Top Hollywood officials, politicians and UCLA faculty gathered
at Royce Hall on Tuesday to discuss the lack of diversity in
Hollywood and how the industry could improve minority
representation.
The forum, titled “Diversifying Hollywood: Practices,
Priorities and Policies,” was co-sponsored by UCLA’s
Bunche Center for African American Studies, UCLA Government and
Community Relations and Rep. Diane Watson, D-Los Angeles.
The forum panelists reached a consensus that though minority
representation in Hollywood has generally increased, it is nowhere
near the level of fully reflecting the ethnic diversity of the
country.
After the forum, the panelists elaborated on a broad range of
ways to increase diversity in Hollywood, from providing tax
incentives to studios that exercise minority-friendly hiring
practices, to providing financial aid for minority students who
want to attend film school.
Minority growth in Hollywood has grown by what some termed as
“incremental steps,” which is promising but not
conclusive.
“It gets better every year, every decade,” said
Watson, one of the panelists and chairwoman of the Congressional
Entertainment Caucus. “But we have a ways to go.”
Watson founded the caucus two years ago to provide a forum for
people to discuss issues that face the entertainment industry today
such as intellectual property rights, diversity and “runaway
production,” which happens when studios film movies in other
countries.
Although minorities have been successful in establishing a
greater range and number of rolls in film and television, a study
conducted by the Bunche Center for 2002 found some discrepancies.
For example, the study found that Latinos made up only 3 percent of
all characters in prime time television and there were no Native
American characters.
And some panelists expressed concern that though minority groups
have progressed in areas such as acting, they have yet to break
into upper-tier executive positions in Hollywood.
“Most of the progress has been made in front of the
camera,” said Darnell Hunt, director of the Bunche Center for
African American Studies and the moderator of the forum.
“Behind the scenes, it’s like we’re frozen in the
’50s.”
Hunt said the lack of diversity in Hollywood is especially
ironic since minorities in California outnumber whites in the
population.
Although panelists agreed minority representation was a problem
in Hollywood, they had different takes on how the issue should be
addressed and who should take the lead.
One suggestion that seemed popular among the panelists is for
the federal government to provide tax incentives for businesses
that sell to minority owners.
Another suggestion, proposed by Chon Noriega, director of UCLA
Chicano Studies Research Center, is to provide Pell Grants
specifically for students who want to attend film school, which
could encourage more minorities to break into film.
However Mitsy Wilson, the vice president of diversity
development at Fox Entertainment Group, said she felt Hollywood
should be responsible for policing itself.
Wilson said Hollywood executives need to be more receptive to
the makeup and wishes of the general public.
“They’ve got to be willing to be exposed to what
people are saying today, not so much what people want to
see,” she said.
Although the panelists didn’t endorse a plan of action,
Hunt expressed hope that the discussion would lead to bigger and
better things.
“Congresswoman Watson has a lot of food for thought to
take back to Washington, D.C., and hopefully something more
concrete will come of it,” he said.