Note From Tongal: “Diversity in the Director's Chair" is part of a series of Tongal Community-written blog posts that were originally sourced in the Tongal Blog Open Call Project. Read more Tongal Community-written posts here and then Pitch us a topic you'd like to write about for the Tongal Blog!
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“It’s white men hiring white men to tell stories about white men.” Frankie Shaw, writer, director and actress via nytimes.com.
If this quote makes you uncomfortable - it should. Storytelling in Hollywood remains the same today as it did thirty years ago. Why is that? Perhaps it’s because the same people who were in charge then are in charge now. Let’s be honest here, Hollywood is run by white men and there’s nothing inherently wrong with that. Now, if we could get those same white men to see the rest of the world in themselves, real change will happen.
Being a black, female filmmaker, I have a vested interest in impacting change in how films are made and, for me, it all starts behind the camera. It’s no secret that women are the most underrepresented group when it comes to directing film. . . and women of color – forget about it! While there is a huge and very passionate movement around women in Hollywood right now, the needle has not moved much regarding women in the director’s chair - especially women of color. Black, Asian and Latina women remain the most underrepresented group when it comes to directing. According to a report authored by Professor Stacy L. Smith and the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, in the last ten years only 4% of directors of the top 1,100 films were women and only 4 of those directors were Black, two were Asian and one was Latina.
So how do we change this? Well, there are two ways that I see can have an impact:
First and foremost is to start with the men in charge by shifting their perception of what the world really looks like and getting them to see that world within themselves. It’s proven that when a person can relate to the world around them and see themselves within that world, how they move through life and the decisions they make change. Asian, Latino, and Black people face the same everyday challenges as white people only their triumphs and struggles are coated in a different color. The same goes for women. Women are creative, dynamic and face similar challenges and feats as men. If the men in charge acknowledge this and accept it on a subconscious level, their entire process of making a film can change. It will become more inclusive and they won’t even realize it.
Another way to impact change is through Hollywood’s hiring practices. There’s a recurring theme in Hollywood where the selection of the director is tied to who stars in the film. Take a gander at the top films out there starring white male actors and you’ll find they are directed by, guess who, white male directors. Changing the hiring practice of matching directors to the race and gender of the cast is crucial to inclusion. For progress to be made, the choice of the director must not be predicated on the kind of stories the “powers that be” think a director can tell. Asian, Black and Latina female directors move through the world with a multitude of experiences and like their male counterparts, use those experiences to tell stories. The top brass in Hollywood must acknowledge this. That is the only way we will reduce the disparity of Black, Latina and Asian women behind the camera.
Change the thought process. Change the hiring practice. Resolve the problem.
