Is Hollywood Changing?

One year after #OscarsSoWhite took Hollywood to task for its lack of representation, things appear to be changing. Hidden Figures – based on the true story of three pioneering African-American women who drove significant progress within NASA’s 1950s space program – became the highest-grossing film among those nominated for Best Picture at this past weekend’s Academy Awards ceremony. Stories about a gay Black kid coming of age in Miami (Moonlight); an adopted man tracing his roots to Kolkata, India (Lion); and a celebration of Polynesian history (Moana) were among the most lauded films of 2016. Moonlight even walked away with the top prize of the evening (after an unfortunate mix-up …). These and other revolutionary developments in film and TV (see here for the Jopwell squad’s favorite picks), give us hope for the future.

Whether or not #OscarsSoWhite can take credit for this shift is up for debate, but the industry’s move towards inclusion is evident. Just take a look at this year’s Oscar nominations: A record-breaking six Black actors were nominated for Oscars. For the first time in history, Black actors were nominated in every acting category. Viola Davis set a new record for the number of nominations for a Black actress (three); Denzel Washington broke his own record for most Oscar nods for a Black actor (seven). Moonlight raked in eight nominations, and writer/director Barry Jenkins became the first Black artist to be nominated for the trifecta of best director, best picture, and best screenplay (no Black artist has ever won best director).

So, how do we turn today’s momentum into continued progress? “Take people outside of their boxes,” says Poppy Hanks, Senior Vice President at MACRO, the multicultural media company that helped bring Fences to theaters. According to New-York-City-based filmmaker Rob Graydon, who is currently working on a documentary about world peace, it all comes down to telling your story in whatever way you are most skilled to tell it: “If you’re a writer, write,” he says. “If you’re a filmmaker, make a film. Whatever you want to say, say it.”

There’s wisdom we can take away from what we watch, too, as lawyer-turned-career-coach Paula Edgar points out in her analysis of a few hidden career lessons that she spotted in Hidden Figures.

For anyone hoping to break into the industry, look to television personality and entrepreneur Bevy Smith. After several successful decades working in advertising, she carved out a career in entertainment, reminding us that it’s never too late to create the life you want for yourself.

Though, admittedly, it may take awhile to get there. Ghanaian-born filmmaker Priscilla Anany, for example, worked as a nurse’s aid for three years before she had enough money saved up to go to film school. Still, it’s incredibly important to tell stories people might not see otherwise and represent the people you recognize and love, says Anany, who was named “Best New Narrative Director” at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival for her poignant feature film Children of the Mountain. Meanwhile, Sebastian Rea not only spends his days working at Tribeca Films – he also cofounded the 30Under30 Film Festival to discover emerging storytellers and give them platforms to share fresh, diverse perspectives with audiences around the world.

So yes, Hollywood today does seem to be moving in a more inclusive direction (with many thanks to creative leaders and industry trailblazers like those highlighted in this package). It's a notion that’s reinforced by the 2017 Hollywood Diversity Report, released by the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African-American Studies at UCLA. But, there is plenty more work to be done, and many more barriers to be broken. As veteran Hollywood producer Rudy Langlais (The Hurricane, Sugar Hill) reminds us: “Diversity is broader than African Americans. Where are the Native Americans, the Hispanics, the Indians? We should see those stories reflected, and we don’t.”

Lion, says Langlais, “is proof that you don’t have to be Indian or a minority to see the appeal. People will be interested in those stories if we tell them.”

Image courtesy of Paramount Pictures