Racebending Releases Report on the True Diversity in Paramount Pictures’ Films

By jozjozjoz | Friday, June 25, 2010 | 13 Comments

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Despite accusations of “whitewashing” casting of The Last Airbender, director M. Night Shyamalan claims that the racial diversity in the upcoming summer film as “The most culturally diverse tent-pole in history.” Issues around racial and gender diversity will be top of mind as boycotts and protests around this film are already being planned.

At the center of the storm is Paramount Pictures, the studio behind the production and distribution of The Last Airbender. Racebending puts the magnifying glass to Paramount’s track record over the last decade and the findings from this report are abysmal.

By examing the top billing of all of Paramount’s films over the last 10 years:

77% of Top Billed roles were given to male actors (vs 23% female actresses)
Only one movie released in 10 years starred an actress of color–Queen Latifah in Last Holiday (2006). Out of 30 lead actresses, only one actress–Queen Latifah–was a person of color.
A whopping 86% of Paramount films distributed or produced in the last decade starred a white performer.
Out of 133 movies either produced or distributed, 17 had a black lead actor and only one had an Asian actor–Parry Shen in the film Better Luck Tomorrow (2002). However, Paramount did not produce Better Luck Tomorrow, the company distributed the film to theaters after the film made the independent film circuit.
Over a 10 year period from 2000 to 2009, Paramount did not produce a SINGLE movie starring a Latino, Asian American, or Native American actor.

There are many more stats and facts, with graphs and full citations in the full report at Racebending. Kudos to Sirajah Raheem, Renee Starling, and Marissa Lee for their well-cited research efforts on this report.

Image Credit: Racebending.com

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http://twitter.com/mike_le mike_le

Their numbers for 2010-onward are even worse. Of these films (released or announced), 94% feature a male lead. 83% of the leads are white males. 6% are white actresses.

Are we missing anyone? Oh, right, ZERO movies announced with a leading actress of color. To all the women out there: having a 55% share of American ticket sales just isn’t enough to catch the attention of Paramount’s business division.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=678346816 Ed Moy

Thanks for doing all the research. But just to play Devil’s advocate, fact is that America’s population is nearly 80 percent Caucasian. African-American’s make up about 15 percent and Asian Americans about 4.5 percent. And then the rest of the various ethnic groups make up the rest of America’s population.Taken In perspective, 86 percent of Paramount’s movies over the past 10 years starring a white lead character is not that far out of proportion to the population numbers.In proportion to the general American population, white’s are the majority. Just as in China or Japan or Korea, the film’s are probably dominated by Chinese, Japanese or Korean actors and a low percentage or maybe even no white leads in any of their movies? And historically Hollywood has never been known for its diversity in casting. Yes, there should be more female leading roles. And yes there should be more diverse leading male roles. But the fact is if the situation was reversed, and I was for example, a black guy or white guy that spoke perfect Mandarin and I wanted to be the lead actor in a movie made in China or Hong Kong, I would think the chances are slim or none that I could even get an audition for that leading role. On the other hand, in Hollywood, I think that if I was that same black or white guy, who spoke Mandarin, I would actually have a better chance of getting auditions and some kind of role in American films.Think about it. How many white actors do you see playing a lead character in a Chinese, Japanese or Korean movie? I bet the numbers are as bad for whites in Asian movies as it is for an Asian American in Hollywood movie. Probably like 99 percent of the movies made in Asia by Asian filmmakers are starring Asian actors with the rare movie with a foreigner acting in a lead role.Also, I bet if you did research on movies made in Europe, you’ll find that the dominate ethnic group in each country will also dominate the lead roles in movies.So there you go. Racism and prejudice and bias does exist in movies in other countries. The majority ethnic group in those countries will want to see themselves as the lead characters in their movies. And of course, male actors will dominate the lead roles because male/female equality in those countries might be affected by religious and social status passed down over centuries of male dominated culture.Any one got thought on this?
http://www.myspace.com/krantzstone Krantzstone

Two Wongs don’t make a white?
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=678346816 Ed Moy

From my friend, Jeanne Besanceney:

“There is no such thing as “white”. the DNA of Europeans = 65% Asian + 35% African”

And as you know most of the “whites” in America are descended from Europe.

Also, in San Francisco there is a new play opening called BEJING, CALIFORNIA, being produced by the Asian American Theater Company.

In the play, America has been taken over by China after a major world crisis. It speculates and explores the reverse prejudice and racial biasing, if Asian (chinese) were in charge of America and the roles were reversed with majority being Asian and minority being “white”.

In the end, you see that things become no different. Inequality would exist, biases and prejudices win out and the “dominate” majority rules take precedent.

As another devil’s advocate question: If you were in Europe, do you think suddenly you’d get more opportunity as a Asian-French actor or British-Asian actor?

In fact, foreign actors see Hollywood as the mecca of movie making just as NBA players from overseas see the NBA as the center of the hoops world. In other words, they want to come here. And America, despite all the Political Correctness cries is still the most diverse and available place in the world for opportunity.

I doubt if I was a white actor going to Korea or Bollywood or China that I would find equality in the casting. In fact, it probably would be limited to supporting roles or no roles in any films made in those countries. Again, the dominate culture and ethnic group in any given country will usually be the dominate leading characters in their movies. Right or wrong that seems to be reality.
http://twitter.com/mike_le mike_le

I just want to drive home a point you already made: 83% white MALE LEADS is not in any way representative of actual demographics. 55% of American ticket sales are by women. Paramount only plans to have 6% of their films headline a woman… and all of those women are white. So actually, 89% of their planned leads will be white.

Of the 54 planned films, 1 film will feature an Asian American lead and 1 animated film will feature Antonio Banderas, voicing Puss in Boots. That is in no way proportional.

To the other remark, “well if we were in country X, then Y”… I’ve sick of Americans defending systematic racism by grading on a curve. When we talk about how bad murder rates are in Washington, D.C., no one ever says “Well, crime rates are really bad in Bangkok, so let’s all be grateful we’re not THERE.”

Since when does America grade itself on a curve? More to the point, since when do we decide that we’re done with progress on racial issues since “we’re doing way better than China”? Call me crazy, but I think we should hold ourselves to a higher standard. I’m a citizen of this country and I’m going to raise my voice when I think it’s failing to live up to its own standards.

Counterarguments like that always smack of “Go back to China.” As in, “hey, we’re doing better than Asia, and if you don’t like it, why don’t you go back there?” Those arguments implicitly say this: “Americans are white. YOU are not white. YOU are not American. YOU don’t get to be in American media. Be happy if we let you play the sidekick.”

I’m also pretty sick of the “race is just a social construct” nonsense. If a bigot of Italian descent takes a look at me, does he think “Hey, there’s an Asian, someone with whom I share 35% of my genetic background?”

Race, in the good old-fashioned societal sense of the word, has critical social implications. “We’re all the same underneath” or “Looking at these studies, it’s clear we share a Recent Common Ancestor” are grand, abstract concepts that have absolutely no bearing on whether a girl named “Latoya” gets callbacks from her resume, or whether a Chinese American is called a “Jap” as he’s beaten to death.

And last… even though I do NOT want Americans to start patting themselves on the back for doing “better than China”… Chinese television has had a spike in hiring foreign actors recently. An estimated 20-30% of actors on Chinese television are of foreign descent.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Ahmed-Sanchez-De-La-Cruz-Kim/58700922 Ahmed Sanchez De La Cruz Kim

Well, it’s a given that demographics of a society is a factor for such situations. Ed Moy has a point.
South Asians have been an integral part of Hong Kong’s history, but it’s media isn’t reflective. Same thing in India and elsewhere. If not race, than some ethnic/demographic group.

I think a lot of people (Americans and non-Americans) are less forgiving of Hollywood. May or may not be due to rational reasons. I think we kind of move on from such ideas and could give reality a try (reality in fantasy hehe, imagine that). James Shigeta, one of the Asian OG’s in American entertainment, mention this before. There’s nothing wrong with wanting this though.

However, we don’t have to bend over for such issues. I think every place has it’s own challenges, and as Americans of Asian heritage or any background, we do have a duty to take care of our own house and have every bit of a natural right to empower ourselves and pursue our dreams, despite what goes on in the Ancestral lands in Asia, Europe or Africa. That’s pretty much the story of the US, moving beyond the obstacles of the past;the old world and being free to live.

We’re not alone and everyone who has faced a ceiling or actual injustice due to their background can sympathize and for those who haven’t, they can empathize.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=678346816 Ed Moy

On the subject of women in movies. Again, white male dominated society and culture. Although it is improving. Not saying we shouldn’t push for progress. Just being Devil’s advocate.

They go over this construct thing in that book and movie THE SECRET… they have a section about how “Oh the world is this and that… how can I just focus on the positive and happy and still make changes?” Focusing on the negative aspects will only attract more of it to you is the principle that they try to get across.

There was a Chinese American actor KEYE LUKE (who was famous for being Charlie Chan’s number one son) and for almost his entire career he never played bad guys. He was always a good guy. And he rarely did the broken english Asian accent thing. I think he was Master Po in Kung Fu later in life. But anyway, he married a white woman and he was one of the founding members of Screen Actors Guild. He did a lot for a “Asian American” male actor in the 30′s, 40′s, 50s and even in the 60′s 70s and 80s working in Hollywood. And as I recall he was never one to protest things much… he went along with the yellow face Charlie Chan casting and was later given lead roles as a Chinese American detective in his own movie not as a sidekick. This was before James Shigeta in Crimson Kimono.

Today, I like what John Cho has done… Flash Forward … very progressive role for him… he had a black fiancee on Flash Forward…

As for this whole Paramount thing…. Who is Paramount? CEO? Execs? Producers? What is that demographic breakdown? Is there a woman? Are there women in power positions at the studio?

Again this goes back to male dominated society… We still haven’t had a woman president. And my guess is most of the screenplays written in Hollywood are written by white males. Even though from my experience a lot of the script readers/coverage people are women. And many of the assistants and development people are women. But for some reason the scripts are still mostly written by white males.

Maybe you should find some WGA numbers on that one.
http://twitter.com/mike_le mike_le

Mostly agree with these observations.

Do you really believe in “The Secret”?
http://twitter.com/rubyseeds erika h

“I doubt if I was a white actor going to Korea or Bollywood or China that I would find equality in the casting.”

Yeah, but what % of people in Korea or India or China are White European? I would say it would be far less than the Asian-American population in the US. Yet major Hollywood movies with white leads are very popular in those countries, and Bollywood movies that prominently feature white people do exist. In Bollywood (and other parts of Asia), white people are often given preferential treatment — “Russian dancers are treated relatively well in Bollywood. They rank second in a four-tier system, with white dancers from English-speaking countries in the top position. This hierarchy is steeped in India’s colonial history. Although interracial sex and even marriage were not uncommon in the early days of British rule, such unions ended with the 1857 revolt. Thereafter, if the odd sahib could still enjoy his native concubines, Indian males were granted no reciprocal license. White women became forbidden fruit: a symbol of the wealth, and inequity, of colonial power. The third tier among dancers consists of educated, bourgeois Indian girls, dancing for a lark or because they hope to break into film. The lowest in rank are the “junior artists,” who do the dancing in most of India’s myriad films. The first three groups are rarely mistreated, but junior dancers work exhausting hours for a pittance. They are beaten, coerced into sex, abused in other ways.”

Source: http://harpers.org/archive/2008/10/0082201

Anyway, it doesn’t matter if the world will never be perfect or that prejudices exist — I know this already. It doesn’t make Hollywood casting choices (and their choices of the movies they produce) any less awful.
csc3

look at the cartoon version: all the characters have darker skin.
look at the live version: the heroes are lily white, the villain is dark.

heck, it’s not even about casting asians. they didn’t even cast people “of color” as the good guys.
LindaChan

Shyamalan himself is a pretty dark-skinned dude. And being in a position of power, he could’ve used this as an opportunity to cast more racially diverse actors. If we can’t count on him, one of the few Asian directors working successfully in Hollywood, to cast people of color, who can we?
http://profiles.yahoo.com/u/63JA2YROIRCP6KLABYCIKW2S3M Cindy

The ‘we simply chose the best talent/auditions’ excuse hides the fact that most of the time, casting and roles are created with white actors in mind, and minorities can’t even audition for these roles, even if the original character is supposed to be Asian. It’s also offensive in the insinuation that there simply aren’t any talented minority actors out there.

Similar complaints about racebending were made about the 21 blackjack movie starring Kevin Spacey

http://www.8asians.com/2008/04/01/the-mit-tech-movie-21-discriminatory-casting-unjustified/

http://tech.mit.edu/V128/N15/21casting.html
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