Minorities Extra Minor in TV/Movies

The Daily Variety published an article today about how minority and female employment is low in Hollywood, with minority employment deplorably under 10%.

And the gap in pay between white and minority writers is a mean anywhere between $12,000 and $19,000 per script!

But it's pretty obvious that it would be. Just look at the content. I mean, it seems that most shows with Black leads are relegated (segregated?) to land on UPN and there just aren't that many shows with Hispanic leads - you can pretty much name them in one hand). And those shows WITH minority leads usually deal with the fact that they are minorities (except maybe West Wing, though most people don't realize Martin Sheen is Hispanic). It's easy to have Black leads if you're hoping to cater to a predominately Black audience - but where are the minority leads on shows fishing for mass appeal?

Can't we have a show about someone who happens to be Asian instead of a show about a Asian person?

Case in Point: Why couldn't the leads in CSI: Miami, Nip/Tuck, and Invasion be Cuban, instead of just supporting or marginal cast. Cubans are a very large chunk of the city's population - Hispanics make up just under 70% of Miami's population, and something like 65% of those Hispanics are Cuban. Those shows are supposed to take place in Miami. That just seems like Hollywood's too lazy or irresponsible to do any research.

And even those great shows with diverse casts (Lost, House, Grey's Anatomy, 24, Desperate Housewives, Prison Break) have white leads. The minorities pepper the supporting cast. [Note: I watch and enjoy every one of those shows; I'm simply pointing out how even shows with a variety of character cultures and races still rely on whites as the primary leads. Lost and Grey's are two shows that incorporate minorities very well, though none as true primary leads.]

Though there is one show worth mentioning with a diverse cast - both leading and supporting - Over There. They do it right.

Anyway, the trend isn't just superficial; it's not just the actors - it's behind the scenes, too. (Or better said: the trend is true on screen because it's true behind the scenes.)

Here are some excerpts from the article by Dave McNary:

Hollywood's female and minority writers have seen little progress in job opportunities during the past seven years and remain underrepresented, a new Writers Guild of America West report shows. The guild's stats, issued today as part of the first such WGA West report since 1998, show TV employment for women in 2004 at 27%, while minority employment is under 10%; in features, women writers are represented in 18% of jobs, and minority representation is 6%.

"The 2005 Hollywood Writers Report replays a story told many times in previous WGA West reports: Pockets of promise may emerge from time to time, but institutionalized barriers continue to stymie progress on the Hollywood writer diversity front," Hunt wrote in the report.

Hunt also asserted that not only have gains for minority TV writers failed to keep up with an America that's become increasingly diverse, but that those "marginal" gains have come largely on minority-themed sitcoms.

"When these shows have disappeared from the schedule in the past, so did employment opportunities for minority writers," he added. "Minority gains in the film sector have stalled altogether in recent years."

"It is abundantly clear to me that diversity in hiring requires a firm commitment on the part of decisionmakers (TV showrunners as well as TV and film executives) to actively seek out and read the work of writers who are women and people of color," Verrone wrote.

[But not Asians or even Hispanics (the largest minority in the U.S.)???]

"This is not always easy, and it is rarely automatic, but, as a strong and unified guild committed to success for all members, we must insist that all writers be allowed to compete with their peers for development and staffing opportunities and that we are all properly compensated for the work we do as professional writers," he concluded. "When any of our voices are muted, our collective volume is reduced."