A new study is indicating that #OscarsSoWhite may have just been scratching the surface of a much larger systemic issue — yet this would not come as news to the majority of people who have grown up consuming media that represented everyone but themselves. The Media, Diversity, and Social Change Initiative at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism issued an "inclusivity index" of 10 major media companies (Disney, Amazon, Netflix, etc.) in an effort to analyze diversity and representation across the board — their findings were unfortunate, but likely validating for those who have suspected as much for years.
The study included 109 films released by major studios, TV shows across 31 networks and streaming services, 11,000 speaking characters, 10,000 directors, and 1,500 executives. They were evaluated for criteria including gender, race, ethnicity, and LGBT status. It concluded that the landscape of media content is "largely whitewashed," prompting USC professor Stacy L. Smith, one of the authors on the report, to note that "We don't have a diversity problem, we have an inclusion crisis."
Of 414 films and shows, only one third of speaking characters were female, only 28.3% were from minority groups and only 2% identified as LGBT. Only seven of 11,306 speaking characters were transgender, and four of them came from the same series. Overall, 87% of directors were white, including 90.4% of broadcast TV directors. Only 15.2% of directors were female, and only 3.4% of the films analyzed were directed by women. Out of 109 total directors, only two were black women. Perhaps even more dishearteningly, of the movies and shows studied, about half did not feature even one Asian or Asian-American character and 20% didn't feature any black characters.
Smith also noted that the film companies are "impervious to change," but there seems to be more hope in television. Not only did some major companies seem comparatively more inclusive, they have evidence that representation did not lower their ratings. "The very companies that are inclusive — Disney, CW, Hulu, Amazon to some degree — those companies, if they're producing and distributing motion pictures, can do this. We now have evidence that they can, and they can thrive," she said. This is very important to note, as a subconscious fear on the behalf of executives could be that their product won't be as consumable if it's more inclusive. (Yes, that logic is flawed; yes, that logic is also common.)
We only have a few more days until the 2016 Oscars, where host Chris Rock plans to address the #SoWhite movement during his opening monologue. Oscars producer Reginald Hudlin told Entertainment Tonight that the Academy is aware of this, and supports it. "They're excited about him doing that," he said. "They know that's what we need. They know that's what the public wants, and we deliver what the people want."
So how about this one, guys: inclusiveness is also what the people need and what the public wants. It's great that you're green-lighting the jokes, but how about also doing so for the kind of change the movement is demanding?