has to be made, people have to put in effort.
Works Cited
Vourvoulias, Sabrina. “Hollywood typecasting limits Latinas to sexualized roles.” The Bay State Banner, 21 Aug. 2014, https://search-proquest-com.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu /doc view/1558538322?accountid=9967. Accessed 26 Apr. 2019.
Ates, Alex. “Ed Skrein Shows Us How It’s Done: THE ACTOR TURNED DOWN A ROLE IN “HELLBOY” TO COMBAT HOLLYWOOD WHITEWASHING.(DIVERSITY)”. Back Stage, National ed., Vol.58(36), p.6(1). Sept 7. 2017, http://bi.galegroup.com.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cu ny.edu/global/article/GALE%7CA509016311/68919fef597292ef81a3575f73a60b40?u=cuny_ccny. Accessed 29 Apr. 2019.
“Hollywood diversity still falling short” UWIRE Text, Oct 9, 2018.http://go.galegroup.c om.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/ps/i.do?&id =GALEA557543072&v=2.1&u=cuny_ ccny&it=r&p=STND&sw=w. Accessed 29 Apr. 2019.
