BY: DANIEL WATERBOURNE
Hollywood has a diversity problem. Behind the camera and in front of the camera there is a common thread. Although visible minorities constitute nearly half of the American population, the difference in creative and onscreen representation between white men and minorities is staggering. A report by the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies at UCLA found that the gap is even more apparent for women. By far, women are the most under-represented group in Hollywood—which is weird because in every age category, women make-up half of the population.
Below are the statistics showing the white male hegemony of Hollywood. The problem is that a single group is dictating cultural space, so there is a danger of similar perspectives being broadcast on big-screens nationwide. What’s the weirdest part of the systematic exclusion of the female perspective behind the lens? All male directors wouldn’t be directing if a woman had not given them their greatest career opportunity—the chance to breathe.
