Hollywood could be in for a taste of its own liberal medicine:
A new study by the UCLA School of Law and UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center finds that Latino, black, Asian American and Native American actors have few acting opportunities available to them….
The study found that 69% of the roles were reserved for white actors and another 8.5% were open to white actors as well as non-white actors. Actors of color were limited to between .5% and about 8% of the roles, depending on racial background. “Casting directors take into account race and sex in a way that would be blatantly illegal in any other industry,” Robinson said. “Many actors accept this as normal, but depending on the facts of the case, lawsuits can be filed.” He believes that, in many instances, taking race and sex into account for acting roles violates Title VII of the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination. According to Robinson, many casting breakdowns currently restrict, without any strong narrative justification, the sex and race of the actors who may audition.
Burn, Hollywood, burn. I do wonder, though, if blacks and Jews aren’t seriously overrepresented on television. I don’t watch a great deal of TV, but I have noticed rather more of both than one would expect, and far fewer Asians, Hispanics and Somalis.
In any case, this is a petard-hoisting that is long overdue.
UPDATE: Upon further review, it seems that white Americans can join that class action suit against Hollywood. “White American is the largest racial group counted in the 2000 Census, comprising 77.1 percent of the population.”
Correct me if I’m wrong, but my impression is that 77.1 percent is greater than 69 percent. And if one counts “roles that are open to white actors”, that’s 77.5 percent, which is nearly spot-on from a racist equity point of view. (Did I say racist? I meant RACIAL, of course….) But as I mentioned before, I suspect that there are too many blacks on television, mostly at Hispanic and Asian expense.