Representation in the Film Industry

By Katie Asselin

10/28/19

Edited by: Simon Huynh

Think about the last movie you watched.

How much representation was in the movie? Would you say that many people watching the movie could see themselves represented on screen? Chances are, the majority of the cast of the movie was white and an even larger majority was probably male. If you are a straight white guy, you probably don’t think about the lack of representation in the film industry--why would you? There are other movies that have women and POC in them (but are there? We’ll get to that). Even if you aren’t a straight white guy, you might not have realized the lack of representation in the film industry, but once you see it, you can’t unsee it.

Let’s go back to the last movie you watched. Does it pass the Bechdel Test? The Bechdel test was created by Alison Bechdel in 1985, and the creator herself has acknowledged its flawed existence. The Bechdel test asks two questions of a movie: Are there (at least) two named female characters, and do these two female characters have a conversation together about something other than a man. Does the last movie you watched pass? You might be surprised at the number of films that fail to pass such simple requirements; a couple movies that fail to pass are Doctor Strange, Thor Ragnorok, and The Secret Life of Pets.

Now, the Bechdel test is an extremely rudimentary and simple test of equal representation in films. The Bechdel test fails to mention people of color, people in the LGBT+ community, or people with disabilities. The test also doesn’t require that the women have three-dimensional characters or are anything aside from the simplest of stereotypes. Women in film are often one sided and dependent on the men in the film. In addition they rarely play a more important role than as a plot point or problem for the man. In pointing any of this out, I am not saying that every movie needs to represent every person on the planet, that would be impossible based on how many people there are, but it is important that every child (and adult) can see someone like them on screen who they can look up to. Can you think of any movies that would not pass the “reverse” Bechdel test? Do any of your favorite movies have two named male characters having a conversation about something other than a woman? Probably most of them. If any don’t, let me know because I would love to watch that movie.

You may be thinking: Lot’s of movies have women in them! But, do they have personalities? Are they three dimensional? Are they anything more than emotional support for the men in the movies? Are their deaths or failures anything more than something to cause pain for the men? Lastly, are they women you want your children to look up to and emulate? Same goes for POC and LGBT+ individuals: are they more than a stereotype?

Percentage of characters who are from particular ethnic groups in films produced 2018. Courtesy of the Anenberg Inclusion Initiative's Inequality in 1,200 Popular Films.

In addition, one of my biggest pet peeves is when a character is only gay/hispanic/insert-adjective-here to be a plot point. Not every LGBT+ character has to be coming out, or going on a journey of discovery. Not every character with a disability has to “overcome” their hurdle. Similarly, just because a character “ticks” one box, doesn’t mean they can’t “tick” another. Why isn’t there a film about a lesbian Korean girl in a wheelchair who is best friends with a Native American transgender boy who lives with his grandparents? The people I just described exist and they’re more representative of our modern society than another film about a blond white boy who is best friends with the brunette white boy.

The Anenberg Inclusion Initiative has a wonderful report called “Inequality in 1200 Popular Films.” In 2018, women made up only 33% of speaking roles across 1200 films. White people made up 63.7% of characters in films. Of the top one hundred films of 2018, only twenty four had at least one LGB character (there were no films with transgender characters). Of the 58 LGB characters, 63.8% were white. If you don’t get the picture you can look at the report here: http://assets.uscannenberg.org/docs/aii-inequality-report-2019-09-03.pdf.

Courtesy of the Anenberg Inclusion Initiative's Inequality in 1,200 Popular Films.

I took an informal poll of how well some of my peers feel represented in the film industry: 66% (50 individuals) said they do while 34% (26 individuals) said they don’t. I also asked what people would like to see more representation for and here are some of the answers that I agree are particularly under represented:

  • Southeast asians

  • Biracial characters/actors

  • Unconventional family structures

  • Hispanics

  • Guy-girl platonic relationships

  • Aromantic/asexual individuals

  • Bisexual individuals

  • Religious individuals

  • Indians (specifically ones that aren’t super nerdy or conservative)

  • Male representation that breaks gender stereotypes

Why is there such a lack of representation in films? One issue is the small amount of women, LGBT+ individuals, and POC who are directors, writers, and people with power in the film industry. In 2018, there were 5 female directors out of 112 total. If directors and writers were more often women, LGBT+, and POC, would there be such a representation disparity?

Note: the articles/studies I used for this article focus on the United States and Hollywood, but there are films and movies that come out of other countries. Hollywood in particular has a large amount of inequality in its films.