promotes discrimination and feeds into a culture of unconscious biases. Hollywood’s exclusion of actress of color is evident in history of Oscar nominations and awards. In Nancy Wang Yuen’s book, Reel Inequality, she writes that no actor or actress of Asian, Latin, or indigenous descent have been awarded an acting Oscar in the last 15 years. Only one woman has even won Best Actress, and that was in 2002 for Halle Berry’s performance in Monster’s Ball. This lack of validation is largely contributed to the lack of roles available for actresses of color. A study by University of Southern California found in the top 100 movies in 2016, only three actresses of color were in lead or co-lead roles. While creating stories that celebrate the history of minority groups will always remain relevant and important, these stories often don’t reflect the life of an average person of color. Today there are so many books, movies, and TV shows on coming of age stories for young adults, however there are very few with a woman of color as the protagonist. Whitewashing has always been a prevalent issue in Hollywood and is still exhibited in many movies filmed today. The practice of whitewashing is casting a white actor for a role that was intended to be played by a person of color. It is largely driven, in part, to Hollywood’s belief that white sells. There is a bias, conscious and unconscious, that white is the default race, therefore it creates a basis that white characters are neutral characters that are relatable to all people. Ironically, several recent major motion picture films that whitewashed their cast are considered to be financial failures including Ghost in a Shell, Aloha, and Pan. Movies and shows with diverse casts are actually often very successful in terms of viewership.
Women of color must be represented accurately in Hollywood so they have to ability to inspire the younger generations. Black Panther, Fresh Off the Boat, Get Out, and Jane the Virgin are a handful of many successful movies and TV shows proving that diversity sells. The lack of diversity on screen may also be attributed to the lack of diversity behind the screens. According to the USC study, out of the top 100 movies each year from 2007 to 2016, only three directors were African American women and only two were females of Asian descent. An increase of women of color as directors, producers, talent agents, writers, casting directors, and other behind the scene jobs would only serve to better portray
the lives of women of color as they truly are and to authenticate their stories. Women of color must be represented accurately in Hollywood so they have to ability to inspire the younger generations. Movies and shows with women of color protagonists not only serve as role models for girls of color, but also serve to inform those who know very little about the lives of minority groups. It can only formulate or deepen perspectives. Hollywood must work harder to share the stories women of color with the rest of the world. 15